Webtoon Entertainment, the Nasdaq-listed U.S. parent company of Naver Webtoon, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 60% stake in South Korean game developer RI Games Holdings for approximately $100 million (roughly KRW 142 billion), marking the company’s first move to directly own, rather than simply license, a studio that adapts its comics into video games.
The transaction was signed with seller Redice & Company on August 6, 2026 and disclosed alongside Webtoon Entertainment’s second-quarter earnings on August 10. The deal closes in two tranches: an initial closing covering roughly 20% of RI Games Holdings for about $33.2 million (KRW 50 billion), followed by a second closing of the remaining shares for about $66.5 million (KRW 100 billion), which is conditional on the commercial launch of a game based on the webtoon “Overgeared.” Combined, the two closings bring Webtoon Entertainment’s total stake to 60% for roughly $100 million in cash, funded from the company’s existing cash on hand. The agreement also includes performance-based terms covering the remaining 40% stake that Webtoon Entertainment does not yet own. Separately, Webtoon Entertainment and its Korean parent, Naver Corporation, signed a limited partnership agreement in July to jointly establish a $100 million IP fund dedicated to investing in secondary content projects — including games, animation, and other adaptations — based on Webtoon’s library of intellectual property.
Games Holdings was founded in 2022 by Kevin (Tail) Han, who also founded Redice Studio, the South Korea-based webcomic studio behind global hits such as “Solo Leveling” and “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.” RI Games Holdings operates through two game development studios, GrayGames and Offbeat, and has assembled development talent with prior experience on major Korean titles including “MapleStory M” and “Lineage W.” Webtoon Entertainment said the acquisition gives it the business foundation to develop globally popular webtoons with proven fandoms into video games, and to pair game launches with animation releases so that a single piece of intellectual property can be built into a global franchise spanning multiple media formats. Over the next four years, RI Games Holdings and Webtoon Entertainment plan to develop and release multiple games based on IP including “Overgeared,” “Doom Breaker,” and “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.” The first project under the partnership is a “Temppal” MMORPG, targeted for global release this year alongside an October anime premiere of the same title.
Webtoon Entertainment CEO Kim Jun-koo told shareholders that the acquisition and the new IP fund are both intended to strengthen the company’s broader IP business by capturing more value from adaptations of its webtoon catalog into games, animation, and other formats — value the company had previously ceded to third-party studios in exchange for licensing fees. Industry observers noted the deal represents Webtoon Entertainment’s first step toward owning production capacity for game adaptations directly, rather than licensing out its most valuable titles and collecting a smaller share of the resulting revenue.
