Published , by Charles Singletary Jr
Published , by Charles Singletary Jr
A Chinese game development giant is teaming up with The Tetris Company for a historic initiative. Announced today, The Tetris Company has made an agreement with Changyou to develop and publish Tetris titles for mobile devices in China. The first will be Tetris Journey and will launch sometime in 2019 for iOS and Android.
“Tetris has always had a huge fan base in China, which has made our mission to offer innovative, unique Tetris-branded games that mobile gamers there will truly enjoy a key initiative for us,” said Maya Rogers, President and CEO of Blue Planet Software, in the press release for the announcement. “That’s why we’re pleased to be partnering with Changyou, known for designing great games that have the interests and play styles of China’s ever-growing community of mobile players in mind. We’re really excited for them to bring their first title to market starting next year, and can’t wait to see the reaction of the fans.”
Tetris Journey will feature the brand's staples of strategy and puzzle-focused gameplay layered on top of an experience where "players can travel the world with cute characters." Traditional Marathon mode, item contests, tournaments, and multiplayer will be included in this monumental release, which will arrive during Tetris' 35-year anniversary.
Currently, gamers are enjoying Tetris Effect, which is quickly earning GOTY nominations. Tetris Effect earned a nine out of ten from Shacknews' Asif Khan and he considers it the "best iteration of the game franchise since the New Tetris on Nintendo 64" in his review.
“Tetris is so popular for people around the world, and we are very pleased to have established this strategic partnership with The Tetris Company,” said Jie Liu, Senior Vice President of Changyou. “Changyou is the first China-based, online game company being recognized and granted the sole license for Tetris games in China, and we are very excited to bring this leading brand with our new design into the market.”
Changyou has launched MMOs like Dragon Oath and Blade Wars in the Chinese market. The company has a major opportunity ahead of them and will be instrumental in bringing a legendary gaming franchise to a new market. Stay tuned to Shacknews for additional updates.