is a holding company based in Tokyo, Japan, that administers GALA Group, which is made up of subsidiary companies of Gala Inc. The group of companies comprises three types of businesses: MMORPG games, web design, and data mining. Within the group companies Gala Lab Corp. was established in South Korea after the merger of Aeonsoft and n Flavor and develops games for the group's online gaming portal gPotato. GALA Group focuses on developing largely multiplayer online role-playing games. To cover local areas, there are group companies located in the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
GALA Group’s games are free-to-play. However, there is a micro-currency system that can be used to buy in-game upgrades. Games and their item shops can be accessed by the Group's regional gPotato portal sites.
History
Early Years
Gala Inc. was founded in September 1993 by Satoru Kikugawa. While at Keio University, Kikugawa was an avid event planner and would rent out clubs in Roppongi where students could gather. He called these events "Gala". With the expansion of the internet in the early nineties, Kikugawa, inspired by his university events, founded Gala Inc. to bring people together online.
The early business model of Gala Inc. was in homepage creation. One of Gala Inc.'s first website creations was for the All Japan Pro Wrestling site in 1996. The initial business approach was to create home pages free of charge and then share the advertising revenue. Gala Inc. also set up bulletin boards on sites for visitors to share their thoughts. In February 2000, Gala Inc. acquired the company RIS Inc., which was then renamed to Gala Web Inc. While Gala Inc. acts as the headquarters for GALA Group, Gala Web continues to develop websites and systems for clients in Japan. Gala Inc.'s early business model eventually led to Gala's gaming business model, where its games are free, and sales are generated from micropayments.
Globalization
In November 2005, Gala-Net Inc. opened as a North American subsidiary and online games publisher with its office in Sunnyvale, California. In October 2006, Gala-Net established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Gala Networks Europe, based out of Dublin, Ireland.
Also in 2006, South Korean game developers Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp. joined GALA Group. Aeonsoft's flagship game was Flyff, while nFlavor brought the Rappelz MMO into the Group. The two game developing companies would later merge to become Gala Lab Corp. in July 2010. In December 2007, another subsidiary was created after Gala Inc. split off its buzz research section to create a new Group company named Gala Buzz Inc. The company offered data mining and information analysis services for corporate clients through its e-mining and buzz reports. Gala Buzz Inc. was sold to Hottolink Inc. in May 2012.
In May 2011, Gala Inc. announced it would enter the smartphone market. The company planned to launch a smartphone social game platform and the development of games for said platform. Gala Pocket Inc. was established to operate the gPumpkin platform and Gala Lab Corp. and third party developers would develop the games. Gala Inc. also expanded in 2011 by opening a branch office in Seoul, South Korea that was tasked with handling the technical issues across all of GALA Group. In May 2012, that branch was transferred to Gala Lab also located in Seoul.
Acquisition
In February 2013, Gala-Net, Gala Networks Europe, and Gala-Net Brazil were acquired by Webzen.
The majority of GALA Group's business revolves around MMORPG and smartphone games. Within GALA Group, Gala Web Inc.'s main business was in web design, but this company was sold to Tribeck Strategies, Inc. in 2015.