E-Games merges with Level Up! to create online gaming giant

MANILA, Philippines -IP E-Game Ventures Inc. and rival firm Level Up! are merging their online game publishing businesses, a move that will allow them to corner the lion’s share of the local online gaming market.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange yesterday, E-Games said it forged an agreement to transfer its game publishing titles and assets to Level Up! The publishing operations of said titles will be merged with Level Up’s associated online game publishing company, Playweb Games Inc.

In exchange, E-Games will receive equity in Level Up!, a commercial interest in Playweb Games and cash.

The merged entity and its associated company, Playweb Games, will have the widest gaming prepaid cards and PIN distribution network, offering a portfolio of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as Cabal, Audition, Pointblank, Ragnarok, Grand Chase, Rohan and newly launched Bounty Hounds.

“The merger is expected to strategically benefit both companies as a result of future operational synergies and savings,” E-Games said.

E-Games, the first listed online gaming company in the Philippines spearheaded the free-to-play game model and has over 15.9 million registered gamers and an average of 3.5 million active users per month. It is aggressively expanding its Internet café network through acquisitions (Netopia and CyBr cafes) and franchising and will incorporate other services such as food and beverage and remittance services.

Recently, E-Games also acquired the rights to operate and sell advertisements for the NBA.com Philippine portal. It is currently developing game enhancement technologies between its Internet cafes and online games titles and is eager to extend these synergies with Level Up’s online games.

Level Up! pioneered the online game business in the Philippines. Its parent company, Level Up! International Holdings, has a subsidiary in Brazil which likewise pioneered and leads the online game publishing business there. Aside from its presence in the Philippines and Brazil, LUIH also has a joint venture in the United States with an established Korean developer.