PANGYO, SOUTH KOREA – May 2, 2025 – Korean publisher and developer NCSOFT announced today it completed a strategic equity investment in independent, Austin, Texas-based development studio, emptyvessel.

Founded by veteran developers from Activision, Disney, id Software, Microsoft, and Naughty Dog, emptyvessel is a AAA game studio currently in development with the cyberpunk squad-based, tactical shooter Defect built on Unreal Engine 5. The studio unveiled its YouTube reveal trailer in 2024, quickly amassing 1.9 million views.

Emptyvessel’s team has collectively worked on several global hits including first-person shooters (FPS) and action-adventure games such as DOOM, Quake, Call of Duty, The Last of Us, Borderlands, Tomb Raider, and Uncharted.

“We started working on Defect with a simple belief, that great games come from focused, passionate teams who are empowered to take creative risks,” said Emanuel Palalic, game director at emptyvessel. “That’s why we’re excited to partner with NCSOFT. From the start, they’ve understood our goal, not just to build a game, but to build a better environment for the developers behind it. NCSOFT’s support and expertise will help us take Defect and emptyvessel to the next level."

NC West, NCSOFT's North American subsidiary, made the investment in the studio earlier this week. Starting with this investment, NCSOFT and emptyvessel will form a long-term partnership and discuss various cooperation plans, including the publishing rights for Defect.

“Emptyvessel is a triple-A development studio established by game art and sound experts with successful experience and fandom in the global major genre of shooting games,” said NCSOFT Co-CEO Byungmoo Park. “We will continue to invest in securing new global IPs and building a genre-specific cluster pipeline.”

As part of its evolving strategic publishing initiative, NCSOFT is focusing on building genre-specific development clusters and securing a global portfolio through domestic and international investments. In addition to the emptyvessel, NCSOFT has invested in Swedish-based Moon Rover Games; Polish-based Virtual Alchemy; and Korean-based Mistil Games, currently in development with first-person shooter Time Takers, and Vic Game Studio.

Watch the official trailer reveal of Defect on YouTube.

For more information, check emptyvessel’s Official Website and ‘Wishlist’ Defect on their official Steam page.