Reports emerging say that Tencent, one of the major tech and gaming giants in the world, has begun a discussion around a possible NEXON takeover. This would see one of the gaming industry's most successful publishers fall under the broader Tencent umbrella.
Founded in South Korea in 1994, with its headquarters moving to Tokyo later in 2005, NEXON has a long history of developing and publishing successful titles. Some of their franchises include:
- Maple Story
- Mabinogi
- Vindictus
- Dungeon Fighter Online (a steady top among global earners with over $22 billion as of 2023)
Recently, in 2023, NEXON was confirmed to be running with a series of new releases: KartRider: Drift, Dave The Diver, and The Finals, to be followed in 2024 by The First Descendant and The First Berserker: Khazan for 2025. Upcoming releases also include several entertaining projects, such as the development of zombie extraction NAKWON: LAST PARADISE, a team-action Wakerunners, shooter ARC Raiders (to go live on October 30), and co-op action RPG Vindictus: Defying Fate (currently in closed alpha on Steam).
Currently, NEXON is valued at approximately $15 billion. This may be large, but Tencent, with estimates above $600 billion, can handle this without much sweat. Bloomberg suggests Tencent entered talks with family members of NEXON's late founder, Kim Jung-ju, who passed away in February 2022. The Kim family owns a significant part of NEXON through their Investment Company, NXC Corp. (owning 44.4% of Nexon through its subsidiary NXMH BV as of June 30), and is said to be weighing its options with their advisors. Kim's wife and daughters allegedly control the majority of NXC (around 67.6%).
It should be noted that talks are at a preliminary stage, and there is no way to know for sure if a deal will be reached in the end. There are several other variables in the equation, too; details of any potential deal remain far from being finalized.
Tencent's Investment Strategy in Gaming
An established fact is Tencent's enormous investment and acquisition portfolio across the computer gaming industry. It fully owns notable studios like Riot Games (League of Legends), Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile), Sharkmob, Funcom, Sumo Group, and Leyou. More recently, Tencent has acquired a 15.75% stake in Arrowhead Studios, developers of Helldivers 2.
