Yahoo Japan, GREE confirm mobile games joint venture

PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan’s mobile games firm GREE announced a wide-ranging deal with Yahoo Japan back in November 2012, and now the two companies have confirmed that they will open a joint-venture focused on developing social games for smartphones next month, The Next Web reports.

Tentatively called ‘GxYz’, the new entity is set to open its doors on March 15 and is backed by 200 million JPY (around $2.2 million) in investment from the duo. The JV, which GREE is taking a 51 percent share in, is designed to build on the successes of both companies — GREE as a top mobile games platform in Japan, and Yahoo Japan as the country’s leading Web content firm — as the announcement explains:

Through the establishment of GxYz, the two companies aim to strengthen their smartphone social gaming business partnership, combining the user acquisition capabilities of Yahoo! JAPAN with the social gaming development and operational expertise of GREE, while developing exceptional social games that will open up new possibilities in the game development business.

A GREE representative confirmed that, as is expected, the joint-venture “will be focused on the Japanese market”. While no upcoming titles have been confirmed at this point, we’re told that “several” games are expected to be released within the year.