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Gree (Japanese company)
Japanese Internet media company

GREE Holdings, Inc. (グリーホールディングス株式会社, Gurī Hōrudingusu Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese social media and video game company with headquarters in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Tokyo. It has been operating the social network service GREE since its establishment in December 2004.

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Etymology

The company name GREE comes from a hypothesis, Six Degrees of Separation postulated by social psychologist Stanley Milgram in 1967. "Six degrees of separation" is a hypothesis that everyone is approximately six steps away from any other person on Earth. If a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements are made, on average, any two people in the world can be connected in six steps or fewer. The name symbolizes GREE's hope to "create and provide any new possibilities of the Internet" and to "create new forms of fun, convenience, and excitement."2

History

  • Feb. 2004: Release of GREE alpha to the public by Yoshikazu Tanaka as a personal hobby
  • Mar. 2004: Exceeds 10,000 users
  • Dec. 2004: Established GREE, Inc.
  • Nov. 2006: Launches EZ GREE (now au one GREE) as a KDDI Mobile official service
  • Feb. 2007: Launches GREE as a NTT Docomo official service
  • Mar. 2007: Exceeds 1 million users
  • Aug. 2007: Launches GREE as a Softbank official service
  • Dec. 2008: Listed on the Market of the High-Growth and Emerging Stocks
  • Apr. 2009: Exceeds 10 million users
  • Jun. 2010: Exceeds 20 million users
  • Jun. 2010: Listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
  • Jun. 2010: Release of third-party applications on "GREE Platform"
  • Jul. 2010: Relocates Company headquarters to Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo
  • Nov. 2010: Announcement of investment in Project Goth, Inc.
  • Dec. 2010: Launches "GREE Platform for smartphone"
  • Dec. 2010: Exceeds 23.8 million users
  • Jan. 2011: Establishment of a subsidiary, GREE International, Inc. in the US
  • Jan. 2011: Acquisition of Atlantis Co., Ltd.
  • Jan. 2011: Announcement of business collaboration with Tencent
  • Apr. 2011: Buys US social mobile gaming platform OpenFeint for $104 million3
  • May 2012: GREE purchased the mobile game developer Funzio for $210 million4

Subsidiaries

GREE Entertainment

GREE Entertainment, Inc., formerly Funplex, is an anime production and video game licensing company. It was formed on July 1, 2021 through a merger of GREE Inc.'s gaming and licensing divisions with Funplex.5

GREE Studios

GREE Studios is a video game development studio founded on November 1, 2024 from a consolidation of WFS and Pokelabo's consumer (console and PC) games business.6

WFS, Inc.

WFS, Inc. (株式会社WFS, Kabushiki-gaisha WFS), formerly Wright Flyer Studios, is a live service game developer and publisher wholly owned by GREE Holdings. It was founded on February 21, 2014 by GREE director Eiji Araki.78

Games developed by WFS
YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2014Shoumetsu ToshiiOS, AndroidGREE9
2017Another EdeniOS, AndroidWright Flyer Studios10
2018Wild Arms: Million MemoriesiOS, AndroidForwardWorks11
2019Fishing Star World TourNintendo SwitchWFS12
Afterlost – Shoumetsu ToshiiOS, AndroidGREE1314
2022Heaven Burns RediOS, AndroidWFS, Key15
Echoes of ManaiOS, AndroidSquare Enix16

Pokelabo

Pokelabo is a brand of WFS focused on live service game development. Founded in 2007, Pokelabo was acquired by GREE in October 2012 for $173.8 million.17 On January 1, 2025, Pokelabo was converted from a wholly owned subsidiary of GREE into a video game brand under WFS, with its game development business absorbed by WFS.18

Games developed by Pokelabo
YearTitlePlatform(s)Publisher(s)Ref.
2017SINoALICEiOS, AndroidSquare Enix19
2021Assault Lily: Last BulletiOS, AndroidBushiroad Games20
2025Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Magia ExedraiOS, AndroidAniplex21

REALITY

REALITY, Inc., formerly Wright Flyer Live Entertainment, is a live entertainment company specializing in VTubers. Founded by Eiji Araki in April 2018,22 the company has operated the virtual live streaming app Reality since August 2018.23

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References

  1. "Company Overview". GREE Holdings. Retrieved March 9, 2025. Roppongi Hills Gate Tower, 6-11-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan https://hd.gree.net/jp/en/corporate/summary/ ↩

  2. "About Us - History". GREE. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222013551/http://corp.gree.net/global/about-us/history/ ↩

  3. Jordan, Jon (April 22, 2011). "Japanese social gaming platform GREE buys OpenFeint for $104 million". PocketGamer.biz. Retrieved August 30, 2019. https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/29342/japanese-social-gaming-platform-gree-buys-openfeint-for-104-million/ ↩

