IP E-Games unit inks deal for online sports game

MANILA, Philippines - IP E-Game Ventures Inc. said its unit X-Play Online Games Inc. has signed an exclusive local publishing agreement with Take-Two International SA for an online sports game.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, IP E-Games said the online game will be locally hosted and operated in the Philippines.

Take-Two International is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., a major American publisher, developer and distributor of video games and video game peripherals.

Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive wholly owns 2K Games and Rockstar Games. It has developed and published many notable games including its most famous series Grand Theft Auto series, the Midnight Club racing series, the Manhunt series and more recently, BioShock.

IP E-Games said details of the online sports game will be announced at a later date.

In October, IP E-Games inked a license and distribution agreement with Blizzard Entertainment International, the developer of blockbuster computer games Starcraft and Diablo.

Established in 1994, Blizzard is the premier developer and publisher of entertainment software, garnering several consecutive Games of the Year awards. It is a division of Cooperative Activision Blizzard International U.A. based in the Netherlands.

Under the agreement, IP E-Games will have the exclusive right to market, sell and distribute Blizzard’s boxed license products in the Philippines.

Blizzard’s track record of back-to-back number one selling games spans more than a decade. Its online game service, Battle.net, is one of the largest in the world with millions of active users.

Headed by businessman Enrique Gonzalez, IP E-Games is ranked as the leading online games publisher in the Philippines and holds top MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) titles such as RAN Online, Cabal Online, and Presidential Award recipient Korean Game, Granado Espada. Other games include high-fantasy MMORPG Runes of Magic, and Korean adventure games such as Dragonica and Nostale Online.