KADOKAWA Enters into Capital and Business Alliance with South Korea-based Mobile Game Developer VIC GAME STUDIOS - Accelerating the expansion of the mobile game business and the Global Media Mix through this partnership with a leading game studio - | NEWS RELEASEKADOKAWA GROUP GLOBAL PORTAL SITE

KADOKAWA CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takeshi Natsuno; hereinafter “KADOKAWA”) and VIC GAME STUDIOS (Headquarter: Seoul, South Korea; CEO: Choi Jaeyoung; hereinafter “VIC”), a leading South Korean mobile game developer and producer, have agreed to enter into a capital and business alliance.

Purpose of the Alliance

The fundamental strategy of the KADOKAWA Group is to promote Global Media Mix with Technology, centering on the stable creation and extensive global distribution of intellectual property (IP) consisting of a diverse portfolio of content.
The game industry is continuously expanding worldwide and its user base is growing. Focusing on this industry in addition to publishing, animation and education segments, our group subsidiaries FromSoftware, Inc., Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and ACQUIRE Corp. continuously release a diverse range of popular console games, while we strive in the mobile game sector to increase the number of titles utilizing our extensive collection of publishing and animation IP in line with the mid-term management plan ending in March 2028.
VIC is a game company founded in South Korea primarily by the people that produced The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross of Light and Darkness, a widely popular game around the world.
After the company was founded, Black Clover Mobile M: Rise Of The Wizard King, was the first title to be established, and the service was launched in Japan, South Korea and other parts of the world. The next title, BREAKERS: UNLOCK THE WORLD, is currently under development and is the company’s own IP.

The KADOKAWA Group is committed to accelerating and enhancing the development of mobile games with global appeal while expanding its high-quality game portfolio utilizing KADOKAWA’s animation IP through this capital and business alliance with VIC.

Impact on Financial Results

The impact of the capital and business alliance on the Group’s results is expected to be immaterial.

Overview of the Capital and Business Alliance

･ As a result of the capital investment in VIC, KADOKAWA becomes the third largest shareholder based on equity ratio.
･ VIC promotes to develop games by utilizing KADOKAWA’s IP.
･ KADOKAWA collaborates with VIC in the publishing of its titles in Japan.

Message from the President

Mr. Choi Jaeyoung, Representative Director and President, CEO of VIC GAME STUDIOS

Embarking on this new business partnership with Japan’s top integrated entertainment company, we at VIC GAME STUDIOS have high hopes for the future collaboration. We are certain that, through our close cooperation based on this agreement, the two companies can create great synergy that extends beyond Japan by joining VIC GAME STUDIOS’s animation RPG development capabilities and KADOKAWA’s animation IP and publishing expertise.

Takeshi Natsuno, CEO of KADOKAWA CORPORATION

KADOKAWA has been jointly working on game development with leading game studios within and outside Japan to utilize IP in its mobile business. Through our partnership with VIC GAME STUDIOS, which excels in fusing top-notch visual presentation akin to animated movies with engaging gaming experiences, and distributing the products globally, we aim to grow our IP game business while striving to achieve synergy.

Company profile

About VIC GAME STUDIOS

VIC GAME STUDIOS is a game company founded in October 2020 in South Korea. The company aims to offer users games that not only deliver the thrill of gameplay, but also evoke emotions, achieved through the development of top-notch graphics akin to animated movies and next-generation mobile RPGs. Upon the establishment of the Japanese branch in July 2022, it commenced the full-scale distribution of the games in the Japanese market, including Black Clover Mobile M: Rise Of The Wizard King.
https://www.vicgamestudios.com/

About KADOKAWA CORPORATION

KADOKAWA CORPORATION develops a wide range of entertainment including publication, videos, games, Web services, education, operating IP experiential facilities such as TOKOROZAWA SAKURA TOWN. By utilizing technology, KADOKAWA CORPORATION implements a global media mix strategy, focusing on stable Intellectual Property (IP) creation and delivering it to the world in a variety of forms.
https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/global/

PDF >>(97KB)

Back