Kakao Games Makes $15 Million Investment in US Game Company 'Playable Worlds'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao Games announced on the 21st that its European subsidiary, Kakao Games Europe, has made a strategic investment of $15 million (approximately 18.3 billion KRW) in the U.S. game developer Playable Worlds, which develops cloud-based games and metaverse platforms.

Playable Worlds is a developer founded by key figures including Raph Koster, the creator of 'Ultima Online,' considered the pioneer of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), and the developer of the game platform 'Metaplace,' acquired by Disney in 2010, along with developers from Sony Online and Playdom. They are developing a cloud-based MMORPG as well as a metaverse platform capable of game distribution services.

Through this investment, Kakao Games led Playable Worlds' $25 million Series B funding round and plans to secure development capabilities for differentiated cloud-based games and metaverse platforms.

Playable Worlds is currently focusing on development with the goal of unveiling its first cloud-based MMORPG and metaverse platform in 2023.

Jokyehyun, CEO of Kakao Games, said, “We are very pleased to partner with Playable Worlds, a team of veterans who pioneered MMORPGs and the metaverse,” adding, “Through this collaboration, we will build differentiated gaming domains based on next-generation technologies and strive to successfully lead the ‘Beyond Korea’ project in the mid to long term.”

Raph Koster, CEO of Playable Worlds, said, “We are very happy to work with Kakao Games, which is active not only in Korea but also in the global market,” and added, “We will do our best to deliver excellent results so that diverse users worldwide can experience new cloud-based games.”

Meanwhile, in January, Kakao Games made a strategic investment of $20 million (approximately 24 billion KRW) in Frost Giant Studios, a U.S. game developer formed by renowned developers who created the ‘StarCraft’ and ‘WarCraft’ series, continuing its efforts to secure a solid development lineup and expand its presence in the global market.