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XL Games
XL Games (stylized as XLGAMES) is a South Korean game developer founded in 2003 by Jake Song. The studio is best known for creating the ArcheAge franchise. Headquarters are in Seoul. The company was acquired by Kakao Games for approximately $96.16 million, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Founding and early history
Song founded XL Games after leaving NCSoft, where he had created Lineage. He brought several former Lineage team members with him. The studio's first project was XLRacer, a persistent online racing game that Song later described as a "miserable failure." Development of ArcheAge began in 2006, consuming nearly seven years before its Korean launch.
Projects
XLRacer - A persistent online racing game (cancelled)
ArcheAge (2013-2025) - The studio's flagship MMORPG, running for 12 years across multiple publishers and regions
Civilization Online - An MMO adaptation of the Civilization franchise developed in partnership with 2K Games / Take-Two Interactive using CryENGINE. Eventually cancelled.
ArcheVille - A mobile/casual spinoff
ArcheAge War (2023) - A mobile strategy game that launched in March 2023
ArcheAge Chronicles - Currently in development on Unreal Engine 5
Kakao Games acquisition
Kakao Games acquired XLGAMES for approximately $96.16 million, bringing the ArcheAge IP fully under the Kakao umbrella. This gave Kakao direct control over both game development and publishing, eliminating the developer-publisher friction that had complicated ArcheAge's history under Trion Worlds and Gamigo.
Current leadership
After Jake Song's departure in January 2025, ArcheAge Chronicles development is led by Executive Producer Ham Yong-jin. Ham has published Producer's Letters and conducted interviews at events like Gamescom 2025, positioning himself as the public face of the project.
NCSoft lawsuit
On April 5, 2023, NCSoft sued Kakao Games and XL Games, claiming ArcheAge War plagiarized Lineage 2M's UI design and weapon enhancement system. NCSoft sought 1.1 billion won (roughly $830,000) in damages. Kakao Games argued the similarities were common genre conventions found across the mobile gaming industry.