Civilization series creator, Firaxis Games, and XLGAMES have been lending their respective expertise and vision to developing Civilization Online. Mr. Song is highly regarded for his integral role in creating the popular Korean MMORPG, Lineage, which has attracted 43 million players. For this project, he is leading a team of more than 100 people in Seoul, making it one of the most ambitious online game development initiatives taking place in South Korea.

“Making our intellectual property available to delight consumers wherever they are is an important component of our long-term growth strategy,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two. “Our online and mobile social projects in Asia are enabling Take-Two to further broaden its global footprint and captivate audiences across a myriad of screens, platforms and business models.  If successful, these projects will enhance our core business with revenue and profit streams that are higher margin and more stable over time.”   

“Over the last four years, we have been focused on creating an ambitious portfolio of online and social games with some of the most revered companies in Asia such as Tencent in China, Nexon Korea Corporation and XLGAMES in Korea, GREE and CyberAgent in Japan,” added Hubert Larenaudie, president of Take-Two Asia. “The consumer response for NBA 2K All Stars and NBA 2K Online has been very encouraging. With the upcoming releases of Pro Baseball 2K and Civilization Online, Take-Two is uniquely positioned to delight gamers throughout Asia.“

“2K is committed to supporting the growing Asian market by bringing our best IP and strongest franchises to the most popular online platforms in each territory,” concluded David Ismailer, chief operating officer of 2K, a wholly owned label of Take-Two. “Civilization Online is an example of how 2K can leverage its successful franchises, beyond sports, to create entirely new experiences in genres that resonate with customers in this region.”