South Korea’s gaming industry closed a successful year in 2017, with mobile renditions of “Lineage” raising record sales while online games like “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” shot their way to the international spotlight. 

Stepping into 2018, Korea’s leading game companies are once again preparing to entice overseas users with an array of new games, looking to new markets beyond their home turf.

Nexon is kicking off the new year with two new mobiles games -- martial arts role-playing game “Yulgang M” slated for release in Korea on Jan. 11 and “Durango: Wild Lands,” a massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in a primitive land inhabited by dinosaurs.


Expectations are particularly high for “Durango: Wild Lands,” which has been meticulously developed with a global audience in mind by Nexon’s in-house development studio What!Studio. The mobile game’s development was led by Lee Eun-seok, who previously directed the development of 2004’s “Mabinogi.” 

Since July, Nexon has been running a beta test for the game in 14 countries, including Thailand, Russia, Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia. It plans to launch the game this month first in Korea, and later bring the game to other markets.

Meanwhile, mobile game maker Gamevil is betting big on blockbuster mobile MMORPG “Royal Blood.” The firm plans to release the game first in Korea on Jan. 12, and later to other global markets from March, it said. 


“This is the first Korean-made MMORPG to be serviced under a ‘global one-build’ strategy. Leveraging our global offices and service expertise, we will successfully tap into overseas markets including North America and Europe,” said Gamevil Vice President Song Jae-jun during the game’s showcase event.

Another highly anticipated release is Pearl Abyss’ “Black Desert M,” a mobile remake of MMORPG “Black Desert.” The original game has proved successful in Japan, Russia, Taiwan and regions in Europe and North America since its release in 2014.

Local analysts have set forth a rosy outlook for “Black Desert M,” as the game prepares for its Korean launch this month, with more than 2 million preregistered users already secured.

Shinhan Investment analyst Lee Moon-jong predicts PearlAbyss to rake in around 600 million won ($565,000) in daily sales, while Korea Investment & Securities analyst Kim Sung-eun has doubled that target at 1.2 billion won.

Continuing its streak from 2017, Korea’s mobile game giant Netmarble Games expects to rake in continued profits from its megahit mobile RPG “Lineage II: Revolution,” which is now available in markets worldwide including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and North America. It is also awaiting government approval to bring the game to China this year. 


In 2018, it hopes to pave new growth with four fresh mobile MMORPGs -- “Blade & Soul Revolution,” “Tera M,” “Icarus M” and “Seven Knights II” -- that will be arriving in markets overseas throughout the year. “Tera M” has been already available in Korea since November.

In the online front, Bluehole Studio-owned PUBG Corp., creators of the blockbuster “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” is preparing to launch new online MMORPG “Ascent: Infinite Realm” within the year. Expectations are high that the upcoming game could re-create the success of “PUBG.”

NCSoft is planning to introduce this year “Aion: Legions of War,” a new mobile RPG based on its online RPG “Aion,” in North America and Europe. It’s additionally working on a virtual reality game based on “Blade & Soul” in partnership with Oculus, targeting mostly console gamers in the West.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)