WEBTOON Entertainment is making a major push into gaming after announcing a $100-million investment in RI Games Holdings, a deal that will give the global digital comics company a 60% majority stake in the South Korean game developer.
The move gives WEBTOON a dedicated pipeline to turn some of its biggest digital comics into video games, expanding its ambitions beyond webcomics, animation, television, and publishing.
From webcomics to game worlds
Rather than build completely new franchises, WEBTOON plans to leverage stories that already have massive global audiences.
The partnership’s initial lineup includes games based on popular series such as ‘Overgeared’, ‘Doom Breaker’, and ‘Omniscient Reader’, titles that have accumulated billions of views on the WEBTOON platform.
Leading the slate is an action MMORPG adaptation of ‘Overgeared’, which is scheduled for worldwide release later this year and will launch alongside an anime adaptation of the same property.
WEBTOON and RI Games say they plan to develop multiple titles over the next four years.
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The people behind the games
RI Games was founded in 2022 by Kevin Tail Han, who also founded Redice Studio, the company behind webcomic hits such as ‘Solo Leveling’ and ‘Omniscient Reader’.
The company operates through two studios, GrayGames and Offbeat, and includes developers whose resumés feature major franchises such as ‘MapleStory M’, ‘Lineage W’, ‘Aion’, ‘Tower of God: New World’, and ‘The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross’.
The next battleground for IP
The investment reflects a broader trend across entertainment. Movies become TV series. TV shows become games. Games become films. Now, webcomics are increasingly following the same path.
According to WEBTOON CEO Junkoo Kim, the company sees games as one of the most immersive ways for fans to engage with stories they already love.
Beyond scrolling
For years, WEBTOON’s business largely revolved around publishing stories and licensing successful titles to outside partners.
If the new strategy succeeds, readers won’t just follow their favorite heroes chapter by chapter. They’ll be able to step into their worlds and play them.
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Elan Castanares 
Newsjustnews writers 
Mary Mae Balasanos