XL Games

XL Games is the South Korean studio Jake Song founded in 2006, maker of ArcheAge, ArcheAge War and ArcheAge Chronicles. It is majority-owned by Kakao Games, and since 2026 it publishes ArcheAge Chronicles itself.

0:10 XL Games (엑스엘게임즈) is the South Korean studio that Jake Song founded in 2006, the maker of ArcheAge, ArcheAge War and ArcheAge Chronicles, and since 2026 the publisher of ArcheAge Chronicles as well as its developer. In the studio's video of Oct 7, 2026, Executive Producer Yongjin Ham introduces himself and says, in Korean with burned-in English subtitles, that ArcheAge Chronicles will now be published directly by XL Games and that the team will be "communicating with you more often". XL Games is based in Seongnam, south of Seoul; its CEO is Kwanho Choi, and Kakao Games owns a majority of it. The company writes its name XLGAMES, as Steam's developer line does; this viki writes XL Games.

Quick facts

Korean name	엑스엘게임즈 (XLGAMES Inc.)
Founded	2006, by Jake Song (Song Jae-kyung)
Headquarters	NEOWIZ Pangyo Tower, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
CEO	Kwanho Choi
Owner	Kakao Games, 52.97% (bought in Feb 2020, per iNews24)
Games	ArcheAge (2013), ArcheAge War (2023), ArcheAge Chronicles (Early Access planned for later in 2026)
ArcheAge Chronicles team	Executive Producer Yongjin Ham; Creative Director and Lead Game Designer Jay Lee; Global Project Manager Don
Publishes ArcheAge Chronicles	Since 2026 (announced Sep 15, 2026); Kakao Games before
Staff	342 at the end of June 2026, down from 449 at the end of 2025 (iNews24)
Official site	archeagechronicles.xlgames.com

Founding and Jake Song

3:01 Jake Song (Song Jae-kyung) founded XL Games in 2006, after co-founding Nexon and leading Lineage at NCSoft (MTN). He was the face of the studio for most of its history: in Kakao Games' interview of Nov 18, 2022, he presents ArcheAge 2 and closes by thanking ArcheAge players around the world and saying the team is working hard to meet them again in the new game (Korean speech). He stepped down as co-CEO on Jul 31, 2023, leaving Kwanho Choi as sole CEO, and stayed on to work on the game, according to Asia Business Daily. He left XL Games in early 2025 "to recharge" (Massively OP, Mar 1, 2025). He does not lead ArcheAge Chronicles; XL Games said in August 2025 that the game "isn't being led by just one individual". The game's history is on Development History.

ArcheAge and ArcheAge War

XL Games' first game, ArcheAge, was a sandbox MMORPG that launched in Korea in January 2013 and was published in the West by Trion Worlds, then Gamigo (ArcheAge: Unchained, Oct 15, 2019), then Kakao Games. Kakao Games closed the Western servers on Jun 27, 2024, and Korean ArcheAge ended on Mar 6, 2025. ArcheAge War, a PC and mobile MMORPG serviced by Kakao Games, launched in Korea on Mar 21, 2023; XL Games stopped new content for it from July 2026 (MTN). Every ArcheAge game is on ArcheAge Series.

Kakao Games' stake

Kakao Games, a South Korean publisher, owns 52.97% of XL Games; it bought that controlling stake in February 2020, according to iNews24 and MTN. It published ArcheAge Chronicles from the start (Kakao Games showed ArcheAge 2 at G-Star 2022 and co-announced the rename in September 2024) and reported its schedule on its investor calls. In 2026 the roles changed: MTN reported on Sep 8, 2026 that Kakao Games had ended its distribution contract for the game, and XL Games now publishes it. The PlayStation, Xbox and Epic Games Store pages still name "Kakao Games Corp." as publisher, as of Oct 20, 2026.

