● US-based game developer Kong Studios closed a 62M USD Series B round, instantly becoming a ‘unicorn’ valued at 1B USD.
● The new investment will primarily be used to develop their next game title, expand its core business strengths, and lay the foundation for Kong Studios to grow into a global game developer.

US-based game developer Kong Studios has succeeded in raising series B investment of 62M USD. Kong Studios has earned a ‘unicorn’ status through this round, with valuation held at 1B USD.

Guardian Tales, a mobile adventure RPG game developed by Kong Studios, is well-polished and has a solid storyline with charming graphics. Since its global grand launch in North America, Korea and Europe in late July 2020, Guardian Tales has provided game services that have received exceptional reviews from global users. It successfully entered the Chinese market in April of this year and has reached 216M USD in accumulated global revenue and 25 million accumulated downloads, showing a steady and solid growth.

Aiming to launch Guardian Tales services in Japan in October of this year, Kong Studios ran a closed beta test (CBT) last August in efforts to enter into and eventually lead the Japanese game market. In addition to developing games, Kong Studios is expanding its role by self-publishing in Japan, and is planning to pursue diverse business opportunities, including IP based projects. The company is also preparing to release a global Nintendo Switch version of Guardian Tales.

“This investment has confirmed Kong Studios’ ability to grow into a global game developer,” said an official from Kong Studios. “We are planning to use the investment funds to employ key personnel, develop AAA game titles, and strategically incorporate IP related projects.”

NV, USA - Guardian Tales, a mobile game developed by US-based game developer Kong Studios, is ready to enter the Japanese market.

Kong Studios is starting to provide Guardian Tales services via self-publishing through its subsidiary Kong Studios Japan. This is Kong Studios' first attempt to self-publish Guardian Tales. This is meaningful as Kong Studios can gain stable sales in Japan, a major IP country and the largest market in Asia excluding China, and seek out many different business opportunities such as IP expansion and related businesses.

To ensure high-quality localization, Kong Studios made some changes to the illustrations, reflecting Japanese users' tastes, and cast famous Japanese voice actors and actresses to enhance the story experience and make the game more complete. Furthermore, a high-quality translation into Japanese can help users get more immersed in the game.

Kong Studios has entered into a partnership with global game company Yostar to ensure smooth service operation in Japan and is now fully set up to provide successful service. The company is planning to manage various game operations jointly with Yostar, including local marketing, CS, and events for users. Kong Studios takes its first step into self-publishing by running a closed beta test (CBT) from August 24th to 31st.

"We've made a lot of preparations for the Guardian Tales services to be launched in Japan via Kong Studios' self-publishing," said an official from Kong Studios. "We are sure this game will be popular in Japan, too, like it has consistently been in Korea and other countries and regions such as North America and China."

Since its grand opening in July of last year, Kong Studios' Guardian Tales has made the following achievements based on its solid storyline, charming graphics, and level of overall polish.

● 10 million downloads and more than $100M USD in accumulated revenue (as of late February 2021)

● $5.53M USD in sales on the first day of its release in China when released through Bilibili in April 2021 under the title 'The Journey of the Princess and Guardian Knight of Kanterbury: Waking Up the Champion's Sword.'

US based game developer Kong Studios announced that its mobile game Guardian Tales has surpassed $100M USD accumulated revenue & 10 million downloads just within 7 months of the official global (excluding China and Japan) release in late July 2020.

Guardian Tales was one of the most anticipated games of 2020 due to the solid storyline, charming graphics, and immersive gameplay it provided, all of which lead to more than 1 million pre-registered users before the global launch. Based on this popularity and anticipation, Guardian Tales succeeded in pulling in these exceptional numbers within a short period of time.

Guardian Tales continued this momentum in China, earning $5.53M USD on the first day of release. Upon receiving a license number issued to foreign games in China in February of this year, Kong Studios released Guardian Tales through BiliBili on April 27, 2021, under the title: ‘The Journey of the Princess and Guardian Knight of Kanterbury: Waking Up the Champion’s Sword.

The charts (for iOS) ranked Guardian Tales as #3 in revenue, and #1 for free downloads, a very promising indicator in the Chinese market.

Kong Studios is planning to release the commercial mobile version of Guardian Tales in Japan, as well as the global release of the Nintendo Switch version, in the second half of this year. For Japan, Kong Studios will be self-publishing Guardian Tales, a first for the company. Game development, localization, and operation will all be done in-house.

Guardian Tales, released globally in July 2020, is a mobile fantasy game revolving around the adventures of guardians to save the kingdom. It has a huge following due to retro style dot-graphics, immersive & absorbing storyline, quirky humor, and engaging gameplay.

