Amid all the bad news we've had lately, players can at least be happy. We can expect a new game company to emerge in KL with Lemon Sky Studios (Lemon Sky) and the joint venture of iCandy Interactive (iCandy).
Calm your excitement as the company hasn't even been named, although both parties agreed that it will be announced soon.
According to Lemon Sky's press release, the joint venture will explore the mobile game market.
It will focus on developing 3D mobile games with cross-platform potential and AAA quality and developing its own range of game titles.
Just to freshen up, Lemon Sky Studios is a CGI art and animation studio, while iCandy is a video game developer and publisher.
Lemon Sky was founded in 2006 as an art outsourcing company for the video game and animation industry. They have 300 talents who tailor bespoke visual art solutions for their clients and partners.
Lemon Sky's customers over the past 10 years have included Bandai Namco, Microsoft, Disney, and Nickelodeon, to name a few.
iCandy, on the other hand, has a community of over 350 million mobile users worldwide with over 500 million downloads.
Some of iCandy's games / Image Credit: iCandy Interactive
In March 2015, they were registered as an investment company in Australia as a public company.
They were recognized at the International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA) and invest in studios such as Appxlore (Malaysia), Inzen Studio (Singapore) and Joyseed Gametribe (Indonesia).
Why this joint venture?
Over the years, Lemon Sky has worked on AAA game titles like Marvel's Avengers, Warcraft 3: Reforged, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and more.
2 of the many games Lemon Sky has worked on / Image Credit: Lemon Sky Studios
Since iCandy intends to make 3D games with AAA graphics and animation, this will be their debut in development.
ICandy's BOD announced in a press release that this joint venture will enable both companies to leverage each other's strengths to expand their product offerings.
Lemon Sky can combine its world-class animation, digital art skills and business relationships with the global gaming industry, while iCandy can offer its large gamer community and experience in mobile gaming and eSports.
Inside Lemon Sky Studios / Photo Credit: Lemon Sky Studios
Where you are now with this joint venture
The initial capital contribution is currently RM 1 million and both companies are 50:50.
Should they require further funding, this is an equal contribution or opens up investment opportunities for third-party investors.
The financial planning and budget are also determined annually and approved by the board of directors of the joint venture, for which each party can nominate two representatives.
Once this is done, the board of directors appoints the joint venture's management committee to plan and develop the business and product plans for the new company.
They will also appoint a general manager to oversee day-to-day business.
Talent will hire an entirely new pool of team members instead of sourcing from their own companies. However, Lemon Sky and iCandy will be helping with the recruitment of this new team.
“We are actually at a very early stage in the joint venture. This is a relatively new initiative for both parties and we learn and determine things as we evolve, ”concluded Ken Foong, CCO and COO of Lemon Sky.
Editor's note: We contacted both Lemon Sky and iCandy with a few more questions about the new company and will update the article with their answers.
- You can find out more about Lemon Sky and iCandy here.
- Find out more about other digital messages we wrote about here.
Selected image source: Wong Cheng-Fei, CEO and Ken Foong, CCO and COO of Lemon Sky Studios
