Weekly News Digest #27

Views: 74

Wemade: Founder Sells Controlling Stake to China-Linked NeoPulse for ~$597m

South Korean MMORPG developer Wemade (KOSDAQ: 112040) founder and chairman, Park Kwan-Ho, has agreed to sell his entire personal stake, representing 39.33% of the company, to NeoPulse for ~$597m (KRW 920B). Under the agreement, management rights transfer once shareholders appoint a NeoPulse-designated director at an Extraordinary General Meeting. NeoPulse, a South Korean SPV established on Oct 28, 2025, is wholly owned by Hong Kong-based Shengsong Investment, a firm closely tied to the Alibaba Group ecosystem. The stock purchase agreement was signed on Jun 30, 2026, structured as two payments: a 10% down payment of $60m (KRW 92B) upon signing, with the remaining $537m (KRW 828B) due on Oct 30, 2026. NeoPulse held a 313,053-share (0.92%) stake prior to the deal and will hold 13,663,791 shares (40.25%) upon completion, becoming Wemade’s largest shareholder.

The deal priced Wemade’s shares at KRW 68,910, a ~299% premium over the KRW 17,260 close the day before disclosure, far above the 20%-30% typical for domestic control deals. Shares rose to KRW 19,330 on the disclosure date, then hit the daily upper limit the next session, closing at KRW 25,100 on Jul 1, 2026, up 29.85% from that level. Before the announcement, Wemade’s stock had been under sustained pressure, falling 56.3% from peak to trough between January and June 2026. From the start of the year through the disclosure, shares were down 27.9%, badly trailing the KOSDAQ Composite index, which was roughly flat over the same stretch at -3.1%. Fellow KOSDAQ-listed gaming stocks were down too, with Kakao Games off 49.6% and Nexon Games off 30.5% over the same period. 

Wemade’s flagship IP traces back to Legend of Mir 2, the 2001 hit that captured up to 65% of China’s online gaming market in 2004 and remains the franchise the group licenses today. Its modern portfolio splits into two lines: mobile MMORPGs built around blockchain and NFT mechanics, and newer PC & Console titles aimed at global platforms. MIR4 and Night Crows anchor the blockchain line on the WEMIX 3.0 network; both are built around tradable character NFTs and utilize the DRACO and CROW utility tokens, respectively, with Night Crows leveraging Unreal Engine 5.

On PC & Console, Wemade has pursued more conventional monetization with Legend of Ymir, a Norse mythology-themed MMORPG, and The Midnight Walkers, a zombie extraction shooter, both of which launched on Steam in 2026. The pairing signals a deliberate diversification beyond blockchain-tied mobile MMORPGs toward mainstream PC & Console audiences.

NeoPulse’s rationale centers on three drivers:

• Mir IP control — Legend of Mir-licensed games have generated $20B in cumulative revenue across China since 2001 through more than 80 licensed titles, remakes, and spin-offs, with Wemade’s own Legend of Mir royalties totaling $500m since 2016; direct ownership lets NeoPulse bypass domestic publishing intermediaries, fast-track Chinese game-license approvals, and deepen ties with local distributors. 
• AI-driven production — spanning asset and coding automation, NVIDIA-assisted real-time rendering, and AI-driven NPCs. One example is Asterion, an adaptive AI boss character that Wemade Next (one of Wemade’s development studios) built with NVIDIA’s ACE platform for the upcoming MIR5. 
• Proven blockchain execution — the WEMIX 3.0 mainnet has processed over $11B in cumulative transaction volume and has a total value locked-to-market cap ratio of 2.27x. Combined with MIR4 and Night Crows‘ track record as commercially successful blockchain MMORPGs, this gives NeoPulse a proven blueprint for Web3 monetization in markets where token mechanics remain viable.

