Games publisher Nexon has built itself a reputation in the online gaming market over the years, helping to distribute titles like KartRider: Drift, Maple Story, and Godzilla: Defense Force. Today, it was revealed that the company is looking to invest significant funds into a variety of popular entertainment companies, funding Konami, Sega Sammy, Bandai Namco, and Hasbro.
As spotted by VentureBeat, the publisher dropped a press release on its website today announcing that a sum of $874 million has been invested into the four companies, with Nexon allegedly hoping to continue funding other major names in the months to come. The thought process behind the decision isn't to acquire any of these companies but instead to offer "long-term, friendly investments," with the publisher claiming they were picked due to their "ability to develop and sustain strong globally recognized intellectual property."
More investments could be on the way following the news, with Nexon allegedly setting aside $1.5 billion for similar transactions in the future. Although the publisher has made it clear that it didn't use the investments as an attempt to partner with the companies, it did reveal that it has had discussions with the recipients of the funding.
The slate of companies selected for investments are definitely interesting choices. Konami has largely avoided the spotlight in recent years, opting to focus on Pachinko machines and mobile games rather than developing new entries for its iconic video game licenses, which include the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Castlevania. There have been an array of rumors indicating that it's returning to Silent Hill in the future, although nothing has been confirmed. On the other hand, Sega continues to be a huge name in the gaming scene, publishing Yakuza: Like a Dragon last year and getting ready to launch Total War: Warhammer 2 and Total War: Rome Remastered this year.
Bandai Namco remains a significant publisher as well, finding major success already in 2021 with Little Nightmares 2, which has sold over 1 million copies in the month since its release. The company is prepping a stacked lineup of titles this year, including Digimon Survive, The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes, and The Last Kids on Earth and The Staff of Doom. It will also distribute FromSoftware's highly-anticipated next release, Elden Ring.Â
Meanwhile, Hasbro continues to be a hugely popular toy brand that works with significant gaming IPs. It recently signed a new deal with Epic Games and is currently selling a line of Halo NERF guns to correspond with the upcoming release of Halo Infinite. It'll be intriguing to see what Nexon's investments mean for the future of the company and what it intends to fund next.
Source:Â Nexon, VentureBeat