NCSoft headquarters (Image courtesy of NCSoft)
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean gamemaker, said Monday it has acquired Singapore-based mobile game publisher Indygo Group as part of its broader strategy to focus on the mobile casual game business as a new growth driver.
The company purchased a 67 percent stake in Indygo Group at 153.4 billion won (US$103.8 million) last week to become the largest shareholder of the Singaporean firm, according to NCSOFT.
Indygo Group is the parent company of Vietnam-based game developer Lihuhu, well known for casual and puzzle games. Lihuhu is expected to post 120 billion won in sales in 2025, with more than 80 percent of its revenue coming from North America and Europe.
This image provided by NCSOFT Corp. on March 13, 2025, shows promotional material for the company’s Blade & Soul 2, set to be released in China in April. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“With the acquisition of Lihuhu, we have established a growth foothold in the global mobile casual game market,” Park Byung-moo, co-chief executive officer (CEO) of NCSOFT, said. “We expect Lihuhu to serve as a hub for casual game development in the Asian region.”
In addition, NCSOFT, best known for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as Lineage and Guild Wars, also plans to acquire Korean mobile casual game studio Springcomes, expected to log 28 billion won in sales for 2025.
The moves are part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its casual game portfolio.
NCSOFT has set up a mobile casual center aimed at building a new ecosystem integrating the company’s developing, publishing, data sharing and technological capabilities.
“We are in talks with European studios for further mergers and acquisitions,” Park said. “Along with M&As, we are also seeking business collaborations with multiple global game studios to expand our casual game business.”
(Yonhap)
