With big names signed, Nexon guns for Western players with new division

Nexon has been signing up Western developers left and right, lately, to publishing deals. In July, the company made a big splash by inking a deal with Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski for a new PC shooter, but it has also signed up Robotoki, United Front Games, Splash Damage, and Turbo, among others -- veteran developers all, and across PC and mobile both. Now, Nexon has announced that it is formally creating a division called Nexon XP to crack the Western games market, and has tapped Nexon America CEO and co-founder Min Kim to head the division, alongside Relic co-founder Ron Moravek. The goal of the division is to bring high-level talent into the free-to-play space, and to build a business for the Asian company focused on Western audiences. Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney has recently talked up the company's respect for devs and great games. "A key focus for Nexon going forward is to increase share in the North American and European video game markets. Nexon XP was founded to achieve this through the creation of world class games with world class development partners," Mahoney said in a statement. The move creates some exec shuffles at Nexon America, as Rich Williams has stepped up as its president and will oversee day-to-day operations for the company, with YT Kang assuming a VP role in Online Game Production.