Revenue rose 13% YoY in FY2024, then fell 17% in FY2025, while operating income swung from a loss to sustained profit, up 106% and 45% YoY in those same years, lifting the margin from -18% to +2%. The swing traces mainly to Night Crows‘ lifecycle: its 2024 global launch drove a revenue spike that normalized in 2025 as the initial user surge cooled. That decline was sharpened by the WEMIX delisting, when South Korean exchanges pulled the token in Jun’25 over disclosure concerns, making it harder for players to trade or cash out and curbing the token-based spending that drives Wemade’s blockchain game revenue.

Total game revenue followed a similar arc, up 11% YoY in FY2024 before falling ~15% YoY in FY2025, as mobile revenue cooled with the maturation of legacy live-service titles and mobile game downloads slowed across the industry. PC’s contribution has grown only incrementally so far; whether Wemade’s 2026 Steam launches of Legend of Ymir and The Midnight Walkers move that needle further remains to be seen.

The deal closes out Park Kwan-Ho’s 26-year run as Wemade’s controlling shareholder and hands the company’s core asset, the Mir franchise, to new ownership. We will continue to monitor how NeoPulse approaches AI development and China expansion for the Mir franchise, and whether the WEMIX platform is preserved, spun off, or wound down under the new ownership structure.

Mellow is how 200+ gamedev companies work with talent worldwide. Contracts, IP transfer, compliance, payments — across 50+ jurisdictions, handled in one platform. No patchwork of local providers, manual invoicing, or unresolved compliance gaps. Gaijin Entertainment, Scorewarrior, and Domini Games already run on Mellow.

Learn More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

US-based creative production company Halon Entertainment has completed a management buyout from its parent company, NEP Group, returning to independent ownership under CEO Chris Ferriter. The move marks a reversal of NEP’s 2021 acquisition, which had integrated the studio into its virtual production division. Santa Monica-based Halon, founded in 2003, is a creative production and visualization studio known for its work in film, television, and game cinematics, with credits including The Batman, John Wick, Star Wars, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Fortnite, and Borderlands. The studio operates from Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Glasgow, supporting projects from early visualization through final animation for filmmakers, game developers, and brands.

South Korea-based entertainment company Major9 has acquired the IP and dedicated development team behind subculture RPG Outerplane from VA Games for an undisclosed sum. The deal is not a corporate acquisition of VA Games, which will continue to operate as a separate development studio; rather, it transfers the Outerplane IP and staff directly to Major9. The move expands Major9, previously known primarily for music and content production, into direct management of a gaming franchise, building on a global publishing partnership the two companies established in Sep’25. Following the transfer, Outerplane‘s third-anniversary update surpassed 300,000 pre-registrations and reached No. 1 on Google Play’s popularity charts in South Korea and Taiwan. Major9 plans to continue Outerplane‘s live operations and content development while pursuing new project development and global market expansion.

UK-based independent games publisher and creative studio Kepler Interactive has acquired a minority stake in Belgium-based indie games publisher Oro Interactive from ForsVC for undisclosed consideration. The transaction, closed Jul 1, 2026, represents ForsVC’s first exit from its €18m Game Fund I, delivering a return of more than 7x its original investment in under two years. Oro Interactive, headquartered in Aalst and founded in 2024, publishes indie titles under a model that prioritizes fairer developer terms and organic promotion, with the co-op gas-station simulator Roadside Research exceeding 700,000 copies on PC and Xbox. Oro remains predominantly in Belgian hands following the deal, with founder and CEO Sam De Boeck retaining full operational control, while Kepler’s stake provides international scale and network access. Kepler previously acquired a majority in France-based Tactical Adventures, developer of the Solasta series, in Feb’25. The studio’s tactical RPG Solasta II launched into Steam Early Access on PC on Mar 12, 2026.

