Nexon, a Japan free-to-play games publisher, that is best known for games like MapleStory and Combat Arms, has invested an undisclosed amount of capital in Shiver Entertainment. Shiver is a games studio founded by John Schappert, formerly of EA and Zynga. Schappert, who also founded Tiburon Entertainment, the developer behind the Madden series.
Schappert only started Shiver in December, but has managed to land an investment with Nexon and a multi-year publishing deal to develop free-to-play games.
“Shiver Entertainment is focused on creating the world’s best free-to-play games and by working together, we combine Nexon’s expertise in online free-to-play games and global publishing capability with our AAA Western-oriented games,” Schappert said in a press release.
Nexon also recently announced plans to acquire South Korean developer Thingsoft. The acquisition has Nexon subsidiary Neople purchasing all shares of Thingsoft, creators of FIFA Online, FIFA Online 2 and its in-development MMO, Project NT.
Its North American branch partnered up with Splash Damage in late August to publish Extraction, formerly known as Dirty Bomb, according to the game development press.