ePLDT, Inc.
ePLDT, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippine telecommunications company PLDT, Inc. In the video gaming industry, ePLDT is best known for its live service gaming venture from 2004 until 2011. It is also the first major company to recognize the decline of the live service gaming boom in the country, which led to its early exit from the industry in 2011.
About
Game development venture
ePLDT had established ePLDT ContentDev, a division specializing in web design and application development. The team created mobile games like Aramith's Quest: The Summoning.
Live service gaming venture
In mid-2004, ePLDT established its live service gaming subsidiary netGames Inc. In early 2006, it was estimated that netGames controlled 10% of the live service gaming market in the Philippines, with 80% belonging to its competitor Level Up! Inc., the owner of the Level Up! portal.
In February 2006, ePLDT announced that it had acquired a 57.51% stake in Level Up! Inc. from the latter's parent company, Level Up! International Holdings Pte. Ltd. (LUIH). Level Up! Inc.'s operations were merged with netGames.
On July 11, 2011, ePLDT sold its entire 57.51% stake in Level Up! Inc.[doc 1] back to its original owner, LUIH.
Internet café venture
The performance of internet cafés in the Philippines in the 2000s was largely tied to the live service gaming industry. Aside from PC rentals, internet cafés are also distributors of game credits via prepaid cards.
By March 2001, ePLDT had acquired 40% of Digital Paradise Inc. (then-Netopia Computer Technologies Inc. and the owner of Netopia Internet Café) for ₱24 million and had the option of increasing its shares to 80% in two years. ePLDT owned 52% of Digital Paradise by 2004 and owned 75% of it by 2008.
On April 1, 2011,[doc 1] ePLDT sold its entire 75% stake in Digital Paradise to IP E-Game Ventures, Inc.