US-based AI-powered cross-channel performance marketing platform Edge226 has acquired Israel-based AI video intelligence company AnyClip for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition strengthens Edge226’s video intelligence, AI, and monetization capabilities, integrating AnyClip’s video analysis technology into its existing performance marketing suite for mobile apps and games. Combined, the companies aim to deliver outcome-driven advertising solutions across CTV, in-app, rewarded, and desktop environments. Edge226 operates a performance marketing platform for mobile apps and games, helping advertisers scale campaigns optimized around installs, purchases, and ROAS.

VENTURE FINANCING

China-based AI company VAST, developer of AI-native 3D modeling platform Tripo AI, has raised $150m in a Series A3 round backed by investors spanning the automotive, gaming, internet, and technology sectors, including Geely Capital, gaming companies 4399 Network, Tanwan, and Giant Network, and strategic investors Fosun Capital and Orinno Capital. Financial investors CoStone Capital, Addor Capital, T-Capital, and Muhua Tech Ventures also joined the round, while existing shareholders INCE Capital and Genesis Capital increased their investments. Proceeds will fund continued expansion of Tripo’s 3D foundation and world model research, infrastructure scaling, and global product ecosystem growth, including Project Eden, an initiative focused on persistent, editable, multiplayer 3D world models. Founded in 2023 by CEO Simon Song, a former co-founder of Chinese AI unicorn MiniMax, VAST previously raised nearly $200m across its A+ and A++ rounds, co-led by INCE Capital and China Life Yangtze River Delta Sci-Tech Fund, and before that raised $50m in a Series A co-led by Alibaba (SEHK: 9988) and Hengxu Capital.

UK-based speech-to-speech AI language coaching platform Lucida AI has raised $7m in a Seed round led by Velocity Capital, with participation from Next Tier Ventures, Look AI Ventures, Boğaziçi Ventures, Yapı Kredi FRWRD, and Ünlü & Co. Founded in 2024 by Mustafa Girgin and Mustafa Sait Demirci, the company was established in Istanbul and is now headquartered in London. The platform has reached over 3 million users with 2.2 billion minutes of spoken interaction and has achieved seven-figure annual recurring revenue. The round was reported at $5.4m in Apr’26, when it marked the first investment from Boğaziçi Ventures’ new AI-focused fund BV Growth II, which contributed $1.2m at the time, before growing to its $7m close by Jul’26. This brings total funding to $8.25m, following a $750k pre-seed extension in Mar’25 and an initial $500k pre-seed in Sep’24, both from Neo Portföy. Proceeds will accelerate development of the company’s real-time speech-native language learning product, which aims to challenge language-learning platforms such as Duolingo.

Singapore-based UA financing platform PvX Partners has secured a $5m equity investment from US-based institutional investor MIT Investment Management Company. Announced in Jun’26, the raise is intended to fund the next wave of app user acquisition and accelerate PvX’s deal flow growth, with the company targeting a quadrupling of deal flow in 2026. PvX operates PvX Capital, a non-dilutive UA financing product, and PvX Lambda, a proprietary machine-learning underwriting engine that analyzes cohort data to forecast user-acquisition outcomes. Founded in 2024 and led by CEO Joe Wadakethalakal, CRO Ridzki Syahputera, and CCO Zhen Jie Sim, PvX previously raised a $10.5m Series A round in Apr’26, led by T-Accelerate Capital alongside Z Venture Capital and Drive by DraftKings, with follow-on investments from existing backers Play Ventures and General Catalyst, and surpassed $750m in committed UA financing as of that round, tripling the $250m mark it announced in Dec’25.

UK-based AI game engine developer Kantrip has raised $2.75m in a Seed round co-led by Arcadia Gaming Partners and 20VC. The raise will fund continued engine development and market release of the platform. Founded by CEO Luke McCarthy, Kantrip is building an AI-native game engine and live-ops platform that lets AI agents build and run mobile games, including physics and live operations. The round attracted angel investors including Humam Sakhnini, CEO of Discord and former President of King and Vice Chairman of Activision Blizzard, and Christopher Chedeau, co-creator of React Native. The company is hiring founding engineers and technical artists in London, with its first agent-built games expected to ship imminently.