The ArcheAge Chronicles team

0:00 Three people speak for ArcheAge Chronicles. Executive Producer Yongjin Ham (Ham Yongjin) presented ArcheAge 2 at G-Star 2022 and signs XL Games' letters on Steam. Creative Director and Lead Game Designer Jay Lee spent 14 years on ArcheAge and was the original game's fourth Lead Game Designer. Both play in XL Games' "PvP Gameplay #1" clip of Sep 4, 2026: XL Games' PvP post says Ham played the Hatchet Ranger and Jay Lee the Longsword Warrior in its PvP footage, and the clip shows two players fighting on a sunny path below a ruined temple. Global Project Manager Don (no surname given), whom Ham introduced as "a direct line between our development team and the Western community", wrote his first post on Sep 18, 2026. Program team lead Kim Yongmin spoke to Newspim in 2024. No other names have been announced for the team, as of Oct 20, 2026.

Self-publishing

XL Games has published ArcheAge Chronicles itself since 2026. Ham wrote on Sep 15, 2026 that "XLGames will be self-publishing ArcheAge Chronicles directly", a "deliberate decision" giving the studio "a direct relationship with our Western players"; Don followed three days later, promising regular posts "both when things go well, and when they don't". The game's official site and Steam page now credit XL Games alone, and the old Kakao Games site answers with an error. XL Games has not named a partner publisher for any region: the Demo and Early Access are on Steam worldwide. iNews24 framed the demo as a test of XL Games' ability to publish. When Early Access starts is on Release Date and Early Access.

The 2026 restructuring and the IP sale

XL Games went through a hard 2026. MTN reported that Kakao Games gave it an emergency loan in April 2026 and that it sought to cut staff by more than 20% through voluntary retirement, sparing the Chronicles team; its headcount fell from 449 to 342 between the end of 2025 and June 2026, and it lost 24.2 billion won in 2025 on revenue of 31.1 billion won (iNews24). On Sep 8, 2026, XL Games disclosed the sale of the ArcheAge IP and the ArcheAge S project to Align Studio, a Kakao Games-funded company led by Kim Kyung-tae, for about 39.2 billion won "to secure liquidity", with the transfer dated Oct 27, 2026 (Inven). The ArcheAge Chronicles project stays with XL Games, though the Chronicles trademark is on the transferred list; how XL Games will use the IP for Chronicles has not been disclosed, as of Oct 20, 2026. MTN called Chronicles XL Games' only remaining in-house new title.

What XL Games says it is making

4:11 XL Games' 2024 "Developer Diary - Our Vision" ends with the team hoping more people will play MMORPGs and welcoming players to the next world of ArcheAge (Korean speech). In 2026 Ham summed the game up as an action MMORPG built on an open world, buy to play, with no paid shop when Early Access starts and no pay to win ever. The game is described on ArcheAge Chronicles and its business model on Price and Pay to Win.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns XL Games? Kakao Games owns 52.97% of XL Games, the studio behind ArcheAge Chronicles; it bought that controlling stake in February 2020.

Does Kakao Games publish ArcheAge Chronicles? No, not anymore. XL Games self-publishes ArcheAge Chronicles, as Executive Producer Yongjin Ham announced on Sep 15, 2026; Kakao Games was the publisher until 2026, and the console and Epic store pages still show its name.

Is Jake Song still at XL Games? No. Jake Song founded XL Games in 2006 and presented ArcheAge 2 in 2022, but he left the studio in early 2025 and does not lead ArcheAge Chronicles.

Where is XL Games? XL Games is in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, at NEOWIZ Pangyo Tower, according to the ArcheAge Chronicles official site.

Who makes ArcheAge Chronicles? ArcheAge Chronicles is developed and published by XL Games, led by Executive Producer Yongjin Ham and Creative Director Jay Lee.

Does XL Games still own ArcheAge? XL Games is selling the ArcheAge IP to Align Studio, with the transfer dated Oct 27, 2026, but keeps the ArcheAge Chronicles project; what that means for the ArcheAge Chronicles name had not been disclosed as of Oct 20, 2026.