Japanese Gaming Giants DeNA, Level-5 Team Up for Professor Layton Royale

DeNA sent us word today that it was cooperating with fellow Japanese game company Level-5 to form a “comprehensive global business alliance concerning the development of social games,” in particular adapting popular existing titles to a social platform.

The two companies’ first endeavor looks to be a crossover of mammoth proportions. Professor Layton Royale will be an adventure RPG based on the famous Level-5 Professor Layton series (more than 12 million units sold globally) and DeNA’s Royale social game series (Kaito Royale has more than 10 million players). DeNA says that it hopes to “bring together the franchise’s huge combined fan base,” and if successful this should certainly be a fruitful partnership.

At the recent Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing China, DeNA’s Isao Moriyasu explained the companies ambitions to expand into foreign markets. Professor Layton Royale will help them do so, as international versions of the game will follow the Japanese version that launches in the fall.

This news marks a rebound of sorts for the DeNA, who made headlines earlier in the month when they were served with a cease and desist order from the JFTC over an alleged unfair trade practice. Prior to that Tomoko Namba, the company’s CEO, stepped down from that position back on May 25th.

DeNA