{"rewrite":{"id":"r_b11f50f5aa4871950175e51b","clusterId":"c_c932d08018cd0bbb0a97132c","slug":"wuxiaworld-founder-buys-platform-back-from-tapas-before-shutdown","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Wuxiaworld Founder Buys Platform Back From Tapas Before Shutdown","summary":"Ren, who founded Wuxiaworld in 2014, has bought the English web fiction platform back from Tapas Entertainment, returning it to independent ownership. He announced the purchase on September 20, days before Kakao Entertainment said Tapas will close its North American service on March 31, 2027. Ren said the coming shutdown was the main reason for the buyback. The platform now runs at a monthly gross loss of about US$30,000.","whyItMatters":"The buyback keeps Wuxiaworld running independently while its former parent winds down Tapas, but the site returns with a monthly gross loss where it once made more than US$300,000 in monthly gross profit.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eRen founded Wuxiaworld in 2014, sold it to Kakao Entertainment through Radish Media in 2021, and watched it pass under Tapas Entertainment after the 2022 Tapas-Radish merger. He said he completed the repurchase from Tapas in under a month, and thanked Kakao and Tapas for helping close it.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe finances are the other half of the story. When he handed the company over, Wuxiaworld brought in more than US$300,000 in monthly gross profit. By July 2026, its latest finalized month, it was posting a gross loss of roughly US$30,000. He plans cost cuts and a startup mode, and says machine translation is not part of the plan.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Wuxiaworld founder Ren has bought the platform back from Tapas, days before Kakao said Tapas will close on March 31, 2027. He says the site was headed for shutdown too. It returns at a monthly gross loss of about US$30,000.","twitterPost":"Wuxiaworld founder Ren bought the platform back from Tapas, shortly before Kakao announced Tapas will close on March 31, 2027. Ren said Wuxiaworld would otherwise have shut down too. It returns at a monthly gross loss of about US$30,000.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Wuxiaworld founder Ren has repurchased the English web fiction platform from Tapas Entertainment and is running it independently again. He announced the deal on September 20, shortly before Kakao Entertainment said Tapas will close its North American service on March 31, 2027. Ren said the shutdown was the main reason he returned, and the site now runs at a monthly gross loss of about US$30,000.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-20/wuxiaworld-founder-buys-back-web-fiction-platform-from-tapas/.242970\",\"title\":\"Wuxiaworld Founder Buys Back Web Fiction Platform From Tapas\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4645,"outputTokens":661,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792504329,"createdAt":"2026-10-20T13:47:01.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-20T13:51:05.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T13:51:05.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_c932d08018cd0bbb0a97132c","canonicalTitle":"News\nWuxiaworld Founder Buys Back Web Fiction Platform From Tapas","representativeArticleId":"a_95eacc83fd877b5b569eb762","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Wuxiaworld\"],\"studios\":[\"Tapas\",\"Kakao Entertainment\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"business\",\"domain\":\"industry\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-20T12:15:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-20T12:15:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T13:51:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-20/wuxiaworld-founder-buys-back-web-fiction-platform-from-tapas/.242970","title":"News\nWuxiaworld Founder Buys Back Web Fiction Platform From Tapas"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Wuxiaworld"],"studios":["Tapas","Kakao Entertainment"],"people":[],"type":"business","domain":"industry","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}