It’s no secret that DeNA’s self-developed hit social game Kaitou Royal is the company’s main money maker. Now DeNA is planning to further monetize the Mobage title by turning it into a serialized manga and novel.
DeNA has already started publishing the digital versions of the comic and the novel on Everystar, a mobile community (Everystar users have to pay in order to access the content). The site is run by a company called EVERYSTAR Co., Ltd. (a 100% DeNA subsidiary).
DeNA sold the right for the printed versions for Kaitou Royal to publishing company Shueisha, which will start offering them next week (Rakuten Books link, $12).
Turning the game into a manga/novel is a pretty clever move, as one of the main selling points of Kaitou Royale is that it’s a pretty “character” and “story”-driven title (Mobage players need to choose a special character with a specific personality and background before starting the game).
Here’s the cover of the Kaitou Royal novel:
