TA, Qiming, Ignition invest in Chinese online game developer

Founded in 2008, Forgame operates two game development brands, Feiyin and Jeiyou, and a publishing platform, Weidong. The company has a portfolio of 38 cloud-based multiplayer online games, including Ming Dynasty, Soul Guardians and Legend of Chaos. These titles were released through Weidong and via 100 other platforms under a joint-publishing model. 

The company has also published more than 50 third-party licensed games, such as Re Xue San Guo and The Heroic Expedition.

As of June 2012, Guangzhou-headquartered Forgame's publishing platform had more than 100 million registered users. Many participate under the "freemium" model whereby they play all the games for free but purchase in-game virtual goods and privileges.

"With a diversified revenue stream, proven content development capabilities and a comprehensive game distribution network, Forgame has achieved significant growth since its founding," said Jason Tan, China director at TA Associates Asia Pacific. "Given its robust product pipeline across multiple game categories, we anticipate continued strong performance by Forgame."

Tan and Edward F. Sippel, a managing principal at TA, will join the Forgame board.

"We continue to see a favorable shift to browser-based, freemium games, with revenue from virtual goods sales expected to grow significantly," said Hans Tung, managing partner at Qiming, who will also join the Forgame board.

Tung added that the free-to-pay model, which doesn't involve the purchase of an expensive game console, is particularly suited to China, South Korea and continental Europe, which have historically been limited console markets.

O'Melveny & Myers provided legal counsel to TA, Qiming and Ignition, while Jingtian Gongcheng worked with Forgame.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
• Technology
• Expansion
• TMT
• China
• Growth capital
• Venture
• TA Associates
• Qiming Venture Partners