Disney, DeNA to develop social games

Disney and DeNA Co. announced last week the two companies would jointly develop mobile social games.

DeNA is a provider of mobile portal and e-commerce website based in Japan. It owns the Mobage platform, which is a popular cell phone gaming platform in Japan, as well as operating many other e-commerce based services.

DeNA and Disney said they will launch two games in Japan based on Disney characters and one on characters from Disney’s Marvel Comics unit, according to media reports.

The two companies may develop additional titles and also plan to work together beyond the social gaming sphere. This month, Disney launched the Facebook game “Marvel: Avengers Alliance,” involving characters from the superhero movie due for release in May.

DeNA, a startup company that launched in 1999, has grown to over 35 million users on its platform in Japan.