GREE has struck up a partnership with anime and manga distributor Crunchyroll and Sumitomo Corportation to publish its games based on anime globally.
The partnership will see GREE continuing to develop games for the Japan market, as well as handling all live ops. Crunchyroll and Sumitomo will handle distribution, localisation, and promotion.
The first game to benefit from this partnership will be Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese, which will be released in early 2018. It has already launched in Japan, where it has secured over three million downloads in its first month.
A waiting audience
The move could be hugely beneficial for GREE, as it will directly target the audience who will most likely play its games. Crunchyroll currently has over 20 million registered users and 1 million premium subscribers to its anime and manga service.
GREE pivoted away from developing for the Western market in July 2017 when it shut down three of its studios and focused entirely on its Japan studio. Its current plan is to develop for the Japan market, and distribute these games globally, rather than attempting to target a global audience.