Nexon Co., Ltd. is a global
video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that have been developed either internally by the publisher or externally by a video game developer.
They often finance the development, sometimes by paying a video game developer ( ...
, listed in Japan, that specializes in online Virtual World games for PCs, consoles and mobile.
Nexon is one of the world’s ten largest interactive game companies based on market capitalization and maintains over 45 titles across 190 countries with popular IP franchises such as ''
MapleStory
''MapleStory'' () is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed by South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, published by vario ...
,
Dungeon&Fighter,
Sudden Attack
''Sudden Attack'' (Korean: 서든어택) is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter online game developed by the South Korean company GameHi. On December 2, 2013, Nexon America CEO Min Kim announced plans to discontinue ''Sudden Attack'' ...
, and
KartRider
''Crazyracing KartRider'' ( ko, 크레이지레이싱 카트라이더) is an online multiplayer racing game developed by Nexon Korea Corporation. It is part of the '' Crazy Arcade'' franchise. It earns revenue by selling virtual items within the ...
''.
As of 2022, Nexon games have registere
close to one billion registered playerswith multiple games that rank among the world's top-grossing entertainment franchises.
Nexon was founded in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea in 1994 by
Kim Jung-ju
Kim Jung-ju (; 22 February 1968 – 28 February 2022), also known as Jay Kim, was a South Korean businessman, investor, and founder of Korea's largest gaming company, Nexon. He was the chairman and CEO of NXC Corporation, the holding company of ...
and Jake Song. In 2005, the company moved its headquarters to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan. Nexon's largest shareholder is NXC, a South Korean entertainment conglomerate headquartered in
Jeju Island, South Korea.
History
Nexon Group was established in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea on December 26, 1994, and is currently based in Japan. It also has offices located in South Korea, the United States, Taiwan and Thailand.
Nexon developed and published its first title, ''
Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds'', in 1996, which the company continues to service. Many title releases followed such as ''Dark Ages: Online Roleplaying'', ''Elemental Saga'', ''
QuizQuiz
Quizquiz or Quisquis was, along with Chalcuchimac and Rumiñawi, one of Atahualpa's leading generals. In April 1532, along with his companions, Quizquiz led the armies of Atahualpa to victory in the battles of Mullihambato, Chimborazo and ...
'', ''
KartRider
''Crazyracing KartRider'' ( ko, 크레이지레이싱 카트라이더) is an online multiplayer racing game developed by Nexon Korea Corporation. It is part of the '' Crazy Arcade'' franchise. It earns revenue by selling virtual items within the ...
'', ''Elancia'', and ''
Shattered Galaxy
''Shattered Galaxy'' is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game (MMORTS) that was released in 2001 by KRU InteractiveNexon Inc., ., now known as KRU Interactive, Nexon Inc, after an extensive Beta Version, open beta period. In the ...
'';
some of which are maintained by a company spun off of Nexon,
Kru Interactive
Kru Interactive (now known as Nexon Inc.) is among the pioneers of online gaming and MMORPGs. Its headquarters is located in Santa Clara, California.
KRU or Kru Interactive
The South Korea-based game company made a name for itself in the earl ...
.
In 2003, Wizet developed ''
MapleStory
''MapleStory'' () is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed by South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, published by vario ...
'' in Korea, which later became one of their most successful titles and has been serviced for more than a decade. The game was localized in many locations such as Japan,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
Nexon is also the developer of ''
Dungeon & Fighter
''Dungeon & Fighter'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DNF'', is a series of video games created by Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon. While early games were only developed and published by Neople, Nexon began to publish other entries in the series as well ...
'', through its wholly owned subsidiary, Neople.
''Dungeon & Fighter'' is one of the most popular free-to-play online PC games in China.
In April 2013, the programmer "DrUnKeN ChEeTaH" was sued by Nexon America for operating GameAnarchy, a popular subscription based cheat provider for ''
Combat Arms
Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery uni ...
''. Nexon was awarded $1.4M in damages.
