Tencent Denies Reports of Nexon Acquisition Talks

Chinese tech giant Tencent has officially pushed back against recent rumors suggesting it is preparing to acquire South Korean game developer Nexon.

A source close to Tencent stated that the company has not initiated any contact with Nexon’s founding family nor conducted internal discussions about a possible acquisition.

The denial follows a wave of media speculation claiming Tencent was considering a US$15 billion deal to buy Nexon—an industry heavyweight behind popular titles like MapleStory. The reports also alleged that Tencent had reached out to the family of Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju, seeking their perspective on a potential sale.

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Although Tencent has made strategic investments in numerous gaming companies in the past, the source emphasized that no talks or evaluations regarding Nexon have taken place.

Founded in 1994 in South Korea and publicly listed in Japan since 2011, Nexon is best known for its iconic RPG MapleStory, which remains a major force in online gaming. In March, the company revealed MapleStory Universe, a Web3 reimagining of the game built on the Avalanche blockchain. Its native token, NXPC, launched on several major exchanges—including Binance, Bybit, Bitget, Upbit, and Bithumb—in May.

Despite the buzz, Tencent’s response aims to put speculation to rest, at least for now.

Alexander Stefanov

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