Nexon has announced a public-private fund dedicated to cultivating early-stage game development among independent studios in Korea. The coalition, made up of Nexon Partners Co., Ltd. (Nexon Partners), Kona Venture Partners, and Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will commit ₩250 billion (¥26.3 billion) over the next five years with staged investment in startups.
To lead this initiative, Nexon established Nexon Partners, and teamed up with Kona Venture Partners, a game-focused venture capital, to launch the ₩120 billion (¥12.6 billion1) strategic fund “Kona Venture Fund VII”. The fund includes ₩60 billion in capital from Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Kona Venture Partners will deploy the fund to activate early-stage investment from Seed to Series A, with Nexon Partners committing up to an additional ₩130 billion (¥13.7 billion1) in direct capital to support follow-on growth for high-potential studios.
Nexon believes that just as the smartphone era gave rise to a wave of new game studios, the AI transition will produce a new generation of innovative game IP. Target investments include studios developing globally scalable IP and next-generation games leveraging emerging technologies.
“Recently, Korea’s early-stage game development market has seen a prolonged contraction in investor sentiment, leaving even promising developers struggling to secure funding.” said Junghun Lee, President and CEO of Nexon, in a press release. “To address this concern, we will use this public-private collaboration to fill the funding gap and to operate a long-term program dedicated to sustaining the creative ecosystem and for cultivating the next generation of games driven by new technology.”
Nexon Partners is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexon, established in April 2026, to promote early-stage investment in the Korean game industry.