GREE: "going West"
Less than a month after the announcement of the new GREE studio in Vancouver, a Japanese publisher announces the opening of another studio. This time in the heart of the UK, in London.
It was not by chance that this city was chosen as the next springboard for GREE’s expansion into the western market.
Firstly, a certain decline in the traditional gaming segment (in particular, console) has led to the emergence of a large number of startups formed by industry veterans in the UK. GREE, according to industrial analyst Serkan Toto, is going to buy them up. It is much easier to do this from London than from Tokyo.
Secondly, proximity to the Western market will allow the company to be, as they say, “closer to the body“, which means more sensitively tracking the latest trends.
“We will be able to focus on Western content, which is the key to many local social trends,” comments the opening of the studio, already executive director of GREE in the UK, Ryotaro Shima.
A full-service studio, which currently employs only 20 people, as you might guess, will develop mobile games.