Sojo Studios Roars Again With New Facebook Game, "Joy Kingdom," Announced Today By Ellen DeGeneres

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- What's more fun than a barrel full of monkeys?  As announced today on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and in the wake of its successful socially conscious Facebook game WeTopia, which has given more than a half-million dollars to children's causes since its November 2011 launch, Sojo Studios is proud to welcome Joy Kingdom to its slate of games. This second Sojo title continues to fulfill the gaming company's mission to provide fun and easily accessible ways for people to engage in philanthropy, creating impactful and ongoing social good through cooperative play.

In Joy Kingdom (https://apps.facebook.com/joykingdom), players help Amani, King of the Animal Spirits, to restore their world after shadows have stolen away all of the Joy.  Players work together and overcome challenges to clear away the shadows and put the joyful roar back into Joy Kingdom.  As in WeTopia, players earn a currency called Joy, which they are able to contribute to their choice of charitable projects in the real world.

While WeTopia benefits children's charities, Joy Kingdom allows players to give their earned Joy to projects focused on helping animals, a cause near and dear to Ellen DeGeneres, who has partnered with Sojo Studios to support the game.  Justin Bieber, who partnered with Sojo to help promote the launch of WeTopia, is also lending his support to Joy Kingdom.

Said DeGeneres, "I've always said I like speaking for animals, because they can't speak for themselves.  And now I'm going on Facebook for them, because my cat can never remember her password.  Joy Kingdom is fun, and I'm excited about how many animals we're gonna help."

"In WeTopia, people get to have fun while helping kids around the world," added Bieber. ''In Joy Kingdom, players get to do the same, but while helping real animals. I'm blessed to be in a position to support causes that I believe in. I hope that when my fans play Joy Kingdom they feel the same way."

For Joy Kingdom, Sojo Studios has partnered with some of the most impactful non-profits for animal rescue and care, including those in support of domestic animals, farm animals and wildlife.  NGO partners at launch include The Humane Society of the United States, Best Friends Animal Society and Farm Sanctuary.

"The Humane Society of the United States is proud to have been selected among the many worthy animal groups to be featured in Joy Kingdom. Throughout the game, players will be able to support The HSUS' direct-care centers for rescued, abused and rehabilitated animals, as well as our work on street dog welfare and providing health care and vaccinations to pets in under-served communities,"  said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States.

"With WeTopia, Sojo Studios sought to benefit children through key charities and projects.  Now, with the passion of Ellen DeGeneres, as well as the active support of Justin Bieber, we're launching Joy Kingdom to benefit animal welfare organizations," offered Lincoln Brown, founder and CEO of Sojo Studios.  "We're grateful to them and our NGO partners, and proud that Sojo continues to lead the charge for social good gaming."

Joy Kingdom incorporates one-to-one social goods that players have grown familiar with in WeTopia.  At launch, the first featured social good in Joy Kingdom is a limited-edition game animal available for purchase that will deliver a bale of hay to a real animal in need.  Sojo Studios is also introducing a new element of game play, "Daily Rewards," which may be earned by Joy Kingdom players who return for several days in a row, delivering a bowl of food to an animal shelter in their local area.  Through this feature, players can help animals close to home by playing the game on an ongoing basis.

You Play. Animals Win. To get started restoring the Joy to Joy Kingdom, please visit: https://apps.facebook.com/joykingdom

About Sojo Studios
Based in New York, Los Angeles and Lexington, Kentucky, Sojo Studios is an entertainment company that creates social games where players can directly support improvement projects in the U.S. and worldwide, helping to create "social joy."  All of Sojo Studios' projects are executed in the field by 501(c)(3) nonprofit partners.  Established in 2010, Sojo Studios embraces the mission of leveraging the best aspects of team play in the virtual world in effecting positive and meaningful change in the real world.  For more information, please visit www.sojostudios.com.

SOURCE Sojo Studios