Nexon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nexon Co, Ltd.

Native name	주식회사 넥슨  (Korean) 株式会社ネクソン  (Japanese)
Romanized name	Korean RR: Jusikhoesa Nekseun Japanese Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Nekuson
Type	Public
Traded as	TYO: 3659
Industry	Video games
Founded	December 26, 1994; 30 years ago (1994-12-26) Seoul, South Korea
Founders	Kim Jung-ju Jake Song
Headquarters	Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Junghun Lee (President and CEO) Shiro Uemura (CFO)
Revenue	¥274.5billion (2021)
Operating income	¥91.5billion (2021)
Net income	¥114.9billion (2021)
Number of employees	7,067 (Dec. 2021)
Subsidiaries	§ Organization

Nexon Co., Ltd. is a company that makes and publishes video games. It started in South Korea. Some of its most famous games include MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, Sudden Attack, and KartRider.

Nexon was founded in Seoul, South Korea, in 1994 by Kim Jung-ju and Jake Song. In 2005, the company moved its main office to Tokyo, Japan.

History

How Nexon Started

First logo (1994–2009)

Nexon was created in Seoul, South Korea, on December 26, 1994. The company made and released its first game, Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds, in 1996. This game is still played today!

Many other games followed, like Dark Ages: Online Roleplaying, Elemental Saga, QuizQuiz, KartRider, Elancia, and Shattered Galaxy. Some of these games are now managed by a different company called Kru Interactive.

MapleStory and Dungeon & Fighter

In 2003, a game company called Wizet made MapleStory in Korea. This game became one of Nexon's biggest hits and has been popular for over twenty years. MapleStory was released in many countries, including Japan, China, and North America.

Nexon also makes Dungeon & Fighter through its company, Neople. Dungeon & Fighter is one of the most popular free online PC games in China.

The 2010s

Nexon became a public company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011. This was a very big step for the company. In 2016, Nexon bought Big Huge Games, a company that makes mobile games.

In 2013, Nexon America took legal action against a programmer who ran a cheat service for their game Combat Arms. Nexon won the case.

In 2019, there were talks about selling Nexon, but the plan was later stopped. Also in 2019, The Lego Group bought Bricklink, a large Lego fan community, from Nexon's parent company, NXC.

The 2020s

In 2020, Nexon announced plans to invest a lot of money in other entertainment companies. By 2021, they had invested in companies like Hasbro, Bandai Namco Holdings, Konami, and Sega Sammy Holdings. Nexon said they were not trying to take over these companies.

In 2021, Nexon also started Nexon Film and Television. This new part of the company focuses on making Nexon's game stories into movies and TV shows. This division is based in Los Angeles.

In 2022, a film company called AGBO, owned by the Russo brothers, sold a part of its company to Nexon. Also in 2022, a fund from Saudi Arabia bought a small part of Nexon and Capcom.

In May 2022, Nexon launched Mintrocket. This is a new part of Nexon that makes games focused on being "fun." Their first game, Dave the Diver, was a huge success. It sold one million copies in just ten days!

In 2023, Nexon took legal action against a game studio called Ironmace. Nexon said that Ironmace used ideas and files from a canceled Nexon project for their game Dark and Darker. This led to a police visit to Ironmace's offices. The game was later removed from Steam, but Ironmace made it available in other ways. Nexon also filed a lawsuit in the United States.

Organization

Nexon has many offices around the world. These offices help publish and develop Nexon's games. Each local office manages its own games and services. This means a game published by Nexon Korea might be available worldwide, not just in Korea.

Studios

Free-to-Play Online Virtual Worlds

Nexon was one of the first companies to create free-to-play online games. Unlike games you buy once, Nexon's games are free to start. They offer new content and updates over many years. This helps players stay interested for a long time.

The logo of MapleStory, a popular online role-playing game from Nexon

Many of Nexon's online games are very successful:

Games for Mobile and Consoles

Nexon started by making games for computers. But in 2020, the company decided to also release popular games for mobile phones and game consoles. This means many more people can play Nexon's games.

For example, The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon for mobile was very popular in South Korea. It became a top-grossing game on app stores. Dungeon&Fighter Mobile also did very well when it launched in South Korea.

Nexon plans to release games like ARC Raiders, The First Descendant, and KartRider: Drift for PlayStation and Xbox.

Growing in Western Markets

Nexon's games are played in over 190 countries. Most of its players are in Asia. But in 2021, Nexon announced new games that will be released globally. They are focusing on players in Europe and North America.

• KartRider: Drift – This is a new multiplayer kart-racing game. It offers fun drift-racing, different game modes, and ways to customize your kart and character.
• The First Descendant – This is a free-to-play, third-person action game. Players are "Descendants" who get special powers to fight alien invaders. You can play alone or with up to four friends.
• ARC Raiders – From Embark Studios in Sweden, this is a free-to-play, cooperative shooter game. You team up with friends to defend your home from a robot threat from space.
• The Finals – Also from Embark Studios, this is a free-to-play, team-based, first-person shooter. It focuses on fast action, physical gameplay, and lots of destruction.

Games

See also

• Nexon Computer Museum