NCSoft Accelerates Mobile Casual Business... Building Ecosystem Through M&A and More

Acquisition of Developers Including Rehoohoo and SpringComs
Mobile Casual Center Established in August
Co-CEO Park Byungmoo: "Additional M&A Discussions Underway"

NCSoft is actively pursuing the global mobile casual business as a new growth engine. The company has established a cluster strategy to build an ecosystem by integrating its development, publishing, data, and technology capabilities.

NCSoft Pangyo R&D Center. Provided by NCSoft

NCSoft announced on December 22 that it had acquired Rehoohoo, a global casual game development company, for $103.85 million (approximately 15.34 billion KRW) on December 19. NCSoft became the largest shareholder by acquiring a 67% stake in Indigo Group, the Singapore-based parent company specializing in mobile games and publishing.

Founded in 2017, Rehoohoo has rapidly grown by launching over 100 casual games. This year, its expected revenue is about 120 billion KRW, with an operating profit of around 30 billion KRW and cash reserves of approximately 20 billion KRW. More than 80% of its sales are generated in North America and Europe, demonstrating a strong global user base.

Park Byungmoo, Co-CEO of NCSoft, stated, "The acquisition of Rehoohoo is significant in that it establishes a solid foundation for tangible growth in the global mobile casual market. We expect Rehoohoo to serve as a hub for the casual development cluster in Asia."

NCSoft is also acquiring SpringComs, a domestic mobile casual studio. SpringComs specializes in the merge game genre and is known for its rapid development pace, releasing four to five new titles each year. This year's revenue is expected to reach about 28 billion KRW, more than double that of the previous year.

Earlier, in August, NCSoft established a "Mobile Casual Center" and recruited Anel Cheman, who played a key role in the growth of unicorn game companies such as Tripledot Studios and Outfit7, as the head of the center. In addition, veteran developers with expertise in user acquisition (UA), data, technology, and live operations, including Anthony Pascal-who has experience at global casual game companies like Miniclip-have joined to form a specialized team.

To build a mobile casual ecosystem, NCSoft is establishing a platform foundation for UA, live ops, and creative optimization, and is further enhancing it through artificial intelligence (AI) and platform technologies. Recently, the company acquired a mobile casual studio based in Slovenia, successfully validating its technology and marketability.

Co-CEO Park Byungmoo said, "We are currently in talks to acquire another sizable European mobile casual studio. In addition to growth through acquisitions, we are also negotiating with numerous studios with global competitiveness to expand our business into casual publishing. A comprehensive plan will be announced early next year," he added.