Nexon Celebrates 30th Anniversary, Focuses on Strengthening Fundamentals This Year 'All In'

Nexon will not participate in this year's G-Star, the largest game exhibition in Korea. Except for this year, Nexon has only missed G-Star twice in the past 19 years. Recently undergoing a leadership change, Nexon plans to focus on strengthening its internal foundation to open a new era for the company rather than engaging in external activities.

Nexon explained the reason for not attending G-Star this year as "to solidify the foundation so that several new games in development can be well presented to users." Nexon has only missed G-Star twice before: in 2019, when there was controversy over the company's sale, and in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier in June, when Nexon converted its developer conference to a closed event, speculation about skipping G-Star arose. This was the first time in 12 years that Nexon made its developer conference private. This reflected a strong intention to focus on internal voices and review its own games to strengthen its foundation.

Recently, with a complete leadership overhaul, Nexon has signaled change. As Nexon approaches its 30th anniversary next year, it is preparing to open a new era.

Lee Jung-heon has been appointed as the CEO of Nexon Japan headquarters. He joined Nexon as a new employee in 2003 and achieved a rapid promotion to CEO of Nexon Korea within 14 years, becoming a remarkable figure. Kim Jung-wook, CCO (Chief Communication Officer), and Kang Dae-hyun, COO (Chief Operating Officer), have been appointed as co-CEOs of Nexon Korea. They are expected to be officially appointed after related procedures such as the board meeting in March next year.

CEO Lee Jung-heon led the first Korean game company to surpass 3 trillion KRW in annual sales. In the third quarter of this year, Nexon recorded sales of 1.0913 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 420.2 billion KRW, marking a 23% increase in sales and a 47% increase in operating profit compared to the same period last year, achieving the highest performance ever. He has emphasized the concept of "super gap" within the company. The "super gap" means securing the highest level of competitiveness that competitors cannot catch up with. In reality, Nexon has established a dominant position in Korea.

Going forward, CEO Lee is expected to focus on global market expansion. He is known for valuing diversity in games. Accordingly, Nexon is expected to release new titles across various genres and platforms. Recently, "Dave the Diver," developed by Mintrocket, a sub-brand of Nexon, was nominated for "Best Indie Game" at The Game Awards (TGA), known as the Oscars of the global game industry.

Nexon Korea is transitioning to a dual-CEO system with Kang Dae-hyun, a developer-turned-COO, and Kim Jung-wook, who has overseen management support and external affairs as CCO, focusing on game development and discovering new competitiveness.

Meanwhile, instead of participating in G-Star this year, Nexon plans to hold an offline event called "FC Pro Festival" featuring "EA Sports FC Online" and "EA Sports Mobile" (FC Mobile) from the 16th to the 19th at the BEXCO Auditorium in Busan to soothe game fans' disappointment.