Business

Korean Gamer Krafton Buys Japan's Top Animator ADK
By Reuters | 24 Jun, 2025

South Korea's hit gamemaker sees synergy in acquiring the animation and advertising capabilities of ADK, one of Japan's top three comprehensive advertising groups.

The video game PUBG is Krafton's biggest hit to date.

South Korean game company Krafton Inc said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy Japan's advertising and animation group ADK for 75 billion yen ($516.21 million). 

Krafton, the developer and publisher of the blockbuster game "PUBG: Battlegrounds", said in a statement it would acquire ADK Holdings' parent company from Bain Capital Japan. 

ADK, one of Japan's top three comprehensive advertising groups, has participated in the production of more than 300 animations, Krafton said. 

It has participated in animation production for IPs including Doraemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Crayon Shin-chan, according to the website of an ADK affiliate.

"By combining ADK's animation planning and production capabilities with Krafton's global game development and service experience, we plan to jointly create new added values that have not been tried before while maintaining the identity of both companies," Krafton said. 

($1 = 145.2900 yen)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; editing by David Evans)