Korean Gaming Firm Partners with AVENGERS Directors in $400 Million Deal

Avengers: Endgame (2019) 

Nexon, a top Korean-Japanese gaming company, is doubling down on its recent move into the filmed contents business after acquiring a 38% stake in the Hollywood production company AGBO, run by Avengers: Endgame directors the Russo Brothers, in a deal reported to be worth USD 400 million.

The gaming company, which launched a film and TV division in Los Angeles last year, has also indicated that it is prepared to invest an additional USD 100 million into ABGO until the halfway point of 2022 if asked by the production company. AGBO’s current market value is USD 1.1 billion.

Nexon will also gain two AGBO board seats, which will be occupied by Nick van Dyk, a former Disney executive who heads Nexon’s film and TV division, and Tim Connors, who joined the outfit in a senior role following a stint with Marvel.

The deal is set up to allow AGBO to take advantage of Nexon’s extensive IP library connected with their video games, while Nexon can also avail of AGBO’s content to build out additional gaming titles.

AGBO, founded by directors Joe and Anthony Russo and producer Mike Larocca in 2017, has quickly risen to become one of the top film and TV companies in America. The outfit produced Extraction, which held the distinction of being the most-watched Netflix Original prior to Squid Game, and is currently producing a raft of major film and TV projects outside the traditional studio system, for streaming players such as Amazon Prime and Apple TV+, in addition to Netflix.

Founded in Seoul in 1994 and now based in Tokyo (where it is listed on the local stock exchange), Nexon is one of the largest video game companies in Asia and currently has a market value of USD 18 billion. Their popular titles include the Dungeon & Fighter series, MapleStory, and KartRider.

Among AGBO’s other backers is the Chinese studio Huayi Brothers, which was one of the company’s initial backers and continues to hold a single-digit share in it.