“Onmyoji,” the hit 3-D mobile role-playing game that swept the Chinese and Japanese markets last year, is officially arriving in South Korea this summer through Kakao which hopes to cement the lead in game publishing.

Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao on Tuesday announced that its mobile game publishing unit Kakao Games would begin servicing “Onmyoji for Kakao,” the localized version of the hit Chinese 3-D mobile role-playing game, in Korea from early August. 

Developed by China’s game developing company NetEase, “Onmyoji” is a turn-based mobile RPG that has racked up more than 2 million downloads worldwide, scoring positive reviews particularly from Chinese and Japanese players.

It is the most highly anticipated mobile title to be released by Kakao’s game publishing unit this year.

In “Onmyoji,” a Japanese term for sorcerer in the Heian period of Japan, players fight against various kinds of evil spirits and monsters by collecting and maneuvering various “shikigami,” or spirits that aid a sorcerer. The game is based on the ancient folklore of ancient Japan.

“One of the most important factors we consider when sourcing in games is novelty,” said Kakao Games CEO Namkoong Whon during a press conference in Seoul to showcase the upcoming Chinese game.

“When we think of ghosts or spirits, we typically think of expelling them. However, ‘Onmyoji’ is a game that requires players to strategically maneuver spirits to their advantage, offering a new, interesting twist,” Nam said.

For the Korean launch of “Onmyoji,” Kakao said it took great care to best localize the game for Korean players, employing more than 40 Korean voice actors as well as designating the popular Korean singer IU as its marketing model.

The game publisher has even collaborated with the famous Korean webtoon artist Hun behind the webtoon and film “Secretly, Greatly,” to produce a special promotional webtoon for “Onmyoji.”

For the past few years, Kakao Games has been making continued efforts to rise up as a leader in the game publishing business by leveraging some 40 million users of Korea’s most widely-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk.

It is aiming for an initial public offering next year, and is currently working to expand its business portfolio and market influence to maximize its corporate value as much as possible before going public.

In the past year alone, the Kakao-owned game publishing firm spent some 70 billion won ($62.04 million), or 22 percent of the firm’s revenue in 2016, toward acquiring or making strategic investments in Korean game companies, it said.

They include small-sized mobile game development startups such as Fincon and ShiftUp as well as virtual reality game developers like EVR Studio, according to Kakao.

Kakao Games is seeking to strengthen its role in the global game publishing industry by launching games on diverse platforms including smartphones, PCs and virtual reality systems.

“I think new industry leaders emerge when new platforms are introduced. We’re eying potential genres that will rise to the spotlight as the game industry transitions from mobile to augmented and virtual reality platforms,” Nam said, citing “sports” as a promising genre.

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