Local game firm wins investment from Tencent, LINE
Local game firm set to expand in Asian market
By Yoon Sung-won
Four Thirty Three CEO So Tae-hwan speaks during a press conference at the COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Four Thirty Three
Local game company Four Thirty Three said on Monday that it has won partnerships and investment from Tencent and LINE to publish promising Korean game titles in the global market.
For the company, the agreement with Asia’s largest mobile platform operators will pave a way into the rapidly growing Asian mobile game market, including China and Japan, for both the company and other smaller Korean game developers.
“The investments from Tencent and LINE mean not only dependable global partnerships and funds, but also more than a billion gamers in China and the rest of the world who can be our precious customers,” said So Tae-hwan, CEO of Four Thirty Three. “We look to create more business opportunities to ultimately vitalize the local mobile game industry.”
For the partnership with Four Thirty Three, Tencent and LINE have established a consortium with a local venture capital company, Korea Investment Partners, invested about 120 billion won ($110.61 million) and gained about a 25 percent share. Four Thirty Three said it will disclose more details about the consortium within this year.
Tencent, world’s top IT firm in terms of market cap, operates China’s largest mobile messenger services including Weixin and QQ whose global subscribers number more than a billion. LINE, a Japan-based affiliate of Korea’s largest Internet service provider Naver, also runs a mobile messenger service LINE.
Under the slogan “10 by 10 by 10,” Four Thirty Three said it plans to “hit 10 games in 10 countries to help list 10 local game developers” on the Seoul bourse.
“Our expectation of this partnership is high because this will provide us a robust distribution channel for the Asian mobile game market that encompasses China, Japan, Taiwan and other Southeast Asian nations,” said a Four Thirty Three spokesman. “While we seek greater market opportunities, we will maintain our philosophy that we will not sacrifice fun and completeness of game titles for profitability.”
An industry source said the company is likely to be listed next year and its value is expected to exceed 1 trillion won.
“The recent investment to the Korean game firm is part of our effort to introduce more entertaining Korean game titles in the global game market through our LINE mobile platform,” a Naver spokeswoman said. “In particular, Japan is a highly promising market where many customers are willing to pay for mobile games. We anticipate finding more opportunities with Four Thirty Three in Japan, too.”
Established in June 2009, the Korean mobile game development and publishing company has enjoyed continuous hits in the local market with its adventure game titles, including “The Secret of Chateau de Moreau” and “The City of Mist.”
In April 2014, it published a 3D mobile action role-playing game titled “Blade for Kakao.” The game was developed by a local game developer, Action Square, using 3D game-development technology called “Unreal Engine” for the first time as a mobile game. The title has topped both Google’s Play store and Apple’s Appstore.
Meanwhile, the company will roll out a new mobile action title “Hero for Kakao” in Korea next week.