Tencent-backed China Literature, the country’s biggest e-publisher, has teamed up with Disney to release Chinese-language Star Wars e-books, both companies announced on Wednesday.
The e-books will be written by a famous online writer under the pen name “His Majesty the King.” The author has gained a huge fan base in China after several hit books of fantasy sagas.
Besides, readers will get access to the Chinese version of 40 Star Wars e-books on China Literature’s platforms, including QQ Reading and Qidian.com. The team-up marks the first time that Disney has granted electronic copyrights to the novels in China.
Spun off by China tech giant Tencent in 2015, China Literature went public in Hong Kong in November 2017. The company claims to have 7.8 million writers and 11.7 million books on its platforms, and the number of monthly active users reached 217.1 million in June.
On the back of intellectual property rights commercialization and an increase in the numbers of paying users, China Literature booked a profit of RMB 2.6 billion (USD 361 million) last year, up 23.2% from 2017. Revenue also expanded 23% to RMB 5 billion.
The cooperation with Disney fits into China Literature’s global expansion strategy, as the US entertainment conglomerate is known for creating characters and monetizing them through franchises in animation, films, TV series and other entertainment products.
Earlier in October, China Literature bought a 20% stake in OBU, a Thai startup providing online literature and digital lifestyle content. In addition, it signed a deal with smartphone maker Transsion, that would see all Transsion handsets preinstalled with China Literature’s app.