Korean game developers expedite global conquest

South Korea’s major game developers NCSOFT Corp., Nexon Co. and Netmarble Corp. plan to roll out new games for overseas players next year in a bid to beef up their profit in anticipation of steady growth of the global gaming market over the next few years.

According to the local gaming industry on Monday, the three gaming giants are accelerating the global launch of their new titles in 2024 in a bid to discover new markets to bump up their offshore revenue.

Netmarble’s overseas revenue accounts for the largest 85% of its entire revenue, while Nexon and NCSOFT generate 40% and 35%, respectively, of their total revenue from global sales.  

Their global push is gaining steam as the international gaming market is forecast to grow steadily in the next few years after snapping the market decline this year.

The Amsterdam, Netherlands-based game market data provider Newzoo last week projected in a report that the global games market will grow 0.6% to $184 billion this year from last year when the market posted a year-over-year contraction to generate $182.9 billion.

Game players are also set to add 6.3% on-year to 3.38 billion over the same period.

The global games market is forecast to grow to $205.7 billion by 2026, recording a compound annual growth rate of 1.3% from 2021 to 2026, added Newzoo.

“More game companies are seeking to maximize profit by unlocking opportunities in the growing global gaming market,” said an unnamed official from the gaming industry, expecting that such game developers will attempt to woo offshore gamers with various localization efforts.

ACROSS PLATFORMS

NCSOFT plans to roll out a console version of its new massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) “Throne and Liberty” (TL) in overseas markets next year.

TL officially hit the Korean market early this month and is readying to soon meet global audiences through various platforms.

For its global success, the Korean game developer and publisher has joined hands with Amazon Games, a US video game company of online retail giant Amazon.com, to publish the free-to-play, multiplatform crossplay MMORPG in non-Korean markets, NCSOFT said.

The plan is also part of efforts by the major Korean gaming company, known for its cash cow Lineage series, to shift away from MMORPG to non-MMORPG games to lure younger-generation gamers.  

Another Korean gaming giant Nexon plans to roll out the third-person cooperative action RPG shooting game “The First Descendent” in the global market next year in hopes of cementing its position in the global gaming market following the global hit of its new title  this year, “Dave the Diver”.

Hopes are high for the new shooter game after about 2 million users worldwide joined its open beta test in September.

Netmarble also pins high hope on the global launch of “Solo Leveling:ARISE,” an action-packed RPG mobile game based on the intellectual property of the popular Korean webcomic “Solo Leveling,” which has recorded cumulative global views of 14.2 billion.

It is also prepping the global release of the medieval legend turn-based RPG adventure title “King Arthur: Legends Rise."

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.