Asian Tech Press (Sep 28) -- Game developer and publisher Kepler Interactive said Tuesday that it has received a $120 million investment from Chinese gaming giant NetEase Inc.

Kepler is registered in London, UK, but will have separate operations centers in London and Singapore in the future, with teams scattered across 10 countries. It plans to launch products such as third-person action game Sifu, first-person survival horror adventure video game Scorn, and open-World adventure game Tchia in 2022.

Kepler CEO Alexis Garavaryan did not disclose the company's valuation in an interview, but said NetEase would be a minority investor.

NetEase, one of Chinese gaming giants, has previously invested in many gaming companies, including Second Dinner, an independent studio founded by the former head of the digital collectible card game Hearthstone, Theorycraft Games, a new game studio formed by former employees of Valve, Blizzard, Bungie and Riot Games, all well-known game companies, and Grounding, a Japanese game studio that has been responsible for the development of games such as Space Channel 5 VR and World's End Club.

As such, it's in line with NetEase's usual strategy to invest $120 million in Kepler. Notably, compared to overall investment trends, NetEase has continued to expand its investments in the gaming sector in recent years, with a growing share of the company's total annual investment profile. And the ratio has reached 45% of the company's total investment events, according to statistics from research firms.