[IPO] Velop enters KOSDAQ... "Leap to a global game republishing company"

Shin Jaemyung, CEO of Vellop. / Photo by Vellop

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Game republishing company Velof is entering the KOSDAQ. Velof announced plans to prepare for the metaverse era through its own game platform VFUN and to leap forward as a global republishing company.

On the 2nd, Velof held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, to announce its ambitions for the KOSDAQ SPAC merger listing.

Velof, established in 2007, is the "No.1 republishing" company in Korea. What differentiates Velof from existing publishing companies is that it secures development resources and global publishing rights from IP holders (game owners) for games whose services have been discontinued or are facing difficulties, and then resumes service.

IP holders can continue to earn royalty income as Velof republishes the games, while users who miss the games they used to enjoy can satisfy their desire to keep playing. Additionally, in regions where the games are published for the first time, new markets can be targeted as new games.

Currently, Velof operates over 30 games. Representative titles include ▲ArtoBeat ▲Chronos ▲Bless Unleashed ▲Ann Age ▲Combat Arms ▲Lost Saga ▲Atlantica ▲Goonju ▲MU Legend ▲Icarus ▲Black Squad ▲O2JAM(M), among others.

Velof has shown an average annual sales growth rate of 34.6% over the past three years. In the first half of this year, it already recorded profits of 2.1 billion KRW, exceeding last year's operating profit of 1.8 billion KRW.

Besides game republishing, another core competitive advantage of Velof is its proprietary platform called VFUN. VFUN hosts online PC and mobile games republished by Velof and has a global payment system established.

Velof is preparing for the metaverse era through VFUN. It is developing and operating systems for game releases with added functions for P2E (Play-to-Earn) game implementation and NFT (Non-Fungible Token) activation. Currently, VFUN records 700,000 monthly visitors globally, and a cumulative membership of 12.6 million has formed a community through VFUN.

Kim Jeong-il, Velof CTO, stated, "Our goal is to secure excellent games of various genres with NFT technology applied on VFUN and to build an environment where games run freely on PC and mobile, thereby creating a new 'virtual reality global game platform' based on the VFUN platform where metaverse technology is realized."

Velof is also advancing as a global republishing company. Based on CEO Shin Jaemyung’s overseas business experience at Neowiz and NHN, Velof is completing the establishment of a global republishing business model.

Currently, Velof has built a global network based in Korea with branches in China, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, owning global service organizations and infrastructure. Local experts in each region independently handle customer localization and government relations while aggressively conducting brand marketing for Velof and VFUN.

CEO Shin Jaemyung said, "Velof has sufficient competitiveness to become a global republishing company," adding that it has obtained four game licenses in China, known for its strict regulations, and is currently providing game services there. Two games are expected to be released in China in 2023.

He continued, "We currently have branches in various Asian regions to strengthen global service competitiveness, and through the VFUN platform, we are providing various game services in North America, Europe, and South America. If this trend continues, we expect to achieve record-high performance this year."

Meanwhile, Velof plans to list on the KOSDAQ this year through a merger listing with Kyobo No.9 SPAC. The merger price is 2,000 KRW, and the merger ratio is 1 to 48.357. The shareholders' meeting for merger approval is scheduled for the 7th, and the total number of issued shares after the merger will be 47,869,299 shares.

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