Korean mobile game developer 4:33 Creative Labs will strengthen its cooperation with game development studios, aiming at boosting its presence on the global stage. As a part of its plan to build a closer publisher developer collaboration network, the company unveiled a new cooperation system dubbed “4:33 United.” It said the new system will create synergy with developers both at home and abroad.
“As we are facing faster market change, more discerning customers and tougher global competition, we needed an advanced form of collaboration with our game development partners,” 4:33 Chief Executive Officer So Tae-hwan said during a press conference in Seoul, “This will establish a virtuous cycle of cooperation with local and overseas developers and help us solidify market competitiveness globally.”
4:33 said a total of 24 game development studios in Korea and overseas countries, in which the company has invested 71.2 billion won so far, have joined in the collaboration network. In particular, among the 24 developers is U.S. game firm Section Studios which has worked with global partners such as Riot Games, Disney, Infinity Ward, Atari and DreamWorks in the past.
“In the background of the concept of 4:33 United is our expanded investment drive in overseas development studios,” So said. “In order to maintain global competitiveness, we will need to help our overseas development partners to internalize their own philosophy in making games. We will push for vitalizing interaction with the global developers we have invested in and roll out games with higher quality.”
However, the CEO said that the company does not plan to run a mobile game platform business and will continue to seek a competitive platform partner instead. On Tuesday, 4:33 also introduced 18 new mobile games scheduled to be launched this year.
Mobile action role-playing game (RPG) Lost Kingdom, developed by 4:33’s subsidiary Factorial Games, will be released on Feb. 25. The game has attracted over 1 million preliminary subscribers, it said. The company said it will launch the game through overseas application stores within the first half of this year.
The shooting game Mafia, developed by a local developer Beacon Games, will be rolled out in the second quarter this year, the company said. Mafia was unveiled during the G-Star global game show in November last year.
As a part of global collaboration, Four Thirty Three will release RPG games Blood Tales and Celestials: Oracle War in the fourth quarter this year. The two games, developed by Section Studios and Nooby Island, respectively, are under production by experienced developers from global firms such as Ubisoft, Bioware and 2K Games, the company said.
Source: 4:33, Koreatimes
