LOS ANGELES _ Netmarble Games Corp., a fast-growing South Korean gaming and entertainment company, will move its U.S. offices to downtown Los Angeles.
The Seoul-based company, which now has its U.S. division offices in Buena Park, raised $2.3 billion last year in its initial public offering. Its flagship game, "Lineage 2: Revolution," is a multiplayer online role-playing game that has more than 5 million users, the company said.
It also develops and publishes mobile games for entertainment companies, including Walt Disney Co. and its Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm subsidiaries.
"We want to be in the center of the action because Western expansion is a key driver of us expanding our business," said Simon Sim, chief of U.S. operations. "It makes a lot more sense to be downtown than stay in Orange County."
Downtown LA landlords have been trying to attract them without much success, said real estate broker Greg Lovett of Cresa Los Angeles. Lovett helped arrange Netmarble's new lease with landlord Omni Group
But Netmarble's planned arrival in June may spur others to come, especially following Warner Music's decision in 2016 to move its West Coast operations from Burbank to the Arts District. The music company is expected to move into its newly renovated offices in the Ford Factory building in the fall.
