Nexon
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | December 26, 1994 in Seoul, South Korea |
| Founder | Kim Jung-ju |
| Headquarters | Tokyo , Japan |
Area served | Worldwide (notably South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, United States) |
Key people | Owen Mahoney (CEO until 2023), Junghun Lee (CEO from 2024) |
| Products | MapleStory, Crazyracing Kartrider, Sudden Attack, Dungeon & Fighter, The First Descendant, Blue Archive |
| Owner | NXC (largest shareholder) |
| Parent | NXC |
| Website | company |
Nexon Co., Ltd. (previously known as ) is a South Korean company specializing in the development and publishing of live service games. Its portfolio includes titles such as MapleStory, Crazyracing Kartrider, Sudden Attack, Dungeon & Fighter, The First Descendant, and Blue Archive. Although headquartered in Japan, Nexon maintains offices in South Korea, the United States, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Established in Seoul, South Korea, in 1994 by Kim Jung-ju, Nexon relocated its main headquarters to Tokyo, Japan in 2005. The largest shareholder of the company is NXC, an investment and holding firm based in Jeju Province, South Korea.
History
Nexon was created on December 26, 1994, in Seoul, South Korea. Its inaugural game, Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds, launched in 1996 and continues to operate today. Following this, Nexon released several other titles including Dark Ages: Online Roleplaying, Elemental Saga, QuizQuiz, KartRider, Elancia, and Shattered Galaxy. Some of these games are now managed by a Nexon spin-off company known as Kru Interactive.
Acquisition of Wizet
In April 2001, Wizet was founded in Seoul under the leadership of Seung-chan Lee, who previously served as lead developer for Nexon's QuizQuiz. Wizet introduced MapleStory to the Korean market in April 2003, rapidly attracting 100,000 concurrent players and amassing 2 million registered users. The game also achieved popularity in Japan later that same year. Nexon acquired Wizet in 2004 and has since continued to develop and publish MapleStory actively.
Acquisition of Neople
Through its fully owned subsidiary Neople, Nexon produces Dungeon & Fighter. This title stands as one of the most widely played free-to-play online PC games within China.
2010s
Nexon debuted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 14, 2011. This public offering was the largest IPO in Japan that year and ranked as the second-largest tech company IPO worldwide. In April 2013, Nexon America secured $1.4 million in damages after winning a lawsuit against a programmer who operated GameAnarchy, a cheating service for Combat Arms.
On March 9, 2016, Nexon acquired Big Huge Games, a mobile game developer based in Maryland. In October 2018, Nexon made history by establishing Korea’s first labor union within the gaming industry. Founder Kim Jung-ju and his associates revealed intentions to sell their combined 98.64% ownership on January 3, 2019; however, this sale was canceled by July of that year. Later in 2019, The Lego Group purchased Bricklink—a Lego fan community owned by Nexon's parent company NXC.
Also in 2019, Nexon announced its plan to acquire Embark Studios, which was founded by former Electronic Arts Chief Design Officer Patrick Söderlund.
2020s
On June 2, 2020, Nexon declared an investment initiative amounting to $1.5 billion targeting publicly traded entertainment firms. By March 2021, the company had allocated $874 million across investments in Hasbro, Bandai Namco Holdings, Konami, and Sega Sammy Holdings without seeking full acquisitions or activist shareholder positions.
During a 2021 earnings call, CEO Owen Mahoney refrained from committing to fixed launch dates for major upcoming games. In February of that year, Nexon significantly increased compensation for development staff at its Korean studios. July 2021 marked the launch of Nexon Film and Television headquartered in Los Angeles. In January 2022, Nexon acquired a 38% equity stake in AGBO—the Russo brothers' film production company—through a $400 million minority investment that valued AGBO at $1.1 billion.
In February 2022, Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund purchased just over a 5% stake each in Capcom and Nexon for roughly $883 million combined; concurrently, KKR acquired an 8.5% stake.
May 2022 saw the introduction of Mintrocket—a Nexon sub-brand dedicated to games focused on "the essence of fun." Its debut title, Dave the Diver, achieved notable commercial success with one million copies sold within ten days. According to Nexon's own data, Korea emerged as the highest revenue-generating region during the first half of 2022.
