DeNA announced the long-anticipated international rollout of its Mobage social gaming network, with launches in China and for “English-speaking countries around the world.” Originally available in Japan, Mobage allows players to interact when playing games, supporting features such as wall posts, direct messages and interest-based forums. For the Chinese market, DeNA has introduced a “localised service for smartphones,” supported by Chinese versions of two of its in-house Android social games for Mobage – Ninja Royale and Aqua Collection. The English release also targets Android users. In a statement, DeNA said that “the service is slated to expand to other territories and mobile platforms soon.”

For the Chinese launch, the two titles available are free to play, and in-app purchases will be offered from the beginning of next month. The company’s rollout for this market includes availability of ten titles by the end of August, including both original DeNA games and content from third parties. DeNA said it intends to offer and iOS Mobage app in China “in the near future.”

For the English launch, the company is working “with the support of exclusive games from the world’s best social and mobile developers.” More than 100 games are already being developed for Mobage, and the company will introduce “a constant stream of socially enabled games, many of which will be debuting on Android for the first time.”

An international rollout of Mobage has been anticipated for some time, with the company earlier this month introducing a sandbox environment for developers to test games with support for social networking features. Among the features offered is a payment API to support in-app purchases.