Ambitious new releases from South Korea’s trillion-dollar gaming giants face stiff competition from games developed by startups. Similar to the trend seen with Chinese casual games earlier this year, the novelty offered by these emerging game companies is proving to be a winning factor, especially in massively multiplayer role-playing games (MMORPGs).
In line with this trend, ‘Reverse Three Kingdoms,’ a strategy collection mobile RPG (role-playing game) launched on Apr. 26, claimed the top spot in the Google Play Store game rankings by Apr. 29. Netmarble’s highly expected release, ‘Arthdal Chronicles: Three Factions,’ launched on Apr. 24, and ‘Starseed: Asnia Trigger,’ released by Com2uS late last month, after ‘Reverse Three Kingdoms.’
‘Reverse Three Kingdoms’ marks the debut game from The Technology (formerly Exergy 21), which added “game business” to its business purpose at its annual general meeting in March. The company, founded in April 1987 as a raw material pharmaceutical company and subsequently listed on the KOSDAQ in October 2001, has only recently entered the gaming market; this move seems to be paying off.
The success of ‘Reverse Three Kingdoms’ is particularly noteworthy when considering the market dominance of the established gaming giants it competes with. Netmarble is recognized as one of the ‘3Ns’—Nexon, Netmarble, and NCSoft—in the Korean gaming industry, and it reported sales of 2.5 trillion won last year. In comparison, The Technology’s revenue from the previous year amounted to a modest 15.9 billion won, representing a mere 2% of Com2uS’ 740 billion won in sales.
Earlier, on Apr. 18, MobiGames’ ‘Light of the Stars’ claimed the top spot in popularity rankings on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, maintaining its position until the 23rd. Despite strong competition, ‘Light of the Stars’ maintains its position as the second most popular game in the one-store rankings, outperforming Kakao Games’ new MMORPG, ‘Ares: Rise of Guardians’.
MobiGames, a subsidiary of mobile marketing ADTech company MobiDays, entered the mobile game business in March last year. Despite its relatively short stint in the gaming industry, the parent company boasted substantial revenue of 23.9 billion won last year, overshadowing Kakao Games’ revenue of over 1 trillion won. This victory in the popularity race highlights the potential of new entrants to disrupt the gaming market.
‘Light of the Stars,’ developed by MobiGames over more than two years, offers a subculture (Japanese anime-inspired) strategy RPG experience. It narrates the saga of creatures forged by the cosmic power of the stars as they combat darkness and chaos. The game boasts features such as hero collection and development based on constellations and tower defense elements that demand strategic prowess.
The surge in popularity of games from startups can be attributed to their freshness. In contrast to the MMORPG genre, dominated by established gaming companies, these new entrants offer experiences that are accessible and enjoyable without requiring substantