Wonseok Lee Vespa CSO "This Year Vespa 2.0... Will Show a Changed Image"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] "This year, we will expand communication by honestly discussing both our successes and shortcomings. Along with this, we will implement stock price boosting measures that were previously restricted due to legal reasons."

Lee Won-seok, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Vespa, said in an interview with Asia Economy, "The company’s net cash reaches 80 billion KRW, but the current market capitalization is below 40 billion KRW, so we believe the company is undervalued. We plan to utilize these funds for investments and enhancing shareholder value."

Vespa, a mobile game developer, was listed on the KOSDAQ market in December 2018. Its flagship mobile game is King’s Raid. Vespa explained that the company experienced rapid growth, but last year faced unexpected issues that required internal resolution, which led to insufficient communication with the market. However, this year, with policies to enhance shareholder value and new game releases, they expect to transition from "Vespa 1.0" to "Vespa 2.0."

One of this year’s growth strategies is expanding the intellectual property (IP) through the Japanese TV broadcast of the King’s Raid animation. After airing on Japanese TV in the second half of the year, the animation will be broadcast through various channels including overseas broadcasters and global online streaming services (OTT). The CSO emphasized that the King’s Raid animation is not merely a formal extension of the original IP but is being developed as a well-made animation work. He explained, "We are not simply creating an animation to promote the game. We have put a lot of thought into adapting the story and improving quality to make it a work worth watching on its own. We aimed to preserve the sensibility of the era when Japanese animation flourished."

Additionally, new titles are scheduled for release starting in the second half of the year. These include the strategy MMO game Immortals developed by subsidiary Cocoon Games, two puzzle games, and two RPG games, which will be launched sequentially. He also expressed anticipation for the latest title, tentatively named Time Defenders. He said, "The company is aware of the risks associated with original games, but we are developing Time Defenders by leveraging the know-how gained from King’s Raid. This title targets a more hardcore fan base compared to King’s Raid." He added, "We are also preparing various genres including puzzle games."

Expectations for expansion into the Chinese market remain strong. He stated, "All company executives have networks in China and are currently in talks with several companies. Internally, preparations are complete and we are waiting. We have found publishers who will operate our games stably and provide consistent support, and we have aligned to a certain extent."

In particular, preparations are underway for the cloud gaming ecosystem, which is expected to present opportunities for game companies in the future. Cloud gaming allows users to play games by accessing cloud servers anywhere and anytime without installing games on devices, as long as there is a network connection. He said, "Personally, I expect cloud platforms to become fully active next year or the year after. We plan to introduce various games in line with the launch of next-generation gaming platforms by Microsoft (MS), Google, Sony, and others."

Finally, he emphasized that Vespa will leverage its unique strengths to create games that people will enjoy and find valuable. The CSO explained, "Vespa is a company that excels at creating games utilizing Japanese subculture, but it is not satisfied with current games and continuously experiments with new ideas. We thoroughly consider the future market and will maximize Vespa’s strengths to develop games that offer enjoyable value and meaningful reasons to play."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.