Japanese media group Kadokawa and mobile internet content provider Dwango have announced that the companies will merge on 1 October.
Dwango chairman Nobuo Kawakami will lead the merged company, and Kadokawa’s Tatsuo Sato will assume the role of president.
“We aim to establish the world’s leading platform for content, which would serve as a new business model in the Internet age,” said Sato in a statement.
Kadokawa publishes of anime films and manga books in Japan and overseas, including the Cowboy Bebop series, as well as JRPGs on the Kadokawa Shoten, ASCII Media Works and Enterbrain game labels, now consolidated into Kadokawa Games.
In April Kadokawa has announced that the company would acquire an 80 per cent majority stake in Tokyo-based developer From Software.
Dwango distributes games via the company’s video delivery platform Nico Nico Dwango. Nintendo currently holds a minority stake in the company and promotes the publisher’s titles on the platform.
