Germany-based startup Game Domain International (GDI), creators of online world A World of My Own (AWOMO), is set to list in London at a value of €1bn (£670m), and is currently drawing up a prospectus prior to seeking a dual listing in London and Frankfurt.
Roger Walkden, the former European head of Activision, has been appointed chief executive of GDI.
AWOMO presents a PC game delivery channel in the format of a 3D virtual world; recently, they partnered with UK social networking site Bebo to invite Bebo users to participate in beta-testing their service. According to the article, it's believed that GDI already has agreements to distribute 100 games from 18 publishers on the AWOMO platform.
Currently, in-world locations lead to online retailers, but GDI's backers believe that eventually consumers will prefer to buy and download all their games directly in digital form.
Virgin Games, a subsidiary of Virgin Group, has a 20 percent stake in GDI. "We believe that AWOMO will do for PC games what iTunes has done for music," said Simon Burridge, Virgin's chief executive, also a non-executive director of GDI.
AWOMO's full commercial launch is set for year-end, with a flotation of GDI penciled in for the first quarter of 2008.
[Via The Independent]