Season 1 will come to an end with the soon to be released Chapter 11.
However, it is just the beginning of the adventure for the Guardians and Little Princess!
The journey to seek the Champion Sword continues in Season 2 with a completely new world and progression.

There must be many questions about the direction of the game and the whereabouts of the Heroes. Celebrating New Years, the Developers of Guardian Tales have created a first half year roadmap to inform our Guardians.
Note that besides the 7 steps development plan that runs up to this summer, we are preparing numerous updates that reflect our Guardians’ feedback!

Without further ado, let’s talk about what we have to share.

※ Keep in mind that the following content are rough drafts; details and images can be changed in the actual update. Also, please note the dates mentioned are for the Korean server and global release dates may differ.

*Release months based on Korean server releases.

The date and contents in the development roadmap are long-term development plans, so they can be changed based on our development environment. We are also coming up with numerous updates based on our Guardians’ feedback that are not in this development roadmap!

Finally, a sneak peak of when Season 2 will start.
The development team is already in progress to create the first chapter of Season 2.
A refreshing gameplay that will be completely different from Season 1 will be revealed!
The first world of Season 2 will be revealed around mid-April.

We will always try our best to provide joy to our Guardians.

Thank you for the continuous love and support for Guardian Tales!

[Data Source: guardiantales.com]
https://guardiantales.com/news/78

After 5 months of soft launching in select countries for testing and improving the quality of the game, Guardian Tales is now ready for Launch! As of July 28th, 2020, Guardian Tales is available worldwide on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Along with the Global Launch, everyone will get to start off with extra rewards thanks to the pre-registration milestone event that was successful in collecting more than 1 Million pre-registrations! If you log into the game before the end of the day on August 27th, you will receive a special costume for your knight hero along with a ton of other stuff that will help you on your adventure in Guardian Tales.

[Data Source: guardiantales.com]
https://guardiantales.com/news/18

Thanks to your amazing support and efforts, we’ve reached over 1,000,000 pre-registrations! We hope you’re as excited as we are for the Guardian Tales Global Launch! If you haven’t already, be sure to tell all your friends so that they can claim the pre-registration rewards that you’ve unlocked in-game

[PRE-REGISTRATION REWARDS]

■ Exclusive Gift

- Royal Knight Costume (Male)

- Knight of Rose Costume (Female)

■100,000 Milestone (COMPLETE)

- 3★ Copper Sword

■ 300,000 Milestone (COMPLETE)

- EXP x100,000

■500,00 Milestone (COMPLETE)

- Star Piece x5

■ 700,000 Milestone (COMPLETE)

- Hero Crystal x20

■ 1,000,000 Milestone (COMPLETE)

- Knight Evolution Stone x120

All pre-registration rewards will automatically be sent to your in-game mailbox with our Global Launch. You will have until August 27th to log in and claim your rewards.!

[Data Source: guardiantales.com]

https://guardiantales.com/news/15

Players from all over the world will soon be able to join the epic adventure at the end of July!

Guardian Tales is currently available in selected countries as a soft launch (Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Argentina, New Zealand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia) to test out the game contents and find technical issues. Numerous updates and improvements have already been made throughout the soft launch period thanks to the growing number of Guardians providing us with data and feedback. Now, we are ready to expand and share this adventure with the rest of the world!

Starting now, you can pre-register for Guardian Tales from our website. You are also welcomed to pre-register from the Google Play Store as well here. The Apple App Store Pre-Order is currently not available at this time, so players wanting to play on an iPhone or iPad, please pre-register from our website and download Guardian Tales when it is released at the end of July 2020.

There is also a Pre-Registration Milestone Event for everyone. Just by pre-registering, you will get an EXCLUSIVE costume for your Knight! Also, the more players that pre-register, the better the rewards get! Be sure to share and invite all of your friends to pre-register and join you on your journey. We are all in this together and invite everyone to pre-register and get the rewards to have a fantastic start to your new adventure.

[Data Source: guardiantales.com]

https://guardiantales.com/news/5

Starting today, in the ramp-up to a global launch, Guardian Tales is now available in Argentina, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and New Zealand.

The newly added regions are paving the way for the global launch of the game. After being playable in Canada since April, the feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Numerous updates have already been made and more are currently in progress to incorporate the feedback received from Canadian players. Min Kim, [CEO] at Kakao Games Europe B.V. said the following of the reception so far:

 “We are thrilled to see Canadian players enjoying Guardian Tales this much.  We truly want to thank Guardian Tales fans and the community for playing and  providing the feedback we need in order to keep improving the game.  So far, from what we’ve seen during the soft launch,  we are very excited about the global launch this summer.”

