NCSoft Invests $202 Million in European Mobile Game Platform JustPlay
Korean gaming giant NCSoft announced Wednesday a strategic investment of $202 million in JustPlay, a mobile game platform based in Germany, to acquire a 70 percent stake. This move signals NCSoft’s ambition to accelerate its expansion in the global mobile casual gaming market.
NCSoft’s board of directors approved the acquisition on the preceding day and anticipates finalizing the deal by the end of the following month.
JustPlay, founded in 2020 by former executives from global advertising technology firm AppLovin, is an advertisement technology-driven mobile casual game developer and rewards platform. NCSoft envisions JustPlay as a key platform within its broader strategy to build a thriving global mobile casual game ecosystem.
JustPlay currently operates around 40 mobile casual games, a mix of self-developed titles and those published through its platform. In the past year, JustPlay reported revenues of $172.8 million and an operating profit of $19.1 million, with approximately 70 percent of its sales originating from North America. Projections for this year anticipate revenues of $325 million and an operating profit of $40 million.
“JustPlay is a company demonstrating exceptional growth and substantial potential, with projected year-over-year sales growth of 88 percent this year,” stated NCSoft co-CEO Park Byung-moo. “This acquisition will provide us with a vital platform for our global mobile casual business and enable us to establish an ecosystem that maximizes synergy between our mobile casual game studio subsidiaries, both domestically and internationally.”
Since establishing a dedicated mobile casual center last year, NCSoft has been actively investing in building its mobile casual gaming ecosystem. This includes the acquisition of both domestic and international mobile casual gaming studios such as Lihuhu in Vietnam and Springcomes in Korea.
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