is a Japanese

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. They are primarily known for hosting the Japanese server of '' Ragnarok Online'' (developed by its listed Korean subsidiary

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

), as well as their development of '' Ragnarok DS'' for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

. More recently, the company has reported huge financial success thanks to its mobile game '' Puzzle & Dragons'', which, in 2013, was reportedly responsible for 91% of the company's $1.6 billion revenues for the year.

History

The company was established as ONSale Co., Ltd. on July 1, 1998, as a joint venture between Softbank and onSale Inc. to engage in the online interactive auction business in the US. *In 2000, the company moved its headquarters to Chiyoda,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and changed its focus to providing auction systems, etc. using

ASP Asp may refer to: Places * Asp, part of Densbüren, Aargau, Switzerland * Aspe (''Asp'' in Valencian), Alicante, Spain * Asp Lake, a lake in Minnesota Animals * Asp (fish) * Asp (snake), in antiquity, one of several venomous snakes ** ''Cera ...

. *In 2002, the company once again changed its focus, this time to Online Game Services. Primarily hosting the Japanese server of '' Ragnarok Online''. *In 2004 the company began joint development of online games with Game Arts Co., Ltd. *In March 2005, the company was listed on the Hercules Nippon New Market. *In August 2005, the company invested in G-Mode Co., Ltd. a game manufacturer for

mobile phones A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

. *In December 2005, the

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

developed by GungHo, '' Emil Chronicle Online'', was officially released. *In August 2006, they completed the contract to distribute '' Ragnarok Online II''. *In October 2007, GungHo Works, Inc., behind the development of '' Ragnarok DS'', was established. *In November 2007, the company acquired the video game assets of Interchannel from Index Corporation. *In April 2008, Gravity Co., Ltd. was acquired as a subsidiary. *In January 2013, GungHo acquired Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio behind titles such as ''

Killer7 is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The game was written and directed by Goichi Suda and produced by Hiroyuki ...

'', the '' No More Heroes'' franchise and '' Lollipop Chainsaw''. *On June 3, 2016, Softbank agreed to sell most of its stake in GungHo (approximately 23.47%) for about $685 million, which would end Softbank's majority ownership of the company, resulting in Gungho no longer being an associate of Softbank. The offer was accepted by Gungho and completed by June 22, thus allowing Gungho to become an independent company. *In October 2021, GungHo sold Grasshopper Manufacture to

NetEase NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile game ...

Games

Active online games

*''

TEPPEN (stylized as ''TEPPƎN'') is a free-to-play digital collectible card game developed by GungHo Online Entertainment and Capcom. It released in North America and Europe on July 4, 2019 and in Asia on August 8 for Android, and iOS. The game was i ...

'' (July 4, 2019) *'' Ragnarok Online'' (December 1, 2001) *''Tantra'' (March 10, 2004) *'' Emil Chronicle Online'' (August 1, 2005) *'' Hiten Online'' (April 19, 2007) *''

ROSE Online ''ROSE Online'', or ''Rush On Seven Episodes Online'' ( ko, 로즈 온라인) is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) previously published by Korean company Gravity Corporation and developed by its subsidiary, Triggersoft. T ...

'' (March 26, 2009) *''Lucent Heart'' (2009) *''Blade Chronicle'' (2009) *'' Ragnarok DS'' (February 1, 2010) *''Eternal City 2'' (June 23, 2010) *''Divina'' (September 9, 2010) *'' Grand Fantasia'' *''

'' *''Le Ciel Bleu'' *''Toy Wars'' *''Fishdom: Seasons under the Sea'' *'' Puzzle & Dragons'' *''Summons Board'' *''Chrono Ma:Gia'' (2018) *''Ragnarok Mobile'' (2019) *''Ninjala (2020)

Inactive online games

*'' Survival Project'' (June 29, 2004 - August 31, 2006) *''A3'' (October 15, 2004 - November 1, 2007) *''

Saiyuki Reload Gunlock is a Japanese manga series by Kazuya Minekura which was serialized in ''G-Fantasy'' from 1997 to 2002. It spawned multiple manga sequels, several anime adaptations, live-action musicals, video games and other media. The Saiyuk ...

