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Asphere Innovations Public Co. Ltd.

Asphere Innovations Public Co. Ltd., formerly known as Asiasoft Corporation Public Co. Ltd., is a tech holding company headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates the live service gaming PlayPark brand in the SEA region through its various subsidiaries in multiple countries. PlayPark Inc. is its Philippine subsidiary since 2014.

From 2011 through 2014, Asphere Innovations, as Asiasoft Corporation, partnered with Blizzard Entertainment as its SEA distribution partner for the latter's retail games and its live service MOBA Heroes of the Storm.

About

Partnership with Blizzard Entertainment as SEA distributor: 2011-2014+

On October 7, 2011, GigaMedia Limited, the parent company of IAHGames, announced that it had mutually terminated its exclusive distribution agreement with Blizzard Entertainment.[1] Two weeks later, Blizzard announced that it had signed a deal with Asiasoft Corporation for the latter to become the exclusive distributor of Blizzard games in the SEA region.[2][3]

On March 14, 2014, Asiasoft announced that it would distribute Diablo III: Reaper of Souls in the Philippines with a suggested retail price of ₱1,800 for the standard edition and ₱4,500 for the collector's edition.[4]

On April 29, 2014, Asiasoft announced that it had partnered with Blizzard to distribute the MOBA Heroes of the Storm to the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.[5]

Entering the Philippine live service acgaming market: 2012-2022

In 2012, Asiasoft Corporation, through its Singaporean subsidiary Asiasoft Online Pte. Ltd., announced that it was planning to enter the Philippine market.[6] It began opening one of Asiasoft's SEA servers, MapleStory SEA, to Philippine players on March 7, 2012.[7] Asiasoft Online established its Philippine office in June 2013.[8]

In 2014, Asiasoft Corporation acquired the Philippine company Level Up! Inc. The acquisition included the entire Level Up! brand as well as its publisher, Playweb Games Inc. Asiasoft Corporation re-established Playweb Games as PlayPark Inc., Asiasoft's Philippine subsidiary for managing the PlayPark brand.

Rebranding into Asphere Innovations: 2023

On April 2023, Asiasoft Corporation announced that its shareholders had passed a resolution to rename the company to "Asphere Innovations". The name combines the words "Asiasoft" and "Sphere". According to its announcement, a sphere was chosen because it represents an ever-moving world, "implying the company’s readiness to expand its business beyond Asia without limits and become a leader in the digital technology industry".[9] The name change took effect on May 11, 2023.[10]

References

  1. GigaMedia Updates Restructuring of IAHGames. October 8, 2011 at 8:00 AM (GMT+8). GigaMedia press release. Bloomberg. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  2. Asiasoft to distribute Blizzard games in Southeast Asia. October 19, 2011 at 7:12 PM PDT. Jon Leo. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  3. Asiasoft takes Blizzard titles to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. October 19, 2011. Rachel Weber. GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  4. [UPDATED]Asiasoft brings Diablo III expansion in the Philippines. March 14, 2014. Asiasoft PR team. Asiasoft Press Release archives. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  5. Asiasoft partners with Blizzard for Heroes of the Storm. April 29, 2014 at 6:46 PM. Jhudiel Lopez. Mineski.net. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  6. Asiasoft putting up local online gaming unit. February 24, 2012. Louella Desiderio. Philstar.com. Retrieved on 2023-12-03.
  7. MapleSEA Jumps to Philippines!. February 10, 2012. MapleSEA Administrator. MapleStory news. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  8. Asiasoft opens office in the Philippines to reach out to gamers in the region!. June 14, 2013 at 4:44 PM. Adrian Patrick Gemora. Ilonggo Tech Blog. Retrieved on 2023-12-05.
  9. The shareholders of Asiasoft have passed a resolution the Company’s name change to “ASPHERE INNOVATIONS” and announced annual dividend of Baht 0.53 for fiscal year 2022.. April 27, 2023. Asphere Innovations team. Asphere Innovations news. Retrieved on 2023-12-03.
  10. Asiasoft Corporation Public Company Limited will Change its Name to ASPHERE INNOVATIONS PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED. May 11, 2023. MarketScreener author. MarketScreener. Retrieved on 2023-12-03.