To facilitate the users from the newly released countries, servers have been set up in Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. This is in preparation for the global launch that is currently planned for the summer. A more exact date will be shared at a later date.

[Data Source: guardiantales.com] https://guardiantales.com/news/4

Kakao Games in association with Glohow brings Guardian Tales, a new pixel RPG, with a soft-launch in Malaysia and the Philippines! Developed by Kong Studios, the Facebook page promises 50 over heroes you can collect in the game. More territories will open at a later date.

The features of the game are given on its Google Play Store page as follows:

■ ADVENTURE RPG

- Challenge yourself and test your wits with mischievous puzzles through your journey. Leave no stone unturned! Secret path and treasure could be hiding anywhere. Can you uncover them all?

■ BOSS BATTLES

- Do you miss the feeling of boss battles in retro gaming? Control and utilize the guardians’ combo skills with your fingers. Find a secret trick to end the fight! Some bosses can be pretty tricky to beat.

■ BUILD YOUR SQUAD

- Over 40 unique pixelated characters are waiting to join your journey. More than 800 pieces of equipment to collect. Forget that the guardian will hold only a sword & shield.

■ TAKE A BREAK IN FLOATING ISLAND

- Customize and decorate a heavenly place for your guardians to take a rest after a long journey. Collect rewards from your guardians, it is a thank you gift from them!

■ FIFTY PARODIES OF CLASSIC

- Are you an easter eggs hunter? There are fifty parodies of classic story for you to discover.

■ MUCH MORE FUN!!

• Guild: It’s dangerous to go alone. Let’s unite and fight with friends!

• PVP: Show your skill and prove your strength against other guardians in real-time.

• Special Dungeons: Various types of dungeons! Fight your way through every form of challenge.

[Data Source: guardiantales.com]

https://www.gamerbraves.com/guardian-tales-soft-launch-in-malaysia-and-philippines/

LOS ANGELES, CA- May 16- GAMEVIL and Cartoon Network have partnered to introduce the latest Dungeon Link cross-over, Dungeon Link: Adventure Time. Using easy-to-learn puzzle mechanics, Dungeon Link will let players connect colored tile blocks together while using several memorable characters from Adventure Time. Launching today, Dungeon Link will give players access to new themed areas and heroes while continuing on an epic quest to save both Katerbury and the Land of Ooo. Details include:

New Adventure Time Heroes: Players will be able to summon over 20 new Adventure Time characters to assist them. Discover the marvel of each character and how they fit in your team.

Three Unique Episodes: Enjoy three new and exciting Adventure Time scenarios to play through. Each episode will take you on epic journey as you travel with Finn and friends while battling against new and familiar enemies. Episode one: Ice Kingdom will have players uncover the whereabouts of the missing Ice King. In episode two, players must travel through the Ancient Heroes Temple. Finally, in episode three, our heroes will face off against the wicked Andras, the Demon God!

Unique Character Abilities: Dungeon Link's heroes have access to powerful abilities, and the Adventure Time cast is no different. Each character can perform special abilities, such as the ability Jake Hammer which has Jake smashing all enemies with his giant fist and has a chance to stun all targets.

New Tree Fort: Players will use Finn's famous Tree Fort as new base of operations while travelling across the Land of Ooo.

Published and serviced worldwide by GAMEVIL USA, the collaboration with Cartoon Network continues to expand mobile gaming into the many different mediums of entertainment and media.

Dungeon Link: Adventure Time is now available to download via Google Play and App Store.

[Press Release: GAMEVIL USA]

https://us.gamevil.com/company/press/6106

LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 21, 2015 – Link your way to victory in Dungeon Link, a new puzzle game available on App Store and Google Play today. Developed by KONG STUDIOS in San Jose, CA, Dungeon Link combines RPG features like battles, teams, and a story with block-connecting puzzles for an original puzzle RPG.

Dungeon Link takes place in the whimsical world of Kanterbury, where the Demon King has caused disorder and chaos – and it is now up to a team of heroes to journey through dungeons, solve the mystery, and restore peace. Throughout the game, players can recruit and summon over 200 heroes to create a party of five with diverse attacking and healing abilities. Using all team members, players will link color-coded blocks to strike their enemies and clear each stage.

Players can participate in boss raids and daily dungeons, challenge others to PvP games, and chat with friends in the game. They can also complete daily quests and long-term achievements to receive additional rewards.

Won Sok and Jee Lee, co-founders of KONG STUDIOS, met in 2008 as graduate students at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Five years later, they created their studio and began the development of Dungeon Link. Published by GAMEVIL USA, Dungeon Link is KONG STUDIOS' first title to be released on App Store and Google Play.

[Press Release: GAMEVIL USA]

https://us.gamevil.com/company/press/6068