Netmarble

History

Netmarble originated from the game developer Ipopsoft (), which faced financial trouble in the late 1990s. Bang Jun-hyuk, then an outsider, secured investment for the company and later took over as CEO, rebranding it as Netmarble.

After early success, Netmarble was acquired by CJ Group in 2004. Bang stepped down in 2006 due to health issues but returned in 2011 to refocus the company on mobile games.

In 2015, Netmarble developed Lineage 2: Revolution, which surpassed $924 million in revenue within 11 months of launch. The company continued releasing RPG mobile titles like Seven Knights, Raven (Evilbane), and Everybody's Marble. As of 2015, it employed over 3,000 people and operated in 120+ countries. Netmarble went public in May 2017, raising $2.4 billion.

Netmarble also formed a strategic partnership with CJ ENM and invested in SGN.

Between 2015 and 2017, Netmarble licensed Disney IPs, producing games such as Marvel: Future Fight (2015), Disney Magical Dice (2016), and Star Wars: Force Arena (2017).

In 2017, Netmarble acquired Kabam's Vancouver studio. In 2018, it appointed Park Sean as co-CEO alongside Kwon Young-sik.

That year, Netmarble acquired a 25.71% stake in Big Hit Entertainment (now Hybe Corporation), becoming its second-largest shareholder.

Netmarble later shut down both Disney Magical Dice and Star Wars: Force Arena, citing lack of support, leaving only Future Fight active.

In 2021, Netmarble acquired Kung Fu Factory and launched the subsidiary Metaverse Entertainment with Kakao Entertainment. It debuted the virtual girl group Mave: in 2023.

Marvel Future Revolution launched in August 2021 but was shut down in August 2023 due to underperformance. In January 2024, Netmarble shut down Metaverse Entertainment and laid off 70 employees.

As of 2021, Netmarble's major shareholders included Bang Jun-hyuk (24.12%), CJ ENM (21.78%), Tencent via Han River Investment Pte. Ltd. (17.52%), NCsoft (6.8%), and others (29.78%).

In July 2025, Netmarble's liquidity was significantly strengthened by its investment in HYBE shares. Despite selling approximately ₩743 billion worth of stock in 2023 and 2024, it retained a 9.44% stake (393,813 shares) valued at around ₩11.07 trillion. Its original 2018 investment of ₩201.4 billion in HYBE had appreciated considerably. Additionally, its stake in NCsoft rebounded from a ₩1.5 trillion write-down to an estimated ₩400 billion in value.

Also in July 2025, Netmarble considered issuing ₩2.5 trillion in exchangeable bonds (EB), backed by part of its HYBE stake, to repay debt incurred from its ₩2 trillion acquisition of SpinX. NH Investment & Securities was expected to underwrite the deal, supported by NH Hedge Asset Management and institutional investors. The company had previously used HYBE shares as collateral, including a 2023 block trade and a 2024 price return swap.

However, in August 2025, Netmarble canceled the EB issuance due to volatility in HYBE's stock price following an "owner risk" scandal involving HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk. The bond proceeds were intended to reduce SpinX-related debt, which has since been cut from approximately ₩1.6 trillion to the mid-₩200 billion range.

Games

References

References

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