Chinese online game publisher and operator ChangYou has purchased a majority equity stake in browser-based game developer Shenzhen 7Road Technology Co. Sixty-eight percent of the company was purchased for just over $68.3 million. An additional $32.3 million financial infusion may be in the pipeline, according to the terms of the agreement, provided that 7Road meets specific performance milestones through December 31, 2012. ChangYou is best known in China for free-to-play client-server multiplayer game titles like Tian Long Ba Bu, Blade Online, and Blade Hero 2. The publisher also has offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
7Road is best known for creating DDTank, its Worms-styled turn-based shooting title with a cute anime flair. The game has been translated into nine languages and released in several overseas markets, including the U.S. through Aeria Games. Last year, the game reached over 350,000 peak concurrent global users. 7Road’s majority stake acquisition extends ChangYou’s reach online into the booming browser-based game development scene, which is also dominated by free-to-play casual and social games.
Confirming the strategic value of the acquisition, Tao Wang, ChangYou’s CEO said, “Web-based games, which can be played in a browser without installation of a client application, are experiencing rapid growth, and this is the right time to invest to and enter this space. Changyou has been leading the market for massively multiplayer online games in China, and with the addition of a proven development team from 7Road, their successful game and wide network of partner websites, we are pushing forward in our plans to reach new audiences with the addition of quality products designed for different consumers.”
[Source: Gamasutra]
