Microsoft invests in South Korea’s WeMade game developer

Microsoft Corporation is one of the major companies that has recently invested in South Korea’s WeMade game developer firm. The Seongnam-based online video game maker drew in new investments from the American tech giant and two other local investors.

WeMade, which is known for its "The Legend of Mir" massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) title setting up funds to establish its own digital economy platform. With the new investments, the company is somehow getting rid of the skepticism among investors over its aggressive plans.

According to Aju Business Daily, WeMade was able to bring in new funds worth KRW66 billion or $46 million, and these were collectively received from Microsoft Corp., Kiwoom Securities, and Shinhan Asset Management.

The funding was said to have been forwarded with WeMade issuing bearer unguaranteed convertible bonds. Microsoft’s contribution to the latest investment funding of the game developer is almost half of the total money collected.

The company said that approximately KRW21 billion is coming from the tech firm. This will be Microsoft’s very first investment in a Korean gaming company.

"This is a meaningful investment by reputable financial and strategic investors with proven track records," WeMade chief executive officer, Henry Chang, said in a press release that was posted this week. "WeMade and Wemix will continue to exert efforts to attract more capital and actively invest to build the global digital economy platform."

The chief added, "Microsoft was very interested in the global digital economy platform that WeMade was trying to move forward with. The digital economy platform we dream of is difficult for us alone, and there will be continuous investments and partnerships in various ways because how good long-term partners participate determines the success of our ecosystem."

All the investment money is set to be spent on WeMade business operations and its research and development (R&D) activities, including the expensive marketing campaigns. Meanwhile, it was noted that despite the current risky external environment and very bad market volatility, Wemade has apparently achieved something big by succeeding in its efforts to attract investors to obtain new capital from leading strategic financial investors, both local and foreign.

Photo by: efes/Pixabay