BERLIN, October 19, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Korean game developer OnNet announced today that its office in Berlin will serve as the company's new European headquarters. OnNet, which commenced business operations here in May, has expanded its team in the meantime and today officially assumes the role of publisher from the German capital. Germany Trade Invest supported OnNet with its decision to invest in Germany.

With over 21 million gamers in Germany and 62 million internet users, the German market remains Europe's largest and most attractive. OnNet's decision to base its European office in Germany is a testament to the market's appeal. The company will provide its game services in German, French and Spanish to serve each of these language markets from its new location.

David Chang, CEO of OnNet Europe GmbH: Locally serving Germany's gaming market is essential for us to continue to grow in Europe. At the same time, Berlin provides the ideal base to reach gamers across the continent. Germany's high-tech communications infrastructure is one of the world's best and its pool of highly skilled workers is first class.

Posting growth rates as high as 47 percent in some industry segments in recent years, the gaming industry set a record with revenues of EUR 2.7 billion in 2008. Revenues dropped slightly in 2009 to EUR 2.4 billion during the global economic downturn, although several segments remained immensely popular, especially online gaming.

Several international gaming companies, primarily from the USA and Asia, have already established a presence in Germany. For developers and publishers, market entry conditions remain highly attractive, as the German market is not dominated by large companies that control large market shares. The structure of the industry here is characterized by small and medium enterprises. Of the 200 game developer studios in Germany, only 25 have more than 50 employees.

Germany's position in the center of Europe and ultra-modern broadband network allow companies like OnNet to direct their European operations from Germany. Highly trained workers provide a further strategic advantage for the innovation-dependent gaming industry. German universities, technical institutes, and the country's dual education system ensure a quality education and provide companies with qualified employees at competitive costs. Today several higher education institutions, such as the Games Academy in Frankfurt and Berlin or the HTW University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, offer gaming industry-related fields of study such as game design, development and production.

OnNet Europe GmbH (http://www.gamescampus.eu) provides downloadable internet games, playable on the PC, and game content via its website portal. Its first games localized to the German-speaking market will be available this fall. Germany Trade Invest, in close cooperation with Berlin Partner, the agency for business development and location marketing for Berlin, supported OnNet with its plans to expand to Germany. Both agencies assisted the company with financing solutions and the search for a suitable location for OnNet's new office in Europe.

Germany Trade Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

Germany Trade Invest Robert Scheid Email: robert.scheid@gtai.com T: +49(0)30-200099-170 F: +49(0)30-200099-111

SOURCE: Germany Trade and Invest

CONTACT: Germany Trade Invest: Robert Scheid, Email:robert.scheid@gtai.com , T: +49(0)30-200099-170, F: +49(0)30-200099-111.