China's ChangYou ends a record fiscal year

Chinese online game developer and operator Changyou reported record results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year (ending December 31), as sales from its games during 2011 surged to $435.5 million. ChangYou is among the top five Chinese online game companies that helped contribute to a rapidly expanding market that generated over $5 billion dollars in 2010. According to figures from Pearl Research, that number is expected to increase to $8 billion by 2014. The company's $484.6 million in revenues for its fiscal 2011 ending December 31 represented a 37 percent increase from 2010. Of that, $435.5 million was attributed specifically to its online game business. Profits were reported at $248 million, up 27 percent. CEO Tao Wang says that the latest expansion pack to its popular Tian Long Ba Bu MMORPG was a significant factor in the year's success, which also saw a record holiday quarter. It also attributed the year's success to DDTank, the flagship browser-based game from its new 7Road subsidiary, as well as to the recent launch of its internally developed 3D MMORPG The Duke of Mount Deer. The company says it implemented several changes to reflect the diversity of the online games industry in the last year, creating separate teams and roadmaps for its MMOs, web-based games, mobile and social titles, user platforms, and the international market.