This article was published on August 17, 2012

Chinese game publisher Yodo1 teams up with HandyGames to localize iOS, Android games


Chinese game publisher Yodo1 teams up with HandyGames to localize iOS, Android games

Yodo1, a Chinese game development agency that helps Western companies enter China, will work with European game publisher HandyGames to bring its titles to the world’s largest smartphone market.

The first five titles from the partnership will be Clouds & Sheep, Guns ‘n Glory, guns ‘n Glory WW2, Happy Vikings and Infecct. Yodo1, which recently raised $2 million to expand work with international gaming companies, will market the games to 15 of the top Android application stores in China.

The company will provide a wide range of services for HandyGames, including adapting game mechanics and design elements, aligning with local licensing requirements and tweaking monetization methods. It will also help promote the games.

“HandyGames is one of the top smartphone games developers in the world, but like any Western game developer, China presents a variety of challenges and opportunities,” said Yodo1 CEO Henry Fong, adding that the first five titles were prepped for the Chinese market in just two weeks’ time.

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HandyGames CEO Christopher Kassulke highlighted the new link-up with Yodo1 as making an “otherwise painful process incredibly easy.”

China’s large population, coupled with its high percentage of paying gamers, has made overseas companies eager to break into the market. Yodo1 faces competition from Internet titan Tencent, which has a 30 percent share of the country’s social networking service and Web game market and is actively investing in big-name game studios, and The9, which is bringing its focus to bear on the domestic mobile market. South Korea’s Neowiz also recently expressed renewed interest in mobile gaming in China.

Image via Flickr / JacobMetcalf

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