Bandai Namco has partnered with Japan-based internet marketing and games developer Drecom to launch a new studio focused on developing HTML5 browser games for mobile.
As reported by Crunchyroll, the new company, called BXD, will use Drecom's mobile expertise in conjunction with Bandai Namco's IPs. It has been granted $2.1 million to get started on development.
Bandai Namco holds a controlling interest of 51% in the company while Drecom holds the remaining 49% of shares.
Bandai Namco General Manager of app development, Kouji Tezuka, will act as president for the new studio.
Best of both worlds
BXD will be developing free-to-play mobile browser games, as well as publishing third-party titles. Games based on Dragon Ball Z, R.B.I. Baseball and The Idolmaster are currently in development with a planned spring 2018 release.
The Dragon Ball Z brand has already found success on mobile through Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle. The game has surpassed 150 million downloads in two years and stormed to the top of the US grossing charts in April 2017 thanks to an in-game event.