Chinese dev Linekong invests $20m in US studio

One Hundred Thousand Bad Jokes and Empresses in the Palace creator Linekong Interactive is making a move to America.

The Chinese mobile giant has invested $20 million in opening a new office in California.

Industry vet Roy Liu will serve as GM of the new US division, with 25 employees already appointed for the Burlingame location.

“A lot of Chinese companies are headed to the US in 2015,” Liu told VentureBeat.

“I think it will pause for a while because the game market in Asia has cooled a bit. I do believe they will come to the West and take the business more seriously.”

Liu added that Linekong US would seek out acquisition of Western talent in an effort to take its IP to the global stage.

“The $20 million will be for us to build a team in the Bay Area, but also to work with other partners,” he detailed.

Linekong was created in 2007 and has grown to become one of China’s largest mobile games outlets.

It has also stretched outside of the mobile world, backing Chinese console manufacturer Fuze Entertainment with $60 million in investment last October.