Screentime Author：EqualOcean News Updated 5 hours ago (GMT+8)

Kaiying Network（恺英网络）plans to invest an estimated USD 298 million to acquire a 49% interest in an offshore vehicle connected to the proposed takeover of Wemade Co., Ltd., the South Korean game developer and original rights holder of the Legend of Mir IP. If completed, the transaction would give the Chinese publisher an indirect economic interest of about 19.7% in Wemade, based on the buyer vehicle’s planned 40.25% holding.

Kaiying Network

Kaiying disclosed the proposal on September 12 after board approval. Its wholly owned subsidiaries Shanghai Kaiying Network Technology and Shanghai Xingjuda Network Technology plan to inject CNY 2.1 billion into Shanghai Rongtan Network Technology. Kaiying’s Hong Kong unit, Cypress Technology HK Limited, would then acquire and subscribe for a combined 49% interest in Neosphere Co., Limited.

Neosphere indirectly owns NeoPulse Co., Ltd., which signed an agreement on June 30 to acquire 39.33% of Wemade from founder and controlling shareholder Park Kwan-ho for KRW 920 billion. NeoPulse already held 0.92% of Wemade, which would bring its stake to 40.25% once the share transfer closes.

The Korean transaction remains pending. The agreement provides for a KRW 92 billion deposit and a KRW 828 billion balance payment, with closing scheduled for October 30 subject to its conditions. Kaiying’s own investment also requires relevant Chinese overseas-investment, commerce and foreign-exchange procedures.

Wemade is a KOSDAQ-listed developer and publisher best known for the Legend of Mir franchise, as well as Night Crows and Legend of Ymir. For Kaiying, which has long participated in the Chinese commercialization of Legend of Mir titles, the investment would deepen its economic relationship with the source company behind the IP.

The deal does not itself transfer Mir rights to Kaiying or establish that Kaiying will control Wemade’s licensing decisions. It does, however, place the company inside the ownership structure of a proposed new controlling shareholder, potentially aligning a major Chinese commercial partner more closely with Wemade’s future strategy.

The structure reflects a broader shift in Chinese game companies’ overseas expansion. Rather than only licensing foreign game properties for local publishing, publishers are increasingly seeking equity interests in studios, development teams and rights-holding platforms. Such investments can create closer strategic alignment, but they also make returns dependent on the completion of multi-jurisdictional transactions and the future performance of the underlying IP.

For Kaiying, the immediate question is whether NeoPulse completes its acquisition of Wemade and whether the Chinese approvals are secured. Only then will the proposed investment become a live ownership position rather than a planned capital commitment.

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