[Asia Exclusive] Stove Sets Sail Globally... "Leaping to a Global Platform Company with New Businesses"

Han Young-woon, CEO of Smilegate Stove, is being interviewed on the 12th at Smilegate Campus in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung, Seongnam aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Smilegate Stove is a developer and operator running the global social game platform ‘STOVE’. The parent company Smilegate launched the platform 'STOVE' in July 2015, and in August of the following year, separated the development and operation teams related to STOVE into a separate corporation, founding ‘Smilegate Stove’.

In December of the same year, Youngwoon Han was appointed as the new CEO of STOVE, beginning a full-fledged journey toward becoming a global social game platform. CEO Han, a graduate of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics, who previously worked at NHN Hangame and Kakao, is recognized as a talent with a firm philosophy and practical knowledge about social game platforms.

After his appointment, CEO Han focused on communication with users. The STOVE client provides users with easy access to various game-related announcements and update news, as well as a one-stop service that allows access to related sites such as the official website, customer center, and community. STOVE also operates official communities for each game. In these official communities, dozens to hundreds of user opinions and reviews are posted daily, facilitating active communication.

Smilegate Stove recorded KRW 74.6 billion in sales, KRW 2.9 billion in operating profit, and KRW 3.5 billion in net profit last year. Sales grew by 222.9% compared to the same period the previous year (KRW 23.1 billion), and operating and net profits improved significantly, turning all into black figures. This year, the strong performance continues. STOVE posted KRW 36 billion in sales in the first quarter alone, which is half of last year’s annual performance. Compared to the same period last year (KRW 9 billion), this is about a fourfold increase.

Regarding these achievements, CEO Han said, "It is even more meaningful because the continuous challenge in the game platform business area, which is rare in the domestic game and IT industry, has just begun to bear fruit."

The outlook is also bright. While existing killer contents such as Lost Ark and Epic Seven remain very popular, various new businesses are planned to be additionally promoted. In particular, in the second half of the year, they plan to launch the next-generation social video platform ‘P.pool’. P.pool is a multi-party video communication service similar to Zoom but with added casual social elements.

CEO Han stated, "It is still early to say that STOVE has achieved great results globally, but we are steadily building the process to achieve results through new businesses and investments," adding, "We will continue to invest globally and for the future while laying and supplementing the foundation to ensure platform stability."

Related article: [Asia Exclusive] "Smilegate Stove, as a platform for mobile & PC games + entertainment content"