Nexon Commits 250 Billion Won to Early-Stage Game Companies
Nexon is establishing investment corporation Nexon Partners and will invest 250 billion won over five years in early-stage game developers alongside the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Kona Venture Partners. This is the first large-scale public-private fund targeting the seed to Series A stage, where game startups are most vulnerable.
AI Summary
Nexon announced a 250 billion won investment program for early-stage game developers through its newly established Nexon Partners, in partnership with Kona Venture Partners and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The dual-track structure includes a 120 billion won fund for seed to Series A investments and up to 130 billion won in direct investments for globally scalable IP and next-generation game developers. The initiative addresses the prolonged investment drought in Korea's game industry, particularly at the early stage where startups struggle most to secure funding.
250 billion won is flowing into the stage where game startups are most vulnerable. Nexon announced on June 23 a program to invest a total of 250 billion won over five years in early-stage game developers through its newly established investment corporation Nexon Partners, together with game-specialized venture capital Kona Venture Partners and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. As a first step, the 120 billion won Kona Global IP Investment Association has been launched.
The structure is dual-track. The fund track, Kona Global IP Investment Association, covers the early stages from seed to Series A, with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Fund of Funds IP account contributing 60 billion won. The direct investment track, Nexon Partners, will inject up to 130 billion won into next-generation game developers with globally scalable IP and advanced technology foundations. It's a division of labor where the fund handles discovery and Nexon handles scale-up.
| Kona Global IP Investment Fund | Nexon Partners Direct Investment | |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | 1,200억 won | Up to 1,300억 won |
| Stage | Seed to Series A | Selective investment in growth stage |
| Target | Early-stage game developers | Global IP and advanced technology game companies |
Timing is the key point of this announcement. Investment in the game industry has been in a deep freeze for years, and the earlier the stage, the more frozen it has been. Nexon CEO Lee Jung-hun cited the necessity of public-private cooperation as the background for the announcement, noting that promising companies are struggling to raise funds due to depressed investment sentiment in the early-stage game development market. This is also the first time the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Fund of Funds has invested at this scale in game IP. At a turning point where AI is collapsing game production costs, this reads as a preemptive investment aimed at determining who will control the next generation of IP.
Busan has already shown where this money should go. Circlefromdot in Haeundae endured seven years without seed investment and put its debut title on the global stage. Now it's money's turn to accelerate what the teams that endured have proven. The range of this fund—from seed to Series A—targets precisely that seven-year period. The next teams won't have to endure alone.
This article was automatically translated from the Korean original by AI. For the authoritative version, read it in Korean.
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