How to free game developers from working in content factories | Owen Mahoney
17.12.2023 - 20:13
/ venturebeat.com
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Shortly after Owen Mahoney announced he was stepping down next year as CEO of Nexon, I interviewed him about why he chose to do that. And we had a chance to hear from him a second time at our GamesBeat at The Game Awards event.
At that event, Mahoney said that triple-A games are ripe for disruption. And it’s a funny thing coming from him because he’s still running a company that has a lot of triple-A games, albeit ones that are run more as games-as-a-service.
Mahoney joined Nexon in 2010 as CFO, and he oversaw its initial public offering in 2011. He has led the company as president and CEO since 2014. Under his leadership, Nexon delivered consistent growth in revenue and operating income and the most robust pipeline in the company’s history.
Nexon announced on November 11 that Mahoney will step down in March 2024 and be replaced by Junghun Lee, head of Nexon Korea and a board member.
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Despite the fact Mahoney was a Westerner in charge of a company with its headquarters in Japan and much of its development staff in South Korea, Mahoney had a stellar record while running the company that is known for Dungeon & Fighter, MapleStory, Kart Rider on the PC and recent mobile hits like Dungeon&Fighter Mobile, MapleStory M, Blue Archive and Dave the Diver. During the most recent quarter, MapleStory grew 46% compared to a year ago.
Starting next March, Mahoney will stand for re-election to Nexon’s board and serve as senior advisor. Both Lee and Mahoney will serve in their current roles until the succession is formally approved. It will be interesting to see where this company, valued at $20 billion in the stock market, goes next.
On the day that we spoke on December 7, Nexon announced at The Game Awards that it was launching The Finals, a first-person shooter game where combat becomes a spectator sport. It’s a multiplayer-only game where players compete in teams of three against two other teams to win tournaments.
In our talk, Mahoney said this triple-A game was made with fewer than 100 developers. This is what Mahoney meant by disrupting triple-A games.
In our talk, Mahoney said it surprised him that so many people had asked him why he was stepping down.
“We’ve been public for about 12 years. I’ve been CEO for 10 years, the average lifetime of a CEO of a public company our size is roughly six and a half years or so. So 10 years is a very long time. And, you know, Nexon has always run its business for the long term. And a big part of building long term shareholder value,