South Korea-based AI interactive storytelling startup DeepGrove has raised ~$1.1m (KRW 1.5B) in a Seed round led by Kakao Ventures, with participation from BonAngels Venture Partners. Announced Jul 1, 2026, the funding will support team scaling, product development, and market expansion. Founded in 2025, DeepGrove operates Frontia, an AI-powered interactive cinematic storytelling platform that lets users experience branching narratives through text, images, and AI chat, casting them as protagonists within the story.

Türkiye-based AI-powered audio middleware developer Orfeo Labs has raised $500k from Webrazzi GSYF at a $5m valuation, implying a $5.5m post-money valuation. The company develops a generative AI platform that lets game developers create sound effects and music from text prompts, then compose, mix, and export audio assets within a unified environment, streamlining traditional audio production workflows. Founded by Alp Tolga Toksoz, Orfeo Labs was accepted into the Northern Light Accelerator programme at Maria 01 in Helsinki. Announced Jul 3, 2026, proceeds are earmarked for R&D in sound technologies, product development, and international business development with global game studios.

India-based digital entertainment company Rusk Media has received an investment of an undisclosed sum from India-based film studio Yash Raj Films, marking the Bollywood major’s first move into India’s vertical content economy. Under the partnership, YRF will oversee the creative direction of original animation and vertical microdrama IP, while Rusk Media handles production and distribution through its Alright! TV platform, targeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences. Co-founded by Mayank Yadav, Shantanu Singh, and Karanvir Sofat, Rusk Media has built its business around original vertical storytelling and also operates Rumble, a social gaming platform offering 100+ casual mobile games. The investment follows Rusk Media’s pre-Series C round in Jun’26, in which the company raised ~$10.6m (INR 1B), led by Nazara Technologies (NSE: NAZARA), with participation from InfoEdge Ventures, IvyCap Ventures, and a consortium led by Audacity VC, to fund content expansion and platform development. Before that, it raised ~$11.6m (INR 1.03B) in a Series B led by IvyCap Ventures in Oct’25.

China-based AI startup MobAI, a four-person team developing the AI-powered interactive narrative platform Lunaverse Stories, has secured an undisclosed investment, reportedly several million CNY, from China-based social networking and entertainment app developer Newborn Town (SEHK: 9911). In addition to Lunaverse Stories, MobAI plans to launch the Lunaverse IDE, an AI-assisted scriptwriting and asset-generation tool for content creators. MobAI was founded by former VC investor Zhong Wending. Lunaverse Stories has entered invitation-only testing, with a public beta planned for Jul-Aug’26.

Japan-based games developer Studio AuKnow has secured an undisclosed investment from US-based mobile gaming company Scopely as part of a Series A extension round. The investment strengthens Scopely’s presence in Japan by partnering with local creative talent, following Scopely’s 2025 acquisition of Niantic’s gaming business, which included the Tokyo-based team behind Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now. Founded in Oct’25 by CEO Takuma Akitsu, the former content director of Uma Musume Pretty Derby, which has generated cumulative global sales exceeding $2.4B since its 2021 release, Studio AuKnow is developing new original IP for mobile and PC platforms.

UA FINANCING

Israel-based micro-drama app Shortical has secured $100m in non-dilutive user-acquisition financing from PvX Partners, structured as UA debt with PvX recouping capital through revenue share tied to cohort outcomes. Announced Jul 1, 2026, the facility enables Shortical to scale content output tenfold to roughly 25 hours per month, while retaining equity and founder control. Shortical blends AI-generated content with human oversight from fifteen screenwriters, including its AI-performed series Bound by Fire. The platform has emerged as a fast-growing player in the micro-drama category, an ecosystem that has surpassed 2.3 billion global downloads, and has ranked among the top 10 highest-grossing apps in its category in the US within a year.