Game commerce infrastructure company Neon has announced a $13 million Series A funding round, welcoming KRAFTON as both a strategic investor and commercial partner. Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Games) and Renegade Partners also participated in the round, reinforcing confidence in Neon’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) commerce platform for game publishers.
The investment validates Neon’s vision that game publishers should own their player relationships, customer data, and commercial operations instead of relying on platform intermediaries.
“The future of games belongs to publishers and their players, not intermediaries and their app stores.”
Building commerce infrastructure beyond app stores
Founded to help publishers establish their own commerce ecosystems, Neon provides infrastructure for web stores, payment processing, tax and regulatory compliance, fraud management, and merchant-of-record services. Rather than becoming another intermediary, the company says its goal is to give publishers the tools to operate direct relationships with their players while Neon manages the underlying operational complexity.
In its announcement, Neon argued that publishers have traditionally faced two choices: either build a global commerce and payments operation internally or hand over player relationships to another third-party platform. The company positions itself as an alternative that allows developers and publishers to retain ownership of customer data and business economics while outsourcing the infrastructure layer.
KRAFTON expands its direct commerce ambitions
For KRAFTON, the investment supports a broader strategy to strengthen direct relationships with players and develop its own payment capabilities. The PUBG publisher plans to leverage Neon’s infrastructure to improve purchasing experiences and expand its global commerce ecosystem.
Thomas Ko, Head of Publishing Platform at KRAFTON, said:
“This investment marks an important starting point for KRAFTON to strengthen the service foundation that connects us directly with global users. By utilizing the game commerce infrastructure provided by Neon, we will offer better purchasing experiences and benefits, and continue to expand our user-centric service ecosystem.”
Funding to accelerate D2C growth
Neon says the fresh capital will be used to expand its commerce platform as more publishers invest in direct-to-consumer strategies beyond traditional app store distribution. According to CEO Chris Faught, the company has experienced 200% year-over-year growth, reflecting increasing publisher interest in owning customer relationships instead of depending solely on Apple and Google storefronts.
The funding comes as regulatory changes and evolving platform policies continue to create new opportunities for game companies to build web stores and alternative purchasing channels, making D2C commerce an increasingly important part of publisher monetization strategies.
