Internet technology provider NetEase has paid $120m to acquire a minority stake in UK-headquartered game publisher Kepler Interactive, Reuters reported today.
Founded in 2020, Kepler Interactive runs a video game studio co-owned by independent game developers who hold stakes in the company and who are in leadership roles.
Kepler also operates in Singapore and has a presence in more than 10 countries through seven affiliates including the Canada-based Alpha Channel and Sloclap in France. It focuses on computer and console-based games but is looking to increase its offering to include mobile games and animations.
Alexis Garavaryan, Kepler’s CEO, said: “We have a studio committee, which meets on a weekly basis, they get involved in major company decisions, but they do not get involved in individual studio decisions, so the studios remain independent.
“There are conversations about expansion so we have had talks about bringing an animation studio so that we can adapt some of our properties into animated series.”
