Weekly News Digest #52
NCSOFT Acquires 67% Stake in Indygo Group for $104m
South Korea-based gaming holding NCSOFT (KRX: 036570) has announced the acquisition of a 67% stake in Singapore-based games publisher Indygo Group for $103.9m (KRW 153.4B), implying a 100% equity valuation of approximately $155m (KRW 229B). Indygo Group is the parent company of Vietnam-based mobile games developer Lihuhu.
In addition, NCSOFT plans to acquire South Korea-based mobile casual games developer Springcomes. In 2025, Springcomes generated $18.9m (KRW 28B) in revenue, exceeding 30m cumulative downloads.
Indygo Group generated $81m (KRW 120B) in revenue, with approximately 80.0% derived from North America and Europe, and reported $20m (KRW 30B) in operating profit. The company also held a cash position of $13.5m (KRW 20B).
Founded in 2017, Lihuhu focuses on the development of casual mobile titles and has released more than 100 games to date. Based on AppMagic data, Lihuhu’s top three grossing titles have collectively generated $34.3m in lifetime IAP revenue and 82.4 million downloads:
- Match Triple 3D: Matching Tile, a Match 3D title released in Sep’20, has generated $21m in lifetime IAP revenue, reached 36 million downloads;
- Triple Find – Match Triple 3D, a Match 3D title released in Oct’22, has reached $10m in lifetime IAP revenue and 15 million downloads;
- Tile Triple 3D, a Match 3 title released in Oct’20, with $3m in lifetime IAP and 32 million downloads.
Based on AppMagic data, Springcomes has developed 71 mobile titles, including:
- Merge Sweets is a Merge 2 Puzzle title released in Jun’23 that has generated $5m in IAP revenue and 4.7 million lifetime downloads;
- Hello Town: Merge & Story is a puzzle released in Dec’24 and reached $2.7m in lifetime IAP revenue and 4.4 million downloads;
Jewels Temple Quest – Match 3 was released in Aug’16 with $1.6m in lifetime IAP revenue and reached 8.2 million downloads.
These transactions are intended to strengthen NCSOFT’s focus on casual mobile titles as a new growth driver beyond its traditional MMORPG portfolio. NCSOFT expects Lihuhu to serve as a hub for its casual development in Asia.
Additionally, NCSOFT is currently in discussions to acquire a large-scale mobile casual studio in Europe and is expanding into casual publishing through partnerships with globally competitive studios.
| NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS |
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Singapore-based outsourcing company Virtuos has divested Netherlands-based game development outsourcing firm Abstraction as part of an MBO. The transaction is expected to close on Jan’26. Abstraction operates as a fully remote studio and has contributed to projects including Dune: Awakening and Baldur’s Gate 3. The studio was originally acquired by Virtuos in Jan’25.
France-based web3 gaming protocol BLIFE has merged with web3 infrastructure company Portal. As part of the transaction, Portal will integrate BLIFE’s web3 projects into its ecosystem, with BLIFE operating under the Portal brand. BLIFE has developed infrastructure and products aimed at expanding web3 adoption on Bitcoin to bridge Bitcoin users with broader web3 gaming and applications. Previously, Portal secured an undisclosed funding round in Dec’23.
US-based game development platform Playroom has acquired Karaoke Battle from US-based AI music company Mayk AI for an undisclosed consideration via its in-house label Little Umbrella. The transaction also includes a music licensing partnership with Stingray. Karaoke Battle is a social party game originally developed for Discord, and Playroom plans to expand the title across additional platforms. The title was developed using Playroom’s platform.
VENTURE FINANCING
According to SEC filings, US-based games developer Imaginary Hazard Studios has secured $2m from undisclosed investors. The studio is currently developing an undisclosed sci-fi action roguelike title.
UK-based game development platform GameByte has raised $1m in a pre-Seed funding round led by Webrazzi at a $10m valuation. The funding will support the development of the company’s platform and its global expansion. GameByte is developing an AI-powered, no-code mobile game creation platform that enables users to generate animations, visual assets, interactions, and full playable game flows through text-based inputs.
Canada-based mobile games developer Iron Fox Games has secured $146k (CAD 200k) in the form of a non-repayable grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The grant is intended to support the technology sector in Prince Edward Island. Iron Fox Games operates as a fully remote game development studio focused on mobile and web titles. In Nov’25, the company previously received a $287k grant.