Nexon went public on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...
on December 14, 2011, in an
initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
, the largest in Japan for 2011 and the second largest by a technological company for 2011 worldwide.
On March 9, 2016, Nexon acquired
Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Timonium, Maryland since 2000, known first for real-time strategy games such as ''Rise of Nations'', later for the console RPG '' Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning'', and more recentl ...
, a mobile game developer in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.
On January 3, 2019, the Korea Economic Daily reported Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju and associates have put their 98.64-percent stake up for sale. However, on July 8, 2019, Reuters reported the plan was abandoned.
On November 25, 2019,
The Lego Group
Lego A/S (trade name: The Lego Group) is a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks aroun ...
announced the acquisition of
Bricklink
Lego A/S (trade name: The Lego Group) is a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks aroun ...
, the world's largest Lego fan community from Nexon, for an unknown price, which is expected to finish before the end of 2019.
On June 2, 2020, Nexon announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in listed entertainment companies. By March 2021, Nexon had deployed $874 million of that amount on investments into
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
,
Bandai Namco Holdings
also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...
,
Konami
, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
, and
Sega Sammy Holdings
(also known as the Sega Sammy Group and generally Sega Sammy, stylized as SᴇɢᴀSammy) is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Sega and Sammy Corporation in 2004. Both companies are involved in the amusement industry (Sega wi ...
. Nexon stated that they have no interest in outright acquiring or taking
activist investor
An activist shareholder is a shareholder who uses an Equity (finance), equity stake in a corporation to put pressure on its management. A fairly small stake (less than 10% of outstanding shares) may be enough to launch a successful campaign. In com ...
positions in these companies.
Nexon signed with
Bandai Namco Holdings
also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...
,
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
and
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
for a 10-year Japanese–South Korean video gaming partnership contract for media franchises through 2032, for example ''
HoPals Echoes'' crossover project.
Nexon, which was known to be the largest video game company in South Korea, was overtaken by
Krafton
Krafton Inc. ( ko, 주식회사 컴퍼니 크래프톤) is a South Korean video game holding company based in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang-Byung-gyu in Seoul ...
in July 2021.
In July 2021, Nexon announced the formation of Nexon Film and Television, a division of the company focused on expanding the reach and value of Nexon's global IP, as well as development of new properties in both interactive and linear entertainment. The division is based in Los Angeles.
[https://deadline.com/2021/07/video-game-nexon-film-tv-disney-activision-blizzard-nick-van-dyk-1234793007/][ In January 2022, ]Russo brothers
Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...
-owned film production company AGBO
AGBO (also known as Gozie AGBO) is an independent film and television production company led by Anthony and Joe Russo, best known for their work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most notably '' Avengers: Infinity War'' and '' Avengers: Endgame ...
sold a $400 million minority stake to Nexon, which is valued at $1.1 billion as Nexon takes a 38% stake.
In January 2022,
Russo brothers
Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...
-owned film production company
AGBO
AGBO (also known as Gozie AGBO) is an independent film and television production company led by Anthony and Joe Russo, best known for their work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most notably '' Avengers: Infinity War'' and '' Avengers: Endgame ...
sold a $400 million minority stake to Nexon, which is valued at $1.1 billion as Nexon takes a 38% stake.
In February 2022, it was reported by
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...
that Saudi Arabian-based
Public Investment Fund
The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billion ...
had purchased just over a 5% stake in
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
and Nexon, reportedly worth $883 USD million, while American investment company
KKR
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...
acquired an 8.5% stake.
Organization
Nexon maintains various offices around the world that engage in the publishing and/or development of Nexon's games. Each region's local consolidated subsidiaries are independently managed and are responsible for developing their own strategy for their products and services.
The subsidiary that publishes a game does not necessarily indicate the region(s) that a game is available in. For example, some of Nexon Korea's games are published directly by Nexon Korea yet are available worldwide with no separate service published under the local consolidated company's portfolio.
