Game Engine Developer Unity Forms New JV for China
Game engine developer Unity announced on August 9 that it has entered into an agreement with leading partners to form a new regional joint venture called Unity China. The entity will unlock new opportunities to partner with local companies and increase R&D investment to better serve the needs of the Chinese creator community.
Unity’s game engine can be used to create both three-dimensional and two-dimensional games. Through WebGL, Unity developers can add their games to compatible web browsers with no plug-ins required for players. The engine has also been adopted by industries outside video gaming, such as architecture and animation.
Unity’s China-based Create Solutions and Gaming Services businesses will be transferred into Unity China, in which local partners including Alibaba, China Mobile, game developer G-Bits and miHoYo, OPPO, PCI, and Douyin Group will invest at a post-money valuation of $1 billion.
Partners participating in the investment will support Unity’s growth in a number of ways – increasing the adoption of Unity’s gaming solutions, helping Unity access new industries, and providing marketing support for the company’s products and services. Unity Ads will not be a part of this joint venture and will continue to be managed by Unity’s global team.
In the short term, Unity China will start building locally customized versions of its core products for game developers, including the Chinese version of its flagship Unity Editor. Unity China will also become the exclusive distributor of Unity’s global products and services in China.
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Unity will retain majority ownership and control of Unity China, which will operate solely within Greater China and will be overseen by a board of directors composed of Unity executives and major investors. The joint venture will be led by Unity’s current General Manager for Greater China, Zhang Junbo, who will assume the role of President and CEO of Unity China, and will begin serving local customers and creators later this month.
