According to one of the leaders of Neowiz, the developer of Lies of P, the South Korean government is supporting game development, a practice that many other countries could learn from.

Sean Kim, the co-CEO of Neowiz and developer of Lies of P, said that the South Korean government supports the country’s indie gaming scene. In an interview with Knowledge, Kim said that the number of independent developers in the region has grown. Kim added that many large companies want to release games from this industry and that financing has become more conservative in recent years. After moving from mobile and online titles to other areas, Neowiz’s future lies in single-player premium (paid) games for consoles and PCs. Kim said the company’s strategy is multi-pronged, consisting primarily of its own titles, such as the sequel to Lies of P, and external projects, including titles from Wolfeye Studios and Zakazane Studio.

“The government is helping a lot of indie developers grow. Many indie studios are emerging, particularly from young, talented developers in Korea. Many mid-sized and large Korean publishers are also exploring the indie scene while gradually pivoting to the PC and console space. The mobile gaming market is saturated. Funding has become much more conservative compared to past years, especially from VCs. It’s difficult to raise funding unless it’s a large, ambitious project.

In-house studios are vulnerable to changes, which is why we work with multiple teams on multiple projects. Since we need to publish at least two titles every year, we try to partner with external studios, such as Wolfeye and Zakazane, as much as possible. These studios have great creative talent and visions that align with our strategy. We’re seeing a lot of great developers emerge in China these days, so we’re focusing on that region as well,” Kim said.

In 2023, Neowiz invested $17 million in Blank Game Studios in Poland. Then, in November 2024, Neowiz signed an $8 million publishing deal with Zakazane, also in Poland. Finally, in early 2025, Neowiz entered into a publishing partnership with WolfEye. Neowiz also signed an agreement with Shanghai-based Shadowlight for its debut title, Kill the Shadow. Since its release in September 2023, Lies of P has attracted over 7 million players and sold over 3 million copies.

Source: Gamesindustry, Knowledge