Following a similar move from rival GREE with Japanese developer Cave, DeNA has announced it's establishing a joint venture with publisher Namco Bandai.

To be called BDNA Inc, and combining Namco Bandai's game expertise and DeNA social experience, it will be focused on developing social smartphone games and entertainment for players worldwide.

Initial capitalization will be 100 million yen (around $1.3 million) and be funded 75 percent by Namco and 25 percent by DeNA. Operations will start on October 1.

Come together

Based in Tokyo, BDNA will be headed by Namco Bandai's executive vice president Shin Unozawa, while its board will consist of Namco Bandai's Hirotaka Reizei and Hideyuki Okabayashi, and DeNA's Isao Moriyasu and Keigo Watanabe

The two companies already have an existing relationship with the jointly developed Gundam Royale having over 3 million players on DeNA's Mobage platform.

[source: DeNA]