  4. Savitz, Eric (May 1, 2012). "Japan's GREE To Buy Mobile Game Maker Funzio For $210M". Forbes. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/05/01/japans-gree-to-buy-mobile-game-maker-funzio-for-210m/ ↩

  5. "Establishment of GREE Entertainment, Inc". GREE Entertainment (Press release). July 1, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://gree-entertainment.com/en/topics/3955/ ↩

  6. Romano, Sal (November 14, 2024). "GREE establishes GREE Studios to manage consumer games business; live service games business absorbed by WFS". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/11/gree-establishes-gree-studios-to-manage-consumer-games-business-live-service-games-business-absorbed-by-wfs ↩

  7. "About Us - Management". GREE Holdings. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://hd.gree.net/jp/en/corporate/officer/ ↩

  8. "WFS - ABOUT". WFS, Inc. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.wfs.games/en-us/about/ ↩

  9. "GigaMedia Launches Mobile Game Shoumetsu Toshi (Disappeared City) in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau". GigaMedia Limited (Press release). June 1, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2025 – via PR Newswire. The game was created by Japan-based game developer Wright Flyer Studios which is owned by GREE, Inc. and launched in May 2014 in Japan. https://en.prnasia.com/releases/global/GigaMedia_Launches_Mobile_Game_Shoumetsu_Toshi_Disappeared_City_in_Taiwan_Hong_Kong_and_Macau-150828.shtml ↩

  10. "スマホ用「アナザーエデン 時空を超える猫」、配信日決定" ["Another Eden: A Cat Beyond Time and Space" mobile game release date decided]. GAME Watch (in Japanese). April 4, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1052978.html ↩

  11. Romano, Sal (September 20, 2018). "Wild Arms: Million Memories launches September 26 in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2018/09/wild-arms-million-memories-launches-september-26-in-japan ↩

  12. Romano, Sal (January 15, 2019). "Fishing Star: World Tour for Switch launches January 31 in Japan [Update]". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2019/01/fishing-star-world-tour-for-switch-launches-january-31-in-japan ↩

  13. Romano, Sal (December 26, 2018). "Shoumetsu Toshi: Afterlost announced for smartphones, launches worldwide in April 2019". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2018/12/shoumetsu-toshi-afterlost-announced-for-smartphones-launches-worldwide-in-april-2019 ↩

  14. "《Afterlost - 消滅都市》宣布將於 2021 年 6 月 30 日結束營運" [Afterlost announces that it will end operations on June 30, 2021]. GNN News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://gnn.gamer.com.tw/detail.php?sn=214592 ↩

  15. Romano, Sal (February 3, 2022). "Heaven Burns Red launches February 10 in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2022/02/heaven-burns-red-launches-february-10-in-japan ↩

  16. Romano, Sal (April 22, 2022). "Echoes of Mana launches April 27, animated trailer". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2022/04/echoes-of-mana-launches-april-27-animated-trailer ↩

  17. Martin, Rick (October 24, 2012). "GREE Acquires Japanese Social Game Publisher Pokelabo for $173.8 Million". Tech in Asia. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.techinasia.com/gree-acquires-pokelabo ↩

  18. Romano, Sal (November 14, 2024). "GREE establishes GREE Studios to manage consumer games business; live service games business absorbed by WFS". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/11/gree-establishes-gree-studios-to-manage-consumer-games-business-live-service-games-business-absorbed-by-wfs ↩

  19. Romano, Sal (May 23, 2017). "SINoALICE launches June 6 in Japan". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2017/05/sinoalice-launches-june-6-japan ↩

  20. "スマートフォン向けゲームアプリ「アサルトリリィ Last Bullet」のリリース日が2021年1月20日(水)に決定！公式生放送も実施！" [The release date of the smartphone game app "Assault Lily Last Bullet" has been set for January 20, 2021 (Wednesday)! An official live broadcast will also be held!]. Bushiroad (Press release) (in Japanese). December 18, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2025 – via PR Times. https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003700.000014827.html ↩

  21. Romano, Sal (March 8, 2025). "Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Magia Exedra for iOS, Android launches March 27". Gematsu. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/puella-magi-madoka-magica-magia-exedra-for-ios-android-launches-march-27 ↩

  22. "About Us - Management". GREE Holdings. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://hd.gree.net/jp/en/corporate/officer/ ↩

  23. Nagata, Kazuaki (August 7, 2018). "Gree-owned firm launches app aimed at boosting Japan's booming world of 'virtual YouTubers'". The Japan Times. Retrieved March 9, 2025. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/08/07/business/gree-owned-firm-launches-app-aimed-boosting-japans-booming-world-virtual-youtubers/ ↩