In other news GREE, the world’s largest publicly traded social games company, has expanded their footing in the US by opening up a new office in San Francisco. This comes in the wake of news that the company has cleared over one billion dollar in profit this year.
Along with the new office space in San Francisco, GREE will be starting up a new game development studio that for the creation of US mobile games for Android and iOS. If the name GREE seems somewhat familiar, it should. They are the company that bought OpenFeint last year for a reported $104 million dollars.
The GREE global platform for their social games will also be launching this year as well bridging the gap between their Asian members and current US ones as well. On one final note, GREE has a bunch of job opening now with the new office arriving so if you are interested, just hit up the link below and head over to the careers section. For those of you who enjoy the business end of things when it comes to Android gaming, you can check out the full press release below with all the details.
Developer Website: GREE
Burlingame, CA — February 10, 2012— GREE International, Inc. today officially announces plans to move into new offices in San Francisco’s China Basin, home to many of the industry’s leading social mobile gaming companies, as well as top web and social mobile experts. GREE is currently in the middle of extensive hiring for a variety of different positions – including engineering, game production, marketing and art – and will be moving into the 41,000 sq. ft. space this Spring. Housed in China Basin will be the newly-opened game development studio who’s focus is on building high-quality, free-to-play games from the ground up and aimed at the international market.
“We know San Francisco is the best place for us to find the significant industry talent we are searching for, to help us bring a top notch social gaming experience to all of our players. We are thrilled to create this unique and comfortable space to illustrate our commitment to both San Francisco, an international hub of this industry, and our employees,” says Naoki Aoyagi, CEO of GREE International, Inc. “GREE is committed to building the leading global mobile social games ecosystem and reaching our goal of having one billion users. We are confident we can make this happen thanks in part to the games coming out of our North American studio, our amazing partners, and the new GREE Platform.”
The North American studio, being run by Eiji Araki, will ensure that GREE stays on the forefront of game technology by constantly updating and evolving games to meet the needs and expectations of the players. With more than six years of successful mobile social games development experience in Japan, Araki plans to marry his expertise in the free-to-play business model with top Bay Area talent to create industry-leading products for the world. Araki also plans on significantly expanding the game development team. The studio will release several games over the coming months with the first two scheduled for March 2012.
“Our team is hard at work to deliver best-in-class content,” says Eiji Araki, Senior Vice President of Social Games, GREE International, Inc. “Our aim is to constantly change the face of mobile social gaming and we know, without a doubt, that San Francisco is THE city to find the top talent to build unique games from the ground up for the Western Market.”
The new 41,000 sq ft. China Basin office space will feature an ergonomic design concept, featuring a unique gaming focus, a brainstorming lounge for team breakout sessions, and a fully stocked kitchen. In addition to its innovative interior, GREE will be offering its employees a variety of exciting benefits including on-site yoga classes, healthy snack and meal options, and a monthly public transit allowance.
In addition to in-house game development, GREE will continue to focus on building relationships with third party game developers and publishers as they move towards releasing their new global mobile social games platform – called GREE Platform – in Q2 2012. GREE is dedicated to providing the leading mobile social gaming ecosystem for users around the world, by creating high-quality content in collaboration with established global partners.
