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, which purchased a 52.97% controlling stake in February 2020 for approximately KRW 120 billion (roughly $100 million), making it a majority-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
Acquisition
In February 2020, Kakao Games acquired a 52.97% controlling stake in XLGAMES for approximately KRW 120 billion (roughly $100 million), bringing the ArcheAge IP under Kakao's control. 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. As of Kakao's second-quarter 2026 earnings announcement, ArcheAge Chronicles targets a Steam Early Access launch in Q4 2026, with the full release not yet dated.
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.