Webzen acquires Ymir Entertainment

South Korean MMO publisher Webzen has completed a 100 per cent acquisition of Ymir Entertainment, developer of the successful, free-to-play MMO, Metin2.

Webzen, publisher of Archlord, hopes to use the team at Ymir to expand its influence in Europe and elsewhere. Metin2 currently boasts a larger registered user base than World of Warcraft in Europe, although it is not known how many of these are active players. However, a press release accompanying the acquisition announcement indicated that peak levels have seen Metin2 hit over 300,000 concurrent users.

"Asia has been the centre of the online gaming industry, but we expect great growth from the European market in the near future," said Webzen CEO Chang Keun Kim.

"This M&A with Ymir Entertainment means the start of Global Webzen, expanding through various strategies with global line-ups in Europe. We will be reborn as the Global Webzen. This is a new beginning, a new opportunity for us."

Metin2 has also been localised into 18 different languages, including Chinese and Portuguese.