Nexon expands game pipeline to target global market

Korean developer commits to new game franchises to give joy to gamers

Kang Dae-hyun, co-CEO of Nexon Korea, speaks in a press conference held at the game developer's headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. (Nexon)

Nexon has laid out a future roadmap to strengthen its existing gaming intellectual properties and develop new IPs to target the global market.

“In this way, we will further advance Nexon's strong capabilities based on our experience and focus on providing innovative gaming services to users,” said Kang Dae-hyun, co-CEO of Nexon Korea, in a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. Nexon Korea is wholly owned by Tokyo-listed Nexon.

“To make a leap and become a global gaming company, we will put our utmost efforts into researching various genres and IPs.”

Nexon, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, underlined that it will concentrate on extending the time users can spend within the developer’s game ecosystem and providing users with continuously enjoyable experiences.

Nexon highlighted that it will keep expanding its signature gaming IPs, namely MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, and Mabinogi, to strengthen its franchises.

The company unveiled a plan to utilize the IP of the Kingdom of the Winds -- Korea’s oldest massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG, which the company noted was launched in April 1996 and has now delighted users for over 10,000 days. Nexon plans to release the Kingdom of the Winds 2 as a cross-platform MMORPG playable on both computers and mobile devices.

Kang, the co-CEO, pointed out the strategy of “big and little processes” to allocate personnel depending on the scale of each project. Last month, Nexon decided to spin off its sub-brand Mintrocket, the developer of the hit title “Dave the Diver,” to bolster Mintrocket's agility.

Kim Jung-wook, co-CEO of Nexon Korea, speaks in a press conference held at the game developer's headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. (Nexon)

“Nexon must become a company that keeps adding value, which means we have to continue to grow based on the experiences and lessons we've accumulated over the last 30 years,” said Kim Jung-wook, co-CEO of Nexon Korea.

“It’s called ‘Creative Attack.’ We will keep moving forward to develop games through the creativity that only Nexon has, to attempt what has never been done. We will try harder so that we can share our deeply-held intention with society and gamers.”

The Korean game developer also introduced the five titles it will showcase at the upcoming G-Star, the country’s biggest annual game show slated to take place at Bexco in Busan from Nov. 14 to 17.

The lineup includes Supervive, a multiplayer online battle royale; Project Overkill, a 3D action role-playing game; The First Berserker: Khazan, a hardcore action RPG; Gensei Suikoden Online, a casual RPG; and ARC Raiders, a third-person, player vs. player vs. environment action survival shooter.

Participating as the main sponsor of this year’s G-Star, Nexon said it will set up the biggest exhibition area at the event with about 500 gaming devices to offer gaming fans the maximum chance to experience the new titles hands-on.

By Kan Hyeong-woo(hwkan@heraldcorp.com)