dotGEARS, the Vietnam-based studio behind global mega hit Flappy Bird, signed a deal with OBOKAIDEM, a game brand operated by Tokyo-based Media Kobo (3815).
The announcement was made public last Friday (but has flown under the radar of English-language game media so far).
Launched just last year, OBOKAIDEM has released several apps aimed at the Japanese and global market since, i.e. arcade game Pick-Xell (TouchArcade review).
Details are scarce at this point, but the agreement is focused on joint smartphone game development, with OBOKAIDEM saying it will be dotGEARS’ exclusive partner for the time being.
This is remarkable, as especially after closing Flappy Bird, the Vietnamese developer was bombarded with business offers from game companies all over the world. Mastermind Dong Nguyen rejected all offers and went quiet on Twitter (two posts between August 2014 and December 2015), but OBOKAIDEM has apparently found a way in.
The first co-developed app is tentatively titled “N Project” and scheduled for global release this year (according to dotGears’ Facebook page, it will be a Ninja-themed game).
Here is a first, very early screenshot:
