NetDragon Websoft

NetDragon Websoft is a Chinese company that develops and operates massively multiplayer online games in addition to making mobile applications.[1] The company debuted its first product in 2002.[1]

NetDragon Websoft
SEHK: 777
Genremassively multiplayer online games[1]
FoundedMay 1999 (1999-05)[1]
Headquarters
Fuzhou[2]
,
China
Number of employees
3300 (in 2014) [3]
SubsidiariesJumpStart Games
Websitehttp://ir.netdragon.com/
NetDragon Websoft
Simplified Chinese福建网龙计算机网络信息技术有限公司
Literal meaningNetDragon (Fujian) Computer Network Information Technology Co Ltd

Some self-developed games it operates in China are based on Western IP, such as properties of Disney, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.[4] Other games based on its own IP are distributed in CIS nations, the Middle East, North Africa, Portugal, Russia, and Vietnam, etc.[5] Some games are also available in English.

Prior to selling this side of the business to Baidu, the company created a mobile phone app store stocked with self-created games and applications. NetDragon had differentiated itself by eschewing selling apps through the distribution channels of others, instead creating its own;[6] in essence making consumers download a separate app to download their apps, allowing them exposure to other Netdragon offerings in the process.

The company headquarters, completed in 2014, garnered media attention for being inspired by Star Trek.[7]

Education

NetDragon Websoft started getting involved in education[8] in 2010 with the aims to develop "the largest learning community globally."[9]

NetDragon has made several acquisitions regarding education and community, amongst which are included:

  • A partnership with the University of North Texas to launch the UNT-NetDragon Digital Research Centre.[10]
  • Edmodo was acquired by NetDragon on April 8, 2018.[11]
  • On July 3, 2017, NetDragon announced that it had acquired American educational software publisher JumpStart Games.[12]
  • NetDragon also acquired a 100 percent stake in the UK-listed Promethean Limited back in 2015.[13]

Sale of 91 Wireless

NetDragon sold its app store, 91 Wireless, to Baidu in 2013 for $1.85 billion. At that time, the sale was hailed as the biggest deal ever in China's IT sector.[14] As the company controlled less than 58% of 91 Wireless, Netdragon took an estimated $1.06 billion from the sale.[15]

The mobile applications available through this store, many of which are "91" branded, are quite disparate and include more than mobile games – running the gamut from fortune telling to wealth management.[16]

CSR

The company sponsors the Fujian NetDragon Youth Business Foundation, which helps entrepreneurial youth to start a small business.[17]

See also

References
  1. "Company Overview". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  2. "FAQ". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  3. "FAQ". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  4. For games based on Electronic Arts IP, see both "NetDragon Enters into Agreement with EA to Develop New Online Game -- Dungeon Keeper Online". Electronic Arts. December 1, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2012. AND Alexander, Leigh (July 23, 2009). "EA, NetDragon Partner On Chinese Ultima Online". gamasutra.com. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  5. For Middle East and North Africa, see "NetDragon Sets the Bar for Arabic-language Region's Online Gaming Market." China Weekly News. NewsRX. 2011. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
    • For Russia and CIS nations, see "NetDragon's 'Eudemons Online' Headed for Russia." China Weekly News. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
    • For Indonesia, Malaysia, and Portugal, see "NetDragon Launches English Expansion Pack for Eudemons Online - 'The Divine Path'." Science Letter. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
  6. "NetDragon Websoft : mobile gaming is booming". L’Atelier. L’Atelier BNP Paribas. November 26, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. "Chinese Firm's Headquarters Shaped Like 'Star Trek's' Enterprise". Wall Street Journal. 2015-05-25. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  8. "Technology Enhanced Learning".
  9. "NetDragon Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2017 Financial Results". March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  10. "UNT launches NetDragon Digital Research Centre". May 15, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  11. "NetDragon Signs Agreement to Acquire Edmodo to Create the Largest Global Learning Community" (Press release). April 8, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  12. "NetDragon Acquires JumpStart to Expand Its Online Communities" (Press release). July 3, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  13. "China's NetDragon completes Promethean acquisition". Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  14. Paul Carsten (14 August 2013). "Baidu says agrees to buy Netdragon's 91 Wireless for $1.85 billion". Reuters.
  15. "NetDragon Signs Merger Pact between Baidu and 91 Wireless." Manufacturing Close-Up. Close-Up Media, Inc. 2013. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
  16. "Netdragon Websoft Inc (0777.HK): Full Description". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  17. "NetDragon Fujian Honored with 2008 'National Outstanding Award for Internet Cultural Enterprise'." Internet Weekly News. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
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