Netmarble, Led by President Lee Seung-won, Makes a Global Bold Move

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Netmarble is accelerating its global expansion through aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) led by President Lee Seung-won, an expert in overseas business. Since the beginning of the year, the company has been acquiring blockchain game companies to create new growth engines.

◆ Acquisition of blockchain game company ‘Item Games’ = Netmarble’s subsidiary Netmarble F&C announced this morning that it acquired 388,494 shares of Item Games for 7.65022 billion KRW. Netmarble F&C plans to introduce blockchain technology into the games currently under development through this acquisition. The company aims to speed up its entry into the global Play to Earn (P2E) and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) markets.

Founded in 2018, Item Games possesses middleware technology that enables rapid application of P2E systems to mobile games. The company has extensive experience and expertise in building NFT marketplaces. It operates blockchain games on the Binance Smart Chain. According to the company, Item Games will play a key role in the ‘Metanomics’ ecosystem that Netmarble F&C is building.

Netmarble recently promoted Lee Seung-won, co-CEO, to president in its regular executive personnel reshuffle. Lee joined Netmarble in 2007 and has been in charge of overseas business ever since. He served as head of the overseas business division from 2008, was executive director of the global strategy office, and was appointed vice president in charge of Netmarble Global in 2014. Upon his promotion, Lee will take on the role of global head, focusing on managing key overseas subsidiaries and concentrating on global business.

The management restructuring aligns with the business goals of Bang Jun-hyuk, chairman of Netmarble’s board, who aims to solidify the company’s position as a global game company this year. At this year’s opening ceremony, Chairman Bang emphasized, "Creating competitive games that users choose and building global business competitiveness is the essence of a ‘strong Netmarble.’"

In recent years, Netmarble has continuously pursued trillion-won scale M&As to strengthen its global gaming competitiveness. Jam City, SpinX, and Kabam, which have now become key overseas subsidiaries, are examples. Jam City, acquired in July 2015 for 150 billion KRW to target the North American and European markets, is a global mobile game company that developed titles such as ‘Cookie Jam,’ ‘Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery,’ and ‘Disney Emoji Blitz.’ In 2020, it was selected as one of the top 10 game publishers on the App Store and Google Play in the U.S. Notably, Jam City contributed to expanding Netmarble’s casual game portfolio by acquiring 100% of Canadian mobile game company Ludia for $165 million (approximately 192.5 billion KRW) last year.

SpinX, acquired last year, is a social casino game specialist founded in 2014, with representative titles including Cash Frenzy, Latcher Slots, and Jackpot World. SpinX’s 2020 revenue was 497 billion KRW, and it is expected to significantly contribute to Netmarble’s future revenue growth.

Until now, Netmarble has refrained from involving its executives in the management of these overseas subsidiaries, allowing them autonomous management. Assigning the new president to oversee all overseas subsidiaries reflects Chairman Bang’s determination to capture both global recognition and overseas revenue growth this year.

◆ Expectations for new P2E and NFT business achievements = Netmarble is also stepping into the ‘Play to Earn (P2E)’ market, which has become a global trend this year. Its subsidiary Jam City recently established a dedicated blockchain department and unveiled the blockchain-based P2E game ‘Champions: Ascension.’

This game features a user-centered fantasy world where players can earn rewards through battles with other players and own these rewards as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The official acquisition of the blockchain game platform ‘Item Games’ is part of this strategic direction.

A Netmarble official said, "This year will mark a major turning point in the global gaming market. We plan to actively adopt blockchain technology and introduce Play & Earn (P&E) games to the global market."