Towards the end of 2023, Nexon announced that CEO Owen Mahoney would be succeeded by Junghun Lee—CEO of Nexon Korea—in 2024. On October 30, 2024, the company revealed development plans for The Kingdom of the Winds 2, serving as a sequel to their original release from nearly three decades prior. Additionally, Mintrocket transitioned into a fully owned subsidiary as of September 2024.
In July 2024, Pixelberry Studios was acquired by Series Entertainment for an undisclosed sum.
Legal Disputes
In 2018, Nexon faced a penalty of approximately (about ) due to inaccurate disclosure of probability rates connected to microtransactions gambling within loot boxes for the game Sudden Attack. Nexon Korea explained that the term "random provision" referred to varying chances for each item rather than uniform probabilities across all items.
At the beginning of 2023, Nexon initiated a cease and desist order and filed a lawsuit against Ironmace, alleging that the studio incorporated stolen assets and concepts from Nexon's discontinued project "P3" into their title Dark and Darker. After the cancellation of "P3" in 2021, nine former team members joined Ironmace. Ironmace responded by clarifying that the legal action was directed at a former employee, not the entire company. Following a police complaint by Nexon, authorities conducted a raid on Ironmace’s premises in March 2023. After the game was removed from Steam, Ironmace distributed it through BitTorrent on their Discord platform. On April 20, 2023, Nexon filed a copyright infringement case in the United States; however, this suit was dismissed on August 17, 2023. Subsequently, the game was reinstated on Steam.
In 2021, a MapleStory user filed a lawsuit against Nexon regarding insufficient transparency about detailed probability rates. The Korea Fair Trade Commission determined that over ten years, Nexon had lowered the likelihood of acquiring specific character equipment, even setting some Cube drop rates to zero. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff and mandated Nexon to refund five percent of the money spent. In response, Nexon agreed to compensate roughly 800,000 affected players with in-game currency valued at about (). In 2024, the Korea Fair Trade Commission imposed a record fine of () on Nexon for deceptive practices related to MapleStory microtransactions, citing violations of South Korea's Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce.
Corporate Structure
Nexon maintains numerous offices worldwide that oversee both publishing and game development operations. Each regional subsidiary independently formulates strategies tailored to their products and services.
| Region | Company Name |
|---|---|
| Japan | Nexon Co., Ltd.; gloops, Inc. |
| Korea | Nexon Korea Corporation; Neople Inc.; Nexon Games Co., Ltd.; JoongAng Pangyo Development Co., Ltd.; Mirae Asset Global Innovation Growth Focus Equity Privately Placed Investment Trust; VIP Global Super Growth Hedge Fund |
| China | Lexian Software Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. |
| North America | Nexon America Inc.; Big Huge Games, Inc. |
| Other | Nexon Europe GmbH; gloops Vietnam Co., Ltd.; Nexon Taiwan Ltd.; Nexon Thailand Co., Ltd. |
Development Studios
| Studio Name | Location | Established/Acquired | Additional Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nexon Korea | Seoul, Korea | December 1994 | ||
| Nitro Studios | 2020 | Originated from former internal teams within Nexon Korea | ||
| devCat | 2020 | |||
| Mintrocket | 2024 | Recently founded as a fully owned subsidiary; recognized for Dave the Diver | ||
| Nexon Games | Nexon Games Seoul | July 2010 | Previously operated as NAT Games | |
| MX Studio | Creators of Blue Archive and other titles inspired by Japanese subculture; initially part of NAT Games before rebranding under Nexon Games | |||
| RX Studio | 2024 | |||
| IO Division | 2024 | Provides support for subculture-themed game development and oversees live service bishoujo titles managed by MX Studio and RX Studio. | ||
| Nexon Games Pangyo | Pangyo-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Korea | June 2018 | Previously known as Nexon GT | |
| Neople | Jeju City, Korea | August 2008 | ||
| Embark Studios | Stockholm, Sweden | July 2019 | ||
| Big Huge Games | Timonium, Maryland, United States | March 2016 | ||
Free-to-play online virtual worlds
By August 2022, Nexon Virtual Worlds had established several leading entertainment franchises, including:
| Franchise | Launch year | Registered users | Total revenue to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeon & Fighter | 2005 | Over 850 million | Exceeding $20 billion |
| MapleStory | 2003 | More than 180 million | Over $3 billion |
| KartRider | 2004 | Above 380 million | Surpassing $1 billion |
| Sudden Attack | 2005 | Approximately 23 million | Over $700 million |
| Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds | 1996 | Around 26 million | Not available |
| Mabinogi | 2004 | Close to 20 million | More than $600 million |
Games for mobile and consoles
Nexon, initially concentrating on PC titles, broadened its scope to include console and mobile platforms starting in 2020. Prior to this, in 2017, Nexon released LawBreakers on PlayStation 4. The mobile version of The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon, launched in July 2020, quickly reached the top position on South Korea's Apple App Store and secured second place on Google Play, underscoring the enduring success of their classic franchises. In August 2020, the Chinese release of Dungeon & Fighter Mobile attracted over 60 million pre-registrations before experiencing a postponement.
