Mobile social gaming company Gree is set to close its UK office as part of a restructure, less than two months after it closed its China operation.

According to a widely published statement: “This decision is being considered in order to focus on developing content from the USA for the Western market. Gree has seen significant growth since it was founded in December 2004, but during 2013 the Gree board have found it necessary to re-assess and streamline the global business with a view to consolidating certain functions”.

Gree was also reported to have made cuts in the US operation late in 2012, although this was related to its platform activities rather than its game development operation. Gree acquired, and then closed, mobile social gaming platform OpenFeint.

While the Japan-based company has been investing aggressively to build its business outside of its home market, including through acquisitions, this has obviously not delivered the results it needed to justify continued operation in some markets.

For example, while China is broadly seen as an opportunity for developers, Gree struggled to operate in the market, with its facility there eventually becoming a development centre for other overseas market – before it was closed.

The company also wrote down JPY4 billion ($39.2 million) of assets earlier this year, as it moved to “streamline” its portfolio of titles.