Qihoo 360 partners with Goodgame Studios to bring Empire: Four Kingdoms to China

German-based developer Goodgame Studios announced last week that it will be the first European company to partner with Chinese software company Qihoo 360.

Qihoo is famous for its antivirus software 360 Safeguard and Mobilesafe, but in recent years has expanded its reach into app publishing via its mobile app store.

(See: DeNA partners with Qihoo 360 to push Mobage further in China)

Qihoo’s app store is a strong player in China’s fragmented Android marketplace making it a desirable partner for anyone wanting to crack China’s notoriously difficult-but-lucrative game’s market. In the words of Goodgame Studios’ Chief Sales Officer Patrick Abrar, “Qihoo is a giant among the app stores in China, which is why this partnership is such a big milestone for our expansion in Asia.”

Goodgames Studios has over 200 million registered users and has a track record of making profit generating free-to-play games. The first game to be localised and brought over to China will be Empire: Four Kingdoms, (Empire) a free-to-play social strategy game in a medieval Europe setting.

Qihoo’s interest in Empire and Goodgames studios is well founded: Empire has been downloaded an estimated 24 million times on iOS and Android combined, and its PC counterpart Goodgame Empire boasts an astonishing 63 million players.

Social MMOs are hot property in China, and Empire certainly fits the bill. It’s an excellent casual game that manages to avoid the sit-and-wait mechanics that so often haunt the genre. I played solidly for several hours without ever having nothing to do. That is a success.

(See: Clash of Clans is a big hit in China despite an in-app payment disaster)

The real challenge for Goodgames is going to be whether or not it can localise the game successfully. When I spoke to Goodgame it assured me it intended to keep the European art and style of Empire which could present more difficulties than expected. China is filled with similar games designed specifically to cater to Chinese audiences, their tastes, and their culture.