Kakao Games

Kakao Games is a South Korean game publisher founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of Kakao Corporation. They are the global publisher for ArcheAge Chronicles and previously published the original ArcheAge in Western markets from November 2021 until its closure in June 2024.

Company history

Kakao Games was established in 2016 to handle Kakao Corporation's gaming portfolio. The company listed on the KOSDAQ exchange on September 10, 2020 (stock code: 293490). Their flagship publishing deal is with Pearl Abyss for Black Desert Online, one of the most commercially successful Korean MMORPGs in Western markets.

XLGAMES acquisition

On February 11, 2020, Kakao Games signed an agreement to acquire a 52.97% controlling stake in XL Games (XLGAMES) for approximately KRW 120 billion (roughly $100 million). This brought the ArcheAge intellectual property and development team directly under Kakao's umbrella, giving them control over both the legacy game and ArcheAge Chronicles' development. The acquisition eliminated the developer-publisher friction that had complicated ArcheAge's history under Trion Worlds and Gamigo.

ArcheAge publishing

Kakao Games took over Western publishing of ArcheAge and ArcheAge Unchained from Gamigo in November 2021. They promised synchronized global updates matching the Korean version. During their tenure, they converted Unchained to a $9.99/month subscription model and ultimately announced the NA/EU shutdown in April 2024. The game's Japanese servers (under publisher GameOn) closed in December 2024, and Korean servers shut down on March 6, 2025.

Financial context

Kakao Games' 2025 consolidated sales were approximately 465 billion KRW (roughly $320.9 million), a 26% decrease year-over-year. Their Q4 2025 report showed an operating loss of approximately 13.1 billion KRW ($9.09 million). Management cited the lack of new blockbuster releases and increased development investment as challenges.

Both ArcheAge Chronicles and Chrono Odyssey (another Kakao-published title) have been delayed multiple times. The ArcheAge Chronicles release was pushed from its original 2025 target to Q4 2026 through successive quarterly reports. The financial pressure to deliver these titles is significant given the company's recent losses.