Kim Sang-ho, head of NHN's game business division, said, "We have advanced our collaboration framework by combining the strengths of Korean and Japanese development organizations." He added, "A division-of-labor structure that completes a single development cycle based on each team's expertise is a key feature." At TGS 2026 (Tokyo Game Show), NHN unveiled its first Korea-Japan co-developed game, "Puchipoyo in the Fantasy World," for the first time.
Kim made these remarks at a joint Korea-Japan press conference on Friday, near Makuhari Messe in Tokyo, Japan. He said, "Since Korean and Japanese work styles and cultures differed, we needed an initial period to align our approaches. However, through years of working together, we have come to deeply trust each other's strengths."
NHN has accumulated game business know-how by operating between Korea and Japan since establishing HanGame Japan in 2000. It achieved results in the Japanese mobile game market with titles like "LINE Pop," and in 2013, it established NHN PlayArt, a Japanese game subsidiary, laying the foundation for its Japanese game business operations.
Korea-Japan collaboration gained momentum when Jeong U-jin began serving as CEOs of both NHN and NHN PlayArt simultaneously. Collaboration expanded beyond merely attending joint events to include internal activities such as "Games Week," where Korean and Japanese members participate together, and "AI Sprinton," a short-term project utilizing AI.
"Puchipoyo in the Fantasy World" is the first collaborative outcome between the two companies aimed at securing next-generation original IP. NHN explained that this game serves as a case study demonstrating how their initial cooperation framework functioned effectively during actual development processes.
Murakami Haruki, executive producer of NHN PlayArt, said, "We expect this project to showcase what results emerge when NHN PlayArt's fun design combines with NHN's implementation and verification."
NHN emphasized that the ultimate goal of Korea-Japan collaboration is not merely the success of a single title, but rather discovering collaborative methods through the process of jointly creating games and expanding these approaches to other projects. To enhance collaboration effectiveness, the group established a dedicated organization and assigned specialized project managers (PMs) to support communication.
Kim stated, "NHN will continue to advance its cooperation structure and accelerate global game business development based on Korea-Japan collaboration." He added, "We aim to complete a process that generates maximum synergy by combining the strengths of both countries and present a collaborative model that can serve as a practical milestone across all aspects of our game business."
Kim said, "While we have faced numerous challenges, we determined that focusing on areas where we excel is the most effective approach to increasing success rates in the current challenging game business environment." He concluded, "Moving forward, our strategy for new titles will focus on concentrating on our core strengths."
in TECH