Support and Pay Increases for Creative Teams
In a 2021 earnings call, Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney declined to offer hard launch targets for highly anticipated games, telling investors: “Crunch mode is one of the most pernicious problems in our industry. The charade of launch timing serves little purpose except this dance with equity analysts. Instead, the right thing to focus and push for is a game that blows people’s minds. If we achieve that, the game will last many years, and the revenues will dwarf what we would have made by launching a quarter or two earlier. I’m sorry nobody in my industry has explained this to you before. Within the industry, we all know it’s true, and yet few talk about it openly. Everyone should. So rather than giving you a date, this team is going to give to our customers and employees a commitment to make the best game we can, as soon as we can.”
In February 2021, Nexon announced significant pay increases for new and existing development talent in the company’s Korean studios.
Games
Free-to-Play Online Virtual Worlds
Nexon is a pioneer in free-to-play online Virtual World games which operate in contrast to games that require a large initial payment and offer a comparatively short life cycle. Nexon’s Virtual Worlds make use of live, in-game operations to provide ongoing content and manage service. Nexon Live Operations helps engage players over years and, in some cases, decades.
![MapleStory Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/MapleStory_Logo.png)
Multiple Nexon Virtual Worlds are among the world’s most valuable entertainment franchises:
Games for Mobile and Consoles
Nexon began as a developer and publisher of PC games. However, in 2020, the company announced plans to begin releasing both console and mobile versions of key franchises. CEO Owen Mahoney noted that expansion onto the two popular platforms “collectively represent an order-of-magnitude increase in our total addressable market.”
In July 2020, the South Korean launch of ''The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon'' for mobile was the top grossing title on the Apple App story and #2 on Google Play, 24 years after the launch of the initial ''
The Kingdom of the Winds'' game in 1996. In August 2020, the highly-anticipated release of ''Dungeon&Fighter Mobile'' in China generated more than 60 million pre-registrations before it was delayed. In March 2022, ''Dungeon&Fighter Mobile'' was released in South Korea, reaching the #1 spot on both the App Store and Google Play.
It has already announced it will be publishing ''ARC Raiders'', ''The First Decendant'', ''Project AK'' and ''
KartRider: Drift'' for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox. Nexon previously published one title for PlayStation 4 in 2017, ''
Lawbreakers
''LawBreakers'' is a defunct first-person shooter video game developed by Boss Key Productions and published by Nexon. It was released worldwide on August 8, 2017, for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. Physical copies were distributed by Limit ...
'' from Boss Key Productions.
Expansion in Western Markets
Nexon operates in over 190 countries, but revenue and consumer engagement are concentrated in Asian markets. In 2021, the company announced a series of games in development for global release – with a focus on Europe and North America.
* ''
KartRider: Drift'' – A new multiplayer kart-racing party game, delivers drift-racing action, multiple game modes, deep player-created Kart options and character customization.
* ''The First Descendant'' – A free-to-play, third-person cooperative action RPG shooter which allows players to act as Descendents who inherit and develop powers to fight against alien invaders. Players compete individually or in 4-player co-ops.
* ''ARC Raiders'' –From Embark Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, a free-to-play, reimagined, cooperative third shooter that offers an intense struggle in every session: together with your squad, defend our home and resist the onslaught of ARC – a ruthless mechanized threat descending from space.
* ''The FINALS'' – From Emark Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, this is a free-to-play, team-based, first-person shooter that puts dynamism, physicality, and destruction front and center.
See also
*
Nexon Computer Museum
The Nexon Computer Museum is a museum on Jeju Island, South Korea. It opened on July 27, 2013. It is known as one of the first permanent museum in Korea that is dedicated for the history of computer and video games. As of 2017, the museum house ...
References
External links
Nexon Korea corporate website
Nexon Japan corporate website
Official website
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nexon
2011 initial public offerings
Chaebol
Companies based in Seoul
Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Japanese companies established in 1994
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies
Mass media companies based in Tokyo
Multinational companies headquartered in Japan
Multinational companies headquartered in South Korea
Public Investment Fund
Publishing companies established in 1994
Software companies based in Tokyo
South Korean companies established in 1994
Video game companies established in 1994
Video game companies of South Korea
Video game development companies
Video game publishers