Native name 株式会社ドワンゴ Area served Worldwide Founded 6 August 1997 | Industry Entertainment Parent organization Kadokawa Dwango | |
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Type Kabushiki gaishaSubsidiary Traded as TYO: 3715 (until September 26, 2014) Key people Nobuo Kawakami(Chairman)Takashi Araki(President) Profiles | ||
Dwango Co., Ltd. (株式会社ドワンゴ) is a telecommunications and media company based in Japan, headed by Nobuo Kawakami. The company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Dwango Corporation. The company was spun off from a U.S.-based service offering online multiplayer for video games, DWANGO, which was shut down in 1998. Dwango's majority shareholders until its merger with Kadokawa Corporation included Kawakami himself, Kadokawa Corporation, and Avex Group. Dwango's subsidiaries include Niwango, which runs the popular Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga. The company also is the 100% owner of the game developer Spike Chunsoft. In November 2013, it was confirmed Nintendo purchased 612,200 or 1.5% shares of the company at the request of Nobuo Kawakami.
On May 14, 2014, it was announced that Dwango and Kadokawa Corporation would merge on October 1, 2014, and form the new holding company Kadokawa Dwango Corporation. Both Kadokawa and Dwango became subsidiaries of the new company.