With operations spanning more than 190 countries, Nexon's primary revenue streams are rooted in Asian markets. Since 2021, the company has intensified efforts to expand globally, focusing particularly on Europe and North America. CEO Mahoney highlighted the strategy of introducing games with a 'Western sensibility,' exemplified by titles like ARC Raiders from Embark Studios. In 2022, the mobile adaptation of Dungeon & Fighter launched in South Korea and China, surpassing $1 billion in revenue within China alone.
Looking ahead, Nexon intends to publish several titles—including ARC Raiders, The First Descendant, Project AK, and KartRider: Drift—across PlayStation 4 and Xbox platforms around the year 2025.
Games
| Year | Title | Developer | Publisher | Additional Information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds | Nexon Korea | Nexon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Elancia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dark Ages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Asgard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crazy Arcade | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | MapleStory | Wizet | Nexon (KR, JP, NA, EU) Asiasoft/Playpark (SEA) Gamania (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau) Shengqu Games (China) |
EU and NA services consolidated under Nexon America in 2016. Known as "Adventure Island Online" in China. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TalesWeaver | Softmax | Nexon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Crazyracing Kartrider | Nexon Korea | Also referred to as KartRider Servers were discontinued in March 2023 as focus shifted to KartRider: Drift |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mabinogi | devCAT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Sudden Attack | Nexon GT (currently Nexon Games) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Dungeon Fighter Online' | ' 'Neople' | ' 'Nexon (KR and JP) Neople (Global)' |
' ' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' '2007' | ' 'Elsword' | ' 'KOG Studios' | ' 'Nexon' | ' 'Published only in Korea; global publishing managed by KOG' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008' | ' 'Counter-Strike Online' | ' 'Nexon Valve Corporation' |
' ' | ' ' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Combat Arms' | ' 'Nexon' | ' 'Servers shut down November 2017; global servers later operated by VALOFE' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' '2009' | ' 'Crazy Shooting Bubble Fighter' | ' ' | ' ' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010' | ' 'Vindictus' | ' 'devCAT' | ' 'Known as Mabinogi Heroes in Asia; serves as a prequel to Mabinogi' | ' ' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Dragon Nest' | ' 'Eyedentity Games' | ' 'Shared Korean publishing rights; ENP Games operates KR server while Eyedentity manages other regions except China' | ' ' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' '2011' | ' 'Cyphers' | ' 'Neople' | ' ' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' '2012' | ' 'FIFA Online 3' | ' 'Electronic Arts' | ' 'Published exclusively in Korea' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013' | ' 'ArcheAge' | ' 'XL Games' | ' 'Shared Korean publishing rights; XL Games subsequently acquired by Kakao Games' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Final Fantasy XIV' | ' 'Square Enix Business Division 5' | ' 'Square Enix' | ' 'Shared Korean publishing rights; Actoz Soft currently manages KR server' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Counter-Strike Online 2' | ' 'Nexon Valve Corporation' |
' 'Nexon' | ' 'Servers discontinued April 2018' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014' | ' 'FreeStyle 2' | ' 'JOYCITY' | ' 'Published only in Korea' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Closers' | ' 'Naddic Games' | ' 'Published for Korea only; global servers operated by Naddic Games' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Monster Squad' | ' 'Nexon GT Timecast' |
' 'Mobile title; servers closed December 2016' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015' | ' 'DomiNations' | ' 'Nexon Big Huge Games' |
' 'Mobile game; publishing rights transferred to Big Huge Games in 2020' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'MapleStory 2' | ' 'NSquare' | ' 'Japanese and global servers closed early 2020; Korean server remains active' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016' | ' 'Tree of Savior' | ' 'IMC Games' | ' 'Published only for Korea; IMC manages global servers' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ' 'Sudden Attack 2' | ' 'Nexon GT' | ' Korean server shut down shortly after launch due to controversy' | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Titanfall Online'" | "Nexon (licensed from Electronic Arts)'" | "Never officially released'" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – First Assault Online'" | "Neople'" | "Japan servers closed Nov.29,2017; Global servers closed Dec.6,2017'" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017'" | "Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed'" | "XPEC Entertainment (licensed from Koei Tecmo)'" | "Mobile game; servers closed March 2020'" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Dark Avenger 3'" | "Boolean Games'" | "Mobile title'" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "LawBreakers'" | "Boss Key Productions'" | "Cliff Bleszinski’s studio debut title; servers shut down late 2018; IP retained by Nexon'" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "AxE (Alliance vs Empire)'" | "Nexon RED'" | "Mobile game; server closed June 2022'" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018'" | "Darkness Rises'" | "Nexon'" | "Mobile game launched June 2018; server terminated Nov.30,2022'" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Durango: Wild Lands'" | "Nexon What! Studio'" |
