Two game developers, Gameloft from France and GungHo Online Entertainment from Japan, partnered up to “cooperate in the creation and distribution of high quality mobile games as well as in various areas of the digital entertainment industry”.

The pair will work together to publish mobile games in domestic and international markets, capitalising on each others’ “expertise and worldwide presence”.

Gameloft will also publish some of its major titles on Playphone, GungHo’s mobile gaming platform, and the companies will “explore potential collaboration in gaming and related business for further synergies”.

The first stage of the strategic alliance sees GungHo being granted exclusive distribution rights for Gameloft’s upcoming game Disney Magic Kingdoms, which allows players to build a virtual theme park.

GungHo, which created games like Puzzle & Dragons and the Princess Punt series which have been downloaded more than 6 million times, worked with Gameloft to create a version of Disney Magic Kingdoms “that will reach the renowned high expectations of Japanese players”.

GungHo president and CEO Kazuki Morishita said: “Disney Magic Kingdoms is our first project together, and we believe a positive chemistry is happening between the expertise we have built over the years and the acclaimed development prowess of Gameloft.”

“We expect this alliance to boost GungHo’s ability to thrill the audience in Japan and overseas,” he added.