iQiyi acquires Skymoons for $190 million
Online video giant looks to diversify by bringing in Chinese mobile game studio
Popular online video platform iQiyi has acquired a 100% stake in Chinese mobile game studio Skymoons for 1.27 billion yuan, or $190 million.
An additional $107 million will be added to the total if the studio meets certain benchmarks over the next two years.
iQiyi is a Chinese online video platform similar to YouTube that features a mix of professional and user-submitted content and is widely popular in China. With Skymoons, it will acquire the studio behind various Chinese iOS and Android titles such as Seer Superheroes and Legend of Three Kingdoms.
"We are pleased to welcome Skymoons into the iQiyi family as we further broaden our comprehensive offering of entertainment content across multiple formats," said Dr. Yu Gong, iQiyi CEO. "iQiyi has always been pursuing a diversified monetization model that fully leverages the IP value in our content. We believe Skymoons is a natural extension to our business and will strengthen iQiyi's media platform and our overall ecosystem."
Notably, Skymoons opened a studio in Edinburgh last year, possibly marking the first time a Chinese development studio has invested in the Scottish gaming industry.