Video game publisher THQ Inc. formed a joint venture with an operator of online games in China to distribute a free multiplayer game. The move comes just weeks after the Agoura Hills-based company opened an office in Shanghai to expand its partnerships in China for development and distribution of online and packaged games and announcing it will offer a free online version of “Company of Heroes” for the Asian market for release later in the year. The joint venture will combine THQ’s product development and retail publishing expertise with ICE Entertainment’s online operating experience to create a new platform for online games in the North American market. The first offering of the joint venture is “Dragonica,” a free-to-play, multiplayer online casual game scheduled for release in North America in 2009. Online casual gaming is an untapped market, Doug Clemmer, president of THQ’s casual gaming subsidiary, said. According to DFC Intelligence, the online casual gaming in market in North America is estimated at $2.2 billion by 2013.
