Japanese Firm Spike Acquired By Dwango

Officials from mobile game developer and publisher Dwango have announced that the company is to acquire an 80 percent stake in fellow Japanese developer Spike. As a result Spike will be split into two, with the formation of new company Spikey. Developer Spike is well known in their native Japan for series such as Fire Pro Wrestling and Way of the Samurai, as well as the highly successful Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi. The remaining 20 percent of Spike’s stock outside of Dwango’s control will form the new company Spikey, although no further information is available regarding plans for the off shoot company. This represents the second major purchase this year for Dwango, following the purchase of a majority share in developer Chunsoft. The company intends to set-up a holding company to manage both Chunsoft and Spike, with both companies becoming wholly owned subsidiaries. Details of the holding company have not yet been revealed and it is unclear whether either company will retain its name. Dwango is no relation to the now defunct U.S. online games firm of the same name, although the company does operate a North American headquarters in Seattle. In Japan it is one of the country’s leading mobile games publishers, with ties to NEC America, allowing it to import its own titles to the U.S.