Namkoong Hoon, CEO of Eyes Entertainment, said on the 24th that he bought a 1% equity stake in Kakao Games.
Namkoong said on Facebook, a social media (SNS) platform, "The stock market now seems to view games as an industry moving past maturity into decline," adding, "But I think the game industry will grow again in two directions."
The first direction he presented is the growth of hardcore games, in which the line between reality and the virtual blurs based on advanced technology. As another pillar, he pointed to the expansion of casual games that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) technology so anyone can easily enjoy and make games themselves.
Namkoong also noted Kakao Games' diverse shareholder makeup. He said, "With Kakao's sale making the Line side the largest shareholder and with Kakao and Tencent still key shareholders, Kakao Games' unique structure will, as a strength, meet another historical opportunity to grow."
Kakao Games in June welcomed LAAA Investment, a special purpose company (SPC) funded by Line Yahoo, as its largest shareholder. Kakao is the second-largest shareholder with 14.68%, and China's Tencent is also a major shareholder.
Meanwhile, Namkoong previously served as CEO of Kakao Games, went on to become CEO of Kakao in 2022, and in 2023 founded Eyes Entertainment, an AI content corporations.
Namkoong has recently been investing in domestic game companies' stocks in succession. In May, he bought shares in JoyCity, and on the 11th he purchased a 1% stake in Wemade Play. At the time, he explained the reason for the purchase by saying, "The KOSDAQ market has been excessively neglected recently, and among them, game stocks in particular have been even more neglected, which is why I bought the shares."