Korean game developer Wemade has been sold to a Chinese investment firm with close ties to Alibaba. Wemade, which holds the "Mir" intellectual property (IP) regarded as a "legend of China market entry," plans to accelerate the development of new global titles on the back of the deal.
Wemade disclosed Tuesday that its largest shareholder and founder, Chairman Park Kwan-ho, sold his entire stake to Neopulse Co. Park's stake of 39.33% was sold for a total of approximately 920 billion won.
Through the transaction, Neopulse will hold a 40.25% stake in Wemade, making it the largest shareholder. Neopulse is an investment platform company wholly owned by Shengsong Investment, a Hong Kong-based investment management firm. It is known to have close relationships with Alibaba and major Chinese game companies.
According to Wemade, the deal was pursued under a vision of accelerating expansion into the Chinese market. Neopulse cited Wemade's massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) development capabilities and the strong competitiveness of its flagship IP, the "Mir" series, in China as the main reasons for the investment. "The transaction value of 920 billion won reflects the Mir IP's proven revenue-generating capability in China through Wemade subsidiaries such as Jeongi IP, as well as its future growth potential," a Wemade official explained. Wemade's signature title "The Legend of Mir 2" was launched in China in 2001 and achieved a 65% market share in 2004. It has recently been gaining popularity in China with follow-up titles such as Mir M.
The sale is expected to add momentum to the expansion of the Mir IP in the Chinese market. In addition, Neopulse plans to pursue the development of new global titles, including for the Chinese market. It also plans to diversify and advance its business model by cooperating with leading Chinese information technology (IT) companies and game developers and publishers. The company plans to actively adopt advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology across game development, next-generation graphics, digital humans, and live services to simultaneously improve content quality and user experience.
"This partnership will serve as a key turning point in securing a leading position in the next-generation game market based on strong consensus and trust," a Wemade official said. "We will continue to meet market expectations through localization strategies and strengthened AI-based game development capabilities."
