Nexters will acquire South Korean app market OneStore and shift it into a Web3 and artificial intelligence-based game platform.

Nexters held a board meeting on June 18 and decided to acquire 20,247,990 OneStore shares, or 89.03 percent, for about 62.6 billion won. The sellers are SK Square with 45.78 percent, Naver with 24.06 percent, Steel No.1 First with 17.02 percent and Krafton with 2.17 percent.

OneStore is an app market jointly established in 2016 by SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus and Naver. It is currently installed on more than 38 million devices in South Korea. In the acquisition process, SK Square, Naver and Krafton will participate in Nexters as strategic investors. Through this, the existing business base and partnerships built by OneStore will continue.

Nexters’ policy is to reorganise OneStore beyond a simple app distribution channel into a game-focused platform. Nexters will integrate its full-stack game platform capabilities into OneStore, including its web shop, payments, community, quest platform, streamer platform and reward system built in the global market.

For users, it envisions a super app covering game discovery, use and community connection. For game developers, it plans to provide a one-stop LiveOps solution supporting everything from user acquisition to community operations, game economy management and growth.

In global markets, it will pursue a Web3 game store strategy centred on blockchain. Unlike the policy constraints of existing app markets, it plans for the global version of OneStore to include by default Web3 functions such as wallets, stablecoins, decentralised exchanges, staking and bridges. Its goal is to position it as a single global build platform supporting all games, chains and markets.

As a common foundation for the two strategies, it presented an AI-native platform. Nexters sees that if game content output increases due to the spread of AI technology, it will be difficult to respond only with existing human-centred review and curation methods. It said it aims for a method that analyses and curates in real time games made by people and AI and connects them with users.

The company will also push brand integration on the back of the acquisition. It plans to rename the on-chain game platform mainnet 'CROSS' to 'OneChain', and the native token 'CROSS' ($CROSS) to 'ONE' ($ONE). It plans to build an integrated brand identity linked by OneStore and 'ONE' ($ONE) and tie domestic and overseas businesses under a single identity.

The existing OneStore business structure will be maintained. Its content distribution business lines, including games, apps, webtoons and web novels, will continue, and cooperative relationships with telecom carriers and major partners will also continue.

Nexters CEO Hyun-kuk Jang (장현국) said, "We will provide players with a more enjoyable experience and game developers with stronger solutions." He added, "Amid a paradigm shift driven by AI and blockchain technology, we will strive fiercely until we achieve the vision of becoming the No. 1 global game platform."