Nexon announced on the 27th that it will launch a long-term investment program worth up to KRW 250 billion targeting new game developers. In cooperation with the government and game-focused venture capital firms, the program aims to discover innovative intellectual properties (IP) of early-stage developers from the initial start-up phase and support their scale-up. Nexon plans to identify promising candidates that could become the next generation of global hits and share the infrastructure and know-how needed for their growth.

The objective of the new investment program is to strengthen Nexon’s future growth engine and contribute to revitalizing the game market through IP development. Nexon stated that it plans to use the program “not as a simple financial investment, but as a ‘strategic radar’ that can read changes in market trends most quickly and identify promising IP in its raw form at an early stage.” Investment targets include: ▲ new IPs with potential for global expansion ▲ next-generation live-service games based on UA (user acquisition) marketing ▲ innovative developers utilizing AI technology. Nexon plans to begin in earnest the search for the first investment targets in the second half of this year.

To implement this investment program, Nexon has launched a strategic fund worth KRW 120 billion, the “Kona Global IP Investment Association,” together with game-focused venture capital firm Kona Venture Partners, through Nexon Partners, a newly established investment-focused subsidiary. The fund includes KRW 60 billion from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s IP account under the Fund of Funds. Kona Venture Partners will lead initial sourcing and nurturing from the seed stage through Series A. Nexon Partners will co-invest in part of the Series A round and then participate as a direct investor in subsequent stages, dividing roles between the parties.

A notable aspect of this investment program is that it is structured as an “open ecosystem model” that does not force publishing contracts on the developers receiving investment. Nexon plans to execute investments without requiring publishing agreements and to support the development of internal capabilities so that developers can remain self-sustaining as independent businesses. This approach aligns with the win-win philosophy of the Nexon & Partners Center (NPC), launched in 2012, which provided free support such as office space, cloud services, and financial, legal, and publishing advisory services to game start-ups and others.

Hanjoon Kim, CIO of Nexon, said, “Through public-private cooperation, Nexon will fill the gap in the early-stage investment market and firmly establish a long-term ecosystem investment and future growth engine development program so that promising start-ups discovered through this initiative can grow on the global stage together with Nexon.”

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