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 ''Ragnarok Online'' ( ko, 라그나로크 온라인, marketed as ''Ragnarök'', and alternatively subtitled ''The Final Destiny of the Gods'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Gravity based on the manhwa '' ...

'' (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 ''Ragnarok DS'', known in Japan as , is a Nintendo DS video game based on the MMORPG ''Ragnarok Online'' and was released in Japan on December 18, 2008. It was announced that publisher Xseed Games had teamed up with developer GungHo Online Enterta ...

'' 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 is a puzzle video game with role-playing and strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire platforms. ''Puzzle & Dragons'' is a match-three puzzle game, requiring players t ...

'', 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 is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...

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. *In 2002, the company once again changed its focus, this time to Online Game Services. Primarily hosting the Japanese server of ''

''. *In 2004 the company began joint development of

online games An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and s ...

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 developed by GungHo, ''

Emil Chronicle Online ''Emil Chronicle Online'' ( ja, エミル・クロニクル・オンライン), often referred to as ''ECO'', was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Headlock and published by GungHo. It was first released in Japan on Nov ...

'', 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 ''

'', was established. *In November 2007, the company acquired the video game assets of

Interchannel was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. History Interchannel was founded on October 2, 1995 as an NEC subsidiary named . Its founding was a result of divisions within NEC being spun off. NEC Interchannel took over NEC Avenue's music ...

from

Index Corporation , formerly known as , is a Japanese corporate information and communications technology company owned by Sawada Holdings. "Index Corporation" was a corporate name used by three different Japanese companies, between 1997 and 2016, the last one be ...

. *In April 2008, Gravity Co., Ltd. was acquired as a subsidiary. *In January 2013, GungHo acquired

Grasshopper Manufacture is a Japanese video game developer founded on March 30, 1998 by Goichi Suda. They are well known for creating titles such as ''killer7'' and the '' No More Heroes'' series. History The company was founded on March 30, 1998 in Suginami, Ja ...

, 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 is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...

''. *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.

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) *''

'' (December 1, 2001) *''Tantra'' (March 10, 2004) *''

'' (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) *''

'' (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'' *''

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

Grandia Online was a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Although originally announced in 2004, the g ...

'' (August 26, 2009 - September 28, 2012)

PC

*'' Grandia II: Anniversary Edition'' *'' Let It Die'' *'' Grandia HD Collection'' (''

Grandia 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 th ...

'' & ''

Grandia II is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts originally for the Dreamcast console as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Initially released in Japan in August 2000 by Game Arts, the game was later made available in English for North America ...

'' Remaster)

PlayStation 2

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

PlayStation Portable

*''Solfege: Sweet Harmony'' *'' Mimana Iyar Chronicle'' *'' Cho Aniki Zero'' *''P.W: Project Witch'' *'' Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' *'' Ragnarok Tactics''

PlayStation 3

*'' Ragnarok Odyssey Ace''

PlayStation Vita

*''

Ragnarok Odyssey is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation Vita system. It is based on the universe of the MMORPG ''Ragnarok Online'', containing many elements of Norse mythology. It was released in February 2012 within Japan, August 21, 2012 in South Kor ...

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

PlayStation 4

*'' Let It Die''

Nintendo DS

*''

Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo!! is an otome game originally released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. A manga adaptation has been made, and the manga is published in English by Yen Press as ''Ugly Duckling’s Love Revolution''. There are also drama CDs based on the story. Some ch ...

'' *''Nakamura Tooru Kanshuu: India Shiki Keisan Drill DS'' (''The Method of Indian Calculation'') *''Aquazone DS'' *''

'' *''

Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics ''Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics'', known in Japan as , is a tactical role-playing game developed and published in Japan by GungHo Works on December 4, 2008, and published in North America by Aksys Games on October 15, 2009 for the Nintendo DS. T ...

'' *''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'' (Japan only)

Nintendo Switch

* '' Grandia HD Collection'' (''

'' & ''

'' Remaster) * '' Puzzle & Dragons Gold'' * ''

Ninjala ''Ninjala'' is a free-to-play multiplayer action video game developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment. Unveiled at E3 2018, it was released on June 24, 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. The game received mixed reviews, with many prais ...

'' * ''Volta-X'' * '' Galak-Z: Variant S''

Mobile

*Teppen (Battle Project) *''

'' *''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