Sang Won Chung Joins Advisory Board of Outspark

SAN FRANCISCO -

- Seasoned Industry Executive Brings Experience in Developing Micro-Transaction Models And Launching Free-to-Play Games in Asia to Leading North American Game Publisher

Outspark, the premier North American publisher for free-to-play massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, today announced that Sang Won Chung, former CEO of Nexon, one of Korea’s most influential online game companies, and most recently executive vice president of Neowiz, has joined the company’s Advisory Board.

Mr. Chung’s track record in the industry spans more than a decade, with some of the world’s leading online gaming companies. Most recently, he was executive vice president at Neowiz, one of the largest Korean online game publishers, where he successfully brought the popular FIFA Online game title to the Korean market in collaboration with Electronic Arts (EA).

“We are delighted to add another outstanding business leader with broad and relevant experience to our Advisory Board,” said Owen Mahoney, CEO of Outspark. “Sang Won Chung is a veteran executive in the online gaming industry with considerable experience that will help foster our long-term growth and success as we expand our ever increasing base of loyal game players.”

Mr. Chung has held several senior positions at leading online game company Nexon where he introduced the micro-transaction business model to Western markets. From 2001-2004, Mr. Chung served as CEO of the company and oversaw the release of successful games such as Shattered Galaxy, Kart Rider and MapleStory (by Wizet). He joined the company in 1996 as head of game development and was responsible for the launch of game titles including Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds, which has been running for the last decade, QuizQuiz and Crazy Arcade. Mr. Chung began his career at Samsung Data System after graduating from Seoul National University with a B.S. in molecular biology.

“This is an exciting and transformative time in the online gaming industry and Outspark is clearly one of the most innovative game companies in the world today,” said Mr. Chung. “With North America and Europe poised to be the next great markets for free-to-play games, I feel privileged to join a dynamic team of renowned industry leaders. I look forward to participating in the growth of Outspark as it helps guide the future of the freemium game industry.”

Outspark has established a rapidly growing community in the United States and Europe with a unique business model that focuses on the concept of engaging social events, in-game and around-game networking, user-generated content and a personalized user experience. Since the company launched in 2007, traffic to Outspark has grown to 7.2 million visitors a month. Outspark currently offers five mid-casual MMO games with more titles being launched this year.

About Outspark:

Outspark is a leading entertainment services company that publishes and operates engaging online multiplayer games. Featuring a portfolio of immersive free-to-play games and related content, the company is building an online destination where members come for the games and stay for the community. Outspark has partnered with numerous leaders in the gaming space, including corporate partners like EA, urban lifestyle brand Rocawear and technology companies like YouTube, Vivox, Meebo and Dyyno, all assisting in making the Outspark virtual playground the ultimate gaming and social destination. Backed by Tencent, Altos Ventures and DCM, Outspark is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., with a subsidiary office in Seoul, Korea. For more information, visit www.outspark.com.

Source: Outspark

Tracie Snitker, +1-209-586-1495, ext. 104, tracie at reverbinc.com, or Abby Oliva, +1-209-586-1495, ext. 106, abby at reverbinc.com, both of Reverb Communications, for Outspark