"Mobile game; server discontinued Oct.16,2019'" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "FIFA Online 4'" | "EA Spearhead'" | "Published exclusively for Korea" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "MapleStory M'" | "Nexon'" | "Mobile game" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019'" | "KurtzPel'" | "KOG Studios'" | "Published for Korea only; global operations managed by KOG" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Godzilla Defense Force'" | "Neople Studio42'" |
"Mobile title" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Crazy Arcade BnB M'" | "Nexon'" | "Mobile game" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020'" | "KartRider Rush+'" | "Mobile game" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "V4'" | "NAT Games (now Nexon Games)'" | "Cross-platform PC and mobile; servers closed March20,2024" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon'" | "Nexon Korea'" | "Mobile title available in Korea" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "FIFA Mobile'" | "EA Mobile'" | "Published by Nexon in Japan and Korea; mobile platform" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021'" | "Blue Archive'" | "IO Division; MX Studio (under NAT Games rebranded as Nexon Games)" | "Global publishing excluding Japan and China; PC client planned for summer of 2025; real-time strategy mobile game" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "KonoSuba: Fantastic Days'" | "Sumzap'" | "Global publishing except Japan; rights transferred to Sesisoft June2023; mobile game" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022'" | "Dungeon & Fighter Mobile'" | "Neople'" | "Mobile release available in Korea" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "DNF Duel'" | "Arc System Works Eighting Neople'" |
"Available on PlayStation and PC platforms; nominated for The Game Awards Best Fighting Game" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Argent Twilight: Secrets Of The Dark Orbs'" | "Mobile title available in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "TalesWeaver: Second Run'" | "Mobile release available in Japan" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "MapleStory Worlds'" | "Nexon Korea'" | "Cross-platform PC and mobile title available only in Korea" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023'" | "KartRider: Drift'" | "Nitro Studios'" | "Cross-platform across PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and mobile devices" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Dave the Diver'" | "Mintrocket'" | "Available on PC, MacOS, Nintendo Switch series, PlayStation, Xbox platforms" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warhaven | Nexon Korea | Scheduled server closure April2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EA Sports FC Mobile | EA Mobile | Nexon (JP and KR) | Mobile game successor to FIFA Mobile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| EA Sports FC Online | EA Spearhead | Nexon | Published exclusively for Korea; successor to FIFA Online4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Finals | Embark Studios | Embark Studios | Cross-platform on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty Warriors M | Neobards Entertainment (licensed from Koei Tecmo) | Nexon | Mobile title | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | The First Descendant | Nexon Games | Nexon | Cross-platform release on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| rowspan=2 |2025 | The First Berserker: Khazan | Neople | Nexon | Multi-platform single-player ARPG on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ARC Raiders | Embark Studios | Embark Studios | Available cross-platform on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| rowspan=8 |TBA | Nakwon: Last Paradise | rowspan=2 | Mintrocket | rowspan=2 | Mintrocket | Wakerunners | - | Mabinogi Mobile | devCAT | Nexon | OVERKILL | Neople | MapleStory N | rowspan=3 | Nexon Korea | Vindictus: Defying Fate | Project DX | Nexon KR | Based on Durango: Wild Lands | Project RX | IO Division; RX Studio (MX Studio sister branch) | Expected publisher: Nexon | Subculture-themed title similar to Blue Archive but set in a distinct universe |
See also
External links
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- 2011 initial public offerings
- Chaebol
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