SANTA MONICA, Calif. & BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Xfire enters a new era of global expansion through the formation of a joint venture (JV) with the China Youth Goyor Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Led by newly appointed Xfire CEO Malcolm CasSelle, Xfire and China Youth Goyor Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. will bring an enhanced suite of Xfire’s services to China’s market of 400 million gamers. Xfire will be the first company to support in-game chat for customers using Chinese characters, helping millions of hardcore gamers utilize the company’s in-game social networking app to improve their gaming experiences.
China Youth Goyor Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. organizes activities and provides services to millions of Chinese college students as part of the Communist Youth League (CYL) Internet and Video Center. The CYL, a movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, has a member base of more than 83 million. CYL Internet and Video Center is mainly responsible for the internet construction of the CYL; the only website that serves young internet users in China, www.youth.cn, guides the direction of young internet users in China, including providing age-related guidelines for online games.
“Without question, there is a huge opportunity for Xfire in China and this partnership with CYL will be essential to our success there and in other key Asian markets,” said CasSelle. “I am excited for the opportunity to bring Xfire's services to millions of Chinese gamers through this joint venture with CYL. Our new product roadmap will make a huge impact on core gamers worldwide, including the China market.”
As Xfire’s new CEO, CasSelle brings more than two decades of experience transforming Internet and new media businesses, having served as founder at NetNoir (AOL was primary investor) and PCCW (SEHK: 008), a Hong Kong-based provider of telecommunications services and key executive at Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN)'s joint venture in China with Tencent (SEHK: 700). In his new role at Xfire, CasSelle will continue to drive the company’s expansion into Asia while maintaining a focus on Xfire’s audience of core gamers.
Xfire Chairman of the Board William Quigley said, “The entire board is excited about the growth opportunities that Malcolm has created for Xfire in our primary Western markets, and throughout the world.”
About Xfire
Xfire™ connects over six million hardcore gamers every month with a social gaming experience that is distributed inside 2,500 PC games. Over 21 million gamers have downloaded the Xfire app, which enables social connection between gamers, and allows them to share video, pictures and conversations among friends in games, or the entire Internet. Xfire is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and Beijing, China. For more information, please visit http://www.xfire.com.