Given the strength of its rivals – PapayaMobile and DeNA making great strides in Asia right now – news that PlayPhone has secured an exclusivity deal with Chinese MMORPG Rebel & Rulers will be seen as a scoop for the platform.

The agreement will see Magic Universe's release – known as Latent Dragon in China, and sporting a userbase of 5 million  – hit PlayPhone's Social Gaming Network for Android before the end of 2011.

Dynasty warrior

The deal was announced back in July, with Magic Universe one of a number of Chinese studios – including China Wireless Arts – to sign up for the platform.

"Rebels & Rulers is a mobile MMO game set in imperial China, featuring martial arts of the Yuan Dynasty," says the developer of the PlayPhone version.

"Real-time battles, awesome details, and memorable characters further infuse this fantastic role-playing game with the spirit of Kung Fu."

Currently only an Android version is being talked about, though PlayPhone's networks extends beyond Google's platform to both iOS and HTML5.