Update 18-09-2014: The article originally stated Animoca sold 70 percent of its interests to Crosby Capital Limited. Animoca has actually sold just the Star Girl franchise’s interests. We have rectified the article and apologize unreservedly for the mistake.
Hong Kong smartphone game developer Animoca, best known for its Star Girl franchise targeted at girls, has sold 70 percent of its interests in the game to the publicly-listed Crosby Capital Limited, an independent asset management and strategic investment company. Animoca will continue to service the game and improve on it, operating as a 30 percent shareholder of the joint venture company.
Crosby Capital has been investing in internet-related sectors as part of its aim to build an “integrated O2O (online to offline) business ecology in the entertainment and lifestyle sector”. It is expected to bring China connections and broad industry expertise to the game.
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Animoca is a subsidiary of Outblaze Ventures Holdings Limited, and has in just four years of operations, developed a portfolio of over 400 apps and mobile games that have achieved more than 220 million downloads. According to Pocketgamer, this puts it in the top 50 of mobile game developers worldwide for 2013.
Star Girl has contributed much to the company’s growth. Available on iOS and Android, this fashion RPG has players striving to become celebrity singers, models, or actresses. The first Star Girl game launched in November 2012, and has since grown to include spin-offs with various themes, as well as an MMORPG called Star Girl: Beauty Queen. It also includes an artificially intelligent chat system called Star Chat.
Kelvin Wu, CEO of Crosby, said that he believes the acquisition will help the Crosby group tap into the “expanding yet under-exploited” market of female gamers.
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