Gameloft, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment Announce the Release of "Despicable Me: Minion Rush" on Qihoo 360

PARIS, January 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Gameloft, a leading global publisher of digital and social games, today announced that "Despicable Me: Minion Rush", the companion game to the successful Despicable Me franchise, is now available on 360 Mobile Assistant. This coincides with the highly-anticipated release of Despicable Me 2 in Chinese theaters on January 10, 2014.

"Despicable Me: Minion Rush" is an innovative and original game with all the heart and humor of the Despicable Me franchise. Fans can play as a Minion and compete with others in hilarious, fast-paced challenges. They can jump, fly, dodge obstacles, collect bananas, be mischievous, and defeat villains in this infinite runner game. Users can now download the official Android game from the 360 Mobile Assistant and immerse themselves in environments from the Despicable Me movies through fun and highly-addictive gameplay.

"Despicable Me: Minion Rush" is a global hit with more than 180 million downloads since its initial release in June 2013" said Gonzague De Vallois, Senior Vice President of Publishing at Gameloft. "We are delighted to introduce it to the Chinese market through the widely popular Qihoo 360 game platform. Through this collaboration, we can make use of 360's strong mobile publishing market position and huge user base to bring high quality games and the best gaming experience to more Chinese gamers."

"We are proud to announce that through our great partnership with Gameloft, we have added another hit game to the growing audience of the 360 game platform" said Chen Jie, VP of Qihoo 360.  "Our platform is a real success in China's Android market and our aim is to bring the best quality games to our users."

"Despicable Me: Minion Rush" is now available in China on Android via the 360 Mobile Assistant.

About Despicable Me 2

Gru, his adorable girls, and the mischievous Minions are back with a cast of unforgettable new characters in the blockbuster sequel to the worldwide phenomenon.  Just as Gru has given up being super-bad to be a super-dad, the Anti-Villain League recruits him to track down a new criminal mastermind and save the world.   Partnered with secret agent Lucy Wilde, Gru, along with the wildly unpredictable Minions, must figure out how to keep his cover while also keeping up with his duties as a father.  Assemble the Minions for laugh-out-loud comedy in "one of the funniest, most enjoyable movies ever!" (MovieGuide®).  http://www.dme2.cn/

About Gameloft:

A leading global publisher of digital and social games, Gameloft® has established itself as one of the top innovators in its field since 2000. Gameloft creates games for all digital platforms, including mobile phones, smartphones and tablets (including Apple® iOS and Android® devices), set-top boxes and connected TVs. Gameloft operates its own established franchises such as Asphalt®, Order & Chaos, Modern Combat or Dungeon Hunter and also partners with major rights holders including Universal®, Illumination Entertainment®, Disney®, Marvel®, Hasbro®, FOX®, Mattel® and Ferrari®.

Gameloft is present on all continents, distributes its games in over 100 countries and employs over 5,000 developers.

Gameloft is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris (Euronext: GFT.PA, Bloomberg: GFT FP, Reuters: GLFT.PA). Gameloft is traded OTC in the US (sponsored Level 1 ADR ticker: GLOFY).

About Illumination Entertainment

Illumination Entertainment, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007, is one of the entertainment industry's leading producers of all-audience event films.  In July 2010, Illumination, which has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, released the first film under this agreement, Despicable Me, starring Steve Carell, which earned more than $540 million worldwide and launched a beloved global franchise.  With the success of 2011's Hop, 2012's Dr. Seuss' The Lorax and 2013's juggernaut Despicable Me 2-the year's second-highest-grossing film at the worldwide box office and the highest-grossing first-run film in Universal's history-Illumination's films have made almost $2 billion.  Universal and Illumination's next film, Minions, a spin-off of the phenomenally successful Despicable Me series-starring Academy Award® winner Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm-arrives in theaters on July 10, 2015.  Fans may also experience Minion Mayhem in 3D with the Ultra-HD movie motion simulator adventure at Universal Orlando Resort, soon to debut at Universal Studios Hollywood in April 2014.  

About Universal Partnerships & Licensing

UP&L oversees Universal's consumer product licensing, film and home entertainment promotions, and all corporate alliances for Universal's theatrical, home entertainment, theme parks and stage productions.  This dedicated division is also responsible for monetizing the Studio's vast library of films and characters through licensing, branding and marketing opportunities.  UP&L is part of NBCUniversal.  NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.

About 360 Mobile Assistant

360 Mobile Assistant was launched in September 2011. As the biggest safe platform for Android apps, it provides a large amount of games, software, music, videos and pictures. Users can download, install and mange their mobile resouces via 360 Mobile Assistant. All the apps on 360 Mobile Assistant have been reviewd and certificated by 360 Security Test Center. The service of "Pre-compensation for Games" service and "Unload the Mobile Pre-load Apps " function are well acclaimed by mobile users.

Till to September 2013, 360 Mobile Assistant owns more than 300 million users, and more than 26 billion downloads. It takes more than 41% marketing share of 3^rd party China Android App markets.

Press Contacts:
Heather Cosby
PR Manager
(415)615-0520
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Gameloft