Chinese game live streaming platform Douyu will set up a joint venture in Japan with Mitsui next month and launch its Japanese operations in September, reports Nikkei.
The joint venture, which will be based in Tokyo, will oversee the platform’s operations in Japan, including recruiting popular streamers, and publishing made in Japan games.
Douyu is one of China’s largest game live streaming platforms with nearly 160 million monthly average users. Its annual revenue was USD 544.5 million in 2018.
The move into the Japanese market seems to be Douyu’s renewed attempt at expanding internationally after its US initial public offering raised USD 775 million.
Last December, the Wuhan-based company reportedly laid off more than 70 staff who were working on Doyo, a game live streaming app dedicated to the South East Asian market and called an end to its first internationalization foray.