'' (September 1, 2004 - January 31, 2006) *''Squirrel Pot 2'' (May 25, 2004 - December 28, 2007) *''eXtreme Soccer'' (β August 11, 2006 – 2008) *''

Mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...

'' (May 31, 2007 - March 26, 2008) *''Koi Koi Playing Cards'' (May 31, 2007 - March 26, 2008) *''

Poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

'' (May 31, 2007 - March 26, 2008) *''Millionaire'' (May 31, 2007 - March 26, 2008) *''

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

'' (May 31, 2007 - March 26, 2008) *''Chat'' (May 31, 2007 - March 26, 2008) *'' Ragnarok Online II'' (β May 28, 2007 - August 2010) *''Pachinko Slot'' (September 6, 2007 - November 4, 2008) *''Hakenden'' (June 4, 2008 - October 29, 2008) *''

Yogurting ''Yogurting'' ( ko, 요구르팅 ''Yogureuting'') was an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) developed by NTIX Soft in South Korea and released as open-beta on May 10, 2005, and was also released in Japan on November 24, 2005 ...

'' (September 1, 2005 - May, 2010) *'' Tetris Online'' (October 23, 2007 - July 5, 2011) *'' Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (June 26, 2007 - May, 2016) *'' Grandia Online'' (August 26, 2009 - September 28, 2012)

PC

*'' Grandia II: Anniversary Edition'' *'' Let It Die'' *''

Grandia HD Collection is a series of role-playing video games developed by Game Arts and published over the years by Entertainment Software Publishing, Sony Computer Entertainment, Ubisoft, Hudson Soft, Enix, Square Enix and GungHo Online Entertainment. Games in the ...

'' ('' Grandia'' & '' Grandia II'' Remaster)

PlayStation 2

*''Nadepro!!: Kisama mo Seiyū Yattemiro!''

PlayStation Portable

*''Solfege: Sweet Harmony'' *'' Mimana Iyar Chronicle'' *''

Cho Aniki Zero is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, the latest console game in the ''Cho Aniki'' series. It was published in Japan by GungHo Works on 19 March 2009 for the PlayStation Portable. The game was published in North America by Aksys Games on 25 ...

'' *''P.W: Project Witch'' *'' Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' *'' Ragnarok Tactics''

PlayStation 3

*'' Ragnarok Odyssey Ace''

PlayStation Vita

*'' Ragnarok Odyssey'' *'' Ragnarok Odyssey Ace'' *''Picotto Knights'' *'' Dokuro''

PlayStation 4

*'' Let It Die''

Nintendo DS

*'' Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo!!'' *''Nakamura Tooru Kanshuu: India Shiki Keisan Drill DS'' (''The Method of Indian Calculation'') *''Aquazone DS'' *'' Ragnarok DS'' *'' Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics'' *''Minna de Jibun no Setsumeisho: B-Gata, A-Gata, AB-Gata, O-Gata'' *''Ecolis: Aoi Umi to Ugoku Shima''

Nintendo 3DS

* '' Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition'' * ''

Puzzle & Dragons X is a spinoff of the mobile game ''Puzzle & Dragons'' for the Nintendo 3DS by GungHo Online Entertainment. It was released in two versions simultaneously on July 28, 2016, named the Gods Chapter (神の章) and the Dragons Chapter (龍の章). ...

'' (Japan only)

Nintendo Switch

* ''

'' ('' Grandia'' & '' Grandia II'' Remaster) * '' Puzzle & Dragons Gold'' * '' Ninjala'' * ''Volta-X'' * '' Galak-Z: Variant S''

Mobile

*Teppen (Battle Project) *'' Ragnarok Online'' *''Casino Komodo'' *''Puzzles and Dragons'' *''Yo-kai Watch World'' * '' Galak-Z: Variant Mobile''

References

External links

Official Website (Japanese)Official Website (English)GungHo Online Entertainment America Official Website
{{SoftBank Entertainment companies of Japan Japanese brands Japanese companies established in 1998 SoftBank Group Software companies based in Tokyo Video game companies established in 1998 Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Video game publishers