During its earnings announcement, Webtoon Entertainment announced it made a strategic investment in RI Games Holdings, home to GrayGames and Offbeat, to build games based on hit webcomics.
Webtoon is starting a multi-year, multi-game slate, including titles like Overgeared and Omniscient Reader that already have hundreds of millions of readers. Instead of building game worlds from scratch, the South Korean company is starting with stories that already have proven fandoms. And now it will let fans step inside those stories.
Each project will receive an anime adaptation, creating a major franchise pipeline that runs from comics, to animation, and gaming.
The investment gives Webtoon a dedicated pipeline to develop games from hit webcomics with established, built-in global fandoms. Upon closing, Webtoon Entertainment will hold a 60% majority stake in RI Games Holdings.
Together, Webtoon and RI Games Holdings plan to develop and launch multiple games over the next four years, based on proven intellectual property (IP) with an established global fan base.
RI Games Holdings operates through two game development studios, GrayGames and Offbeat. The slate includes games based on the hit series Overgeared (1.3 billion global views), Doom Breaker (590 million views), and Webtoon sensation Omniscient Reader (aka ORV, 3.05 billion views). Each title is part of a broader franchise strategy, with planned anime adaptations helping extend these stories and engage wider audiences: from webcomic to animation and game.
Leading the lineup is a new action massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the hit webcomic, Overgeared, scheduled for global launch later this year. Developed by GrayGames and published by Nexon, the game is planned to launch alongside an anime adaptation, which premieres in October 2026.
Together, the releases will drive a coordinated cross-media expansion designed to broaden the franchise’s global reach and give fans new ways to experience the world of Overgeared.
“Webtoon is where global fandoms begin, and with this investment we’re taking a more direct role in growing stories into global franchises,” said Junkoo Kim, founder and CEO of Webtoon Entertainment, in a statement. “Games are one of the most immersive forms of fandom, and building them from stories fans already love is a powerful way to reach new audiences everywhere. This strengthens our track record of turning original stories into global franchises across animation, television, film, publishing, and now games.”
RI Games Holdings was founded in 2022 by Kevin Tail Han, who also founded Redice Studio, the webcomic studio behind some of the biggest titles in webcomics, including Solo Leveling and Omniscient Reader (aka ORV). RI Games Holdings develops games for players around the world, with a team of top developers whose track record includes MapleStory M, Tower of God: New World, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Lineage W, and Aion 1, among others.
“We look forward to partnering with Webtoon on the next phase of growth for RI Games Holdings,” said Kevin Tail Han, founder of RI Games Holdings, in a statement. “Driven by our deep understanding of and passion for Webtoon IP, we aim to create games that deliver immersive interactive experiences, bringing fans together while extending the reach and experience of each IP.”
Webtoon Entertainment’s global IP business adapts stories across animation, television, film, publishing, and games, scaling those fandoms to global audiences. Each new format also brings fresh audiences back to the original series on Webtoon, deepening engagement with the original stories and expanding the audiences for the whole franchise.
Webtoon Entertainment’s strong track record of delivering hits for streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Crunchyroll – including Emmy-nominated Chicken Nugget, Bloodhounds S2, Clevatess S2, and The Legend of Kitchen Soldier – gives the Company confidence in the opportunity presented by an expansion into gaming.
Transaction Structure
Webtoon Entertainment has agreed to acquire a 60% stake in RI Games Holdings for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $100 million, funded with cash on hand. The acquisition will occur in two installments, the first at an initial closing shortly following signing, and the second at a subsequent closing, in each case subject to certain closing conditions.
The agreement also includes performance-based provisions for the remaining stake. If certain milestones are met, RI Games Holdings’ selling shareholder will have the right to sell their remaining 40% stake to Webtoon on pre-agreed terms, payable in a combination of cash and shares of Webtoon common stock (with the number of shares issuable subject to a cap). If those milestones are not met, Webtoon will have the right to sell back a portion of its stake to the selling shareholder.
Disclosure: Webtoon was a sponsor at our recent GamesBeat Summit event.