South Korean online game giant Nexon said Thursday that it has forged a strategic partnership with connected play company PlayFusion, which specializes in bringing games to life by merging them with toys.

The partnership came in the form of Nexon investing in PlayFusion. Details of the investment deal were undisclosed.

Together with PlayFusion, the Tokyo-based company plans to introduce a wider variety of character merchandise and accessories based on the virtual characters and worlds of its flagship games.


Founded in 2015, PlayFusion was created by the management team of UK-based online game developer Jagex Game Studio. It operates in the “toys-to-life” genre utilizing technologies such as augmented reality and the Internet of Things to connect games with toys.

Nexon said it expects the toys-to-life market to grow threefold from $3 billion in 2015 to $9 billion by 2018. It plans to work with PlayFusion to introduce character figures and cards within its games to provide wider in-game experiences to players.

“This is an exciting partnership that will make games even more dynamic and fun,” Nexon President and CEO Owen Mahoney said in a statement.

“Combining PlayFusion’s expertise in connecting games to action figures and accessories with Nexon’s ability to create and sustain games that grow over many years will allow us to deliver a deeper, more engaging experience for players,” Mahoney said.

Nexon said it would announce further details of its partnership with PlayFusion at a future date.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)