XLGAMES Sells the ArcheAge IP for 39.2 Billion Won, but Keeps Chronicles

In 2013, ArcheAge arrived in Korea promising something few MMOs dared: a world where players built the economy, owned the land and fought over the sea. Thirteen years later, the studio that made it has sold the name.

On September 8, 2026, XLGAMES signed a contract to transfer the ArcheAge intellectual property and the development business for ArcheAge S, its next PC MMORPG, to Align Studio. The disclosed price was 39,221,943,293 won, about 39.2 billion won, and the transfer took effect on October 27, 2026. XLGAMES said the purpose was to secure liquidity and improve its financial structure.

What exactly was sold

According to Inven Global's reading of the disclosure and its corrected appendix:

• All IP in ArcheAge and its sequels, including domestic and international trademarks, copyrights and domains.
• The ArcheAge S development project, with its assets, contracts, staff and liabilities.
• The appendix splits the value into 28.9 billion won for the ArcheAge S business and 9.9 billion won for the IP itself.

One project was left out: ArcheAge Chronicles, the action MMO that went into Steam early access on November 3. XLGAMES keeps developing and self-publishing it (our launch report). How the Chronicles team will use a brand it no longer owns was not explained in the filing.

Who is Align Studio?

Align Studio is a new developer funded by Kakao Games, and it is led by producer Kim Kyung-tae, who headed ArcheAge S at XLGAMES. He was also planning lead and producer on the original ArcheAge, so the franchise is effectively following its own creative team out of the building.

ArcheAge S: Strait of Freedom was announced on August 3, 2026 as a PC MMORPG, with Kakao Games signing on as global publisher and a target of 2027. The publishing deal has now moved to an agreement between Align Studio and Kakao Games.

A short history of ArcheAge

XLGAMES was founded in April 2003. ArcheAge took a decade to arrive, and then spread fast:

• January 2013: commercial service in Korea.
• July 2013: Japan. February 2014: Russia.
• September 2014: North America and Europe.
• September 2015: China.
• February 2020: Kakao Games acquires XLGAMES.
• March 2023: the mobile game ArcheAge War launches in Korea, after 2 million pre-registrations, and tops both app store sales charts.

The mobile branch keeps growing

ArcheAge has not only lived on PC. ArcheAge War, the mobile spin-off, followed its 2023 Korean launch with a global service in June 2024. In October 2025 XLGAMES merged its Korean and global services and opened the first cross-region "Universe Dungeon", and in December 2025 it launched a new globally integrated server. That steady mobile business is part of why the brand still carried a price tag of nearly 10 billion won on its own, separate from the ArcheAge S project.

The PC side, meanwhile, showed it can still draw a crowd: the ArcheAge Chronicles demo was played by 244,500 people during Steam Next Fest in October 2026.

Why it matters

Splitting a franchise between two companies is unusual, and it creates questions. Chronicles carries the ArcheAge name but its maker no longer owns that name. ArcheAge S moves to a new studio with a veteran leader and a big publisher. And Kakao Games, which already owns XLGAMES, now backs both sides.

WGC's take: For players, this is mostly good news in the short term: two ArcheAge games are in active development instead of one. The risk is confusion. Expect clearer branding and some licensing details to emerge as both projects head into 2027.