Nexon has acquired a stake in Austrian social and mobile game developer Socialspiel Entertainment. The equity investment will secure Nexon exclusive worldwide publishing rights for Socialspiel’s titles, according to the Tokyo-based publisher.
“This long-term strategic partnership combines Socialspiel’s experience and track record of developing unique, high-quality game play experiences for Western audiences with Nexon’s extensive free-to-play experience, global publishing platform and international user base,” said Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney. “This announcement marks yet another milestone in our strategy to grow our business in the West and we are excited to work with the talented Socialspiel team to bring exciting new triple-A-quality titles to players around the world.”
Socialspiel Entertainment was founded in Vienna by industry veterans Mike Borras and Helmut Hutterer in 2010. The developer’s Tight Lines Fishing title was named Social Game of the Year at the 2011 German Game Developer Awards. The studio is currently producing a mobile RPG slated for release in 2015.
“Nexon pioneered the free-to-play business model over 15 years ago so they have the expertise and scale we were looking for in a strategic partner,” said Socialspiel Entertainment CEO Mike Borras. “Additionally, Nexon shares our focus on developing differentiated, high-quality content, and we are look forward to working together to leverage their extensive free-to-play knowledge and international platform to bring our future titles to an even wider audience.”
