Championship Manager expands to China

Beautiful Games Studios, the Square Enix-owned developer of Championship Manager, has partnered with Chinese online game publisher and operator Shanda Games to bring the football series to the emerging market.

The partnership hopes to tap into China's appreciation of the European football leagues to extend the game's penetration on the mainland.

Said Roy Meredith of Beautiful Game Studios, "We are delighted to be partnering with one the biggest entertainment companies in the world to bring the Championship Manager brand to Chinese gamers and football fans.

"Working closely with Eidos Shanghai, our studio in China, we have already commenced on a co-development project with Shanda Games and have been impressed by their scope and understanding of our brand,"

"I believe this is the perfect match for our ambition and strategic direction for the future of the Championship Manager franchise and I'm excited by the potential of this partnership."

"We are very excited to launch this partnership with Square Enix and Beautiful Game Studios," said chief executive of Shanda, Alan Tan.

"The Championship Manager brand's pedigree has grown impressively from year-to-year since it hooked its first fans in the China market over a decade ago. We believe this newly forged partnership will deliver football game content that will satisfy the most demanding devotees while attracting new ones from the deep pool of football aficionados in China."

Recently, China passed a law forcing all publishers of online titles to protect the under 18s from "imitation of behaviour that violates social morals and the law".