Kakao Games History, CEO, Future

Kakao Games is a South Korean video game company. As Kakao's game subsidiary, it provides various genres and games across platforms such as PC, mobile, and VR to the Korean and overseas game markets.

1. History of Kakao Games

Kakao Games is a South Korean game development and distribution company founded on January 26, 2010. It is a subsidiary of Kakao and develops and distributes games based on the Kakao platform. Representative games include 'Anipang', 'Kakao Friends Run', and 'Pokemon GO'. Kakao Games has grown rapidly since its establishment in 2010 and has become one of the largest game companies in Korea. It was listed on KOSDAQ in 2016 and established Kakao Games Japan, a joint venture with Japanese game company Gengho Online, in 2017. Kakao Games continued to grow in 2018. In 2018, it recorded 1.326.7 trillion won in sales and 359.6 billion won in operating profit. This is an increase of 32.2% and 41.8% from the previous year, respectively. Kakao Games is expected to continue its growth in 2019. Kakao Games plans to release various new games in 2019 and is also planning to actively enter overseas markets.

2. CEO of Kakao Games

The current CEO of Kakao Games is Kang Shin-chul. Kang Shin-chul was born in 1965 and graduated from Seoul National University in 1987 with a degree in business administration. He later worked for Samsung Electronics from 1988 to 1990, and obtained an MBA from Duke University in the United States from 1991 to 1998. I worked for SK Telecom from 1999 to 2005 and NHN from 2005 to 2013. He worked for Kakao from 2013 to 2016, and has been the CEO of Kakao Games since 2016. Kang Shin-chul is trying to grow Kakao Games into a global game company. In 2017, it invested $800 million in Activision Blizzard, an American gaming company, and in 2018, it signed a strategic alliance with Chinese gaming company Tencent. Also, Kakao Games has been trying to enter the North American and European markets since 2019. Kang Shin-chul is expected to contribute to enhancing the status of the Korean game industry by growing Kakao Games into a global game company.

3. Kakao Games Future

Kakao Games is likely to grow into a global game company. Kakao already has KakaoTalk, the largest mobile messenger in the country, and it serves games based on it. Also, Kakao Games has strategic partnerships with global game companies such as Activision Blizzard and Tencent. Through this partnership, Kakao Games can enter the global game market and gain an opportunity to develop new games. Kakao Games is also expected to provide a new gaming experience by applying artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology to games. By applying AI technology, you can express game characters more realistically and make gameplay more strategic. Blockchain technology allows you to trade game items in-game using Non-Fungible Token (NFT) and make gameplay more fun. Kakao Games is making various efforts to become competitive in the global game market. If these efforts are successful, Kakao Games is expected to grow into a global game company and contribute to enhancing the status of the Korean game industry.

4. Kakao Games stock price analysis

Kakao Games went public on January 18, 2022, and its stock price surpassed 100,000 won on the first day of listing. Since then, the stock has continued to rise, surpassing 150,000 won on March 8, 2022. However, Kakao Games shares turned lower as Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on March 9, 2022. Kakao Games' stock price fell below 100,000 won on March 9, 2022, and has continued to decline since then, trading at 70,000 won on June 7, 2022. Kakao Games shares are falling due to a variety of unfavorable factors, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the global economic slowdown, and inflation. However, Kakao Games is likely to grow into a global game company, and this growth potential is expected to have a positive impact on Kakao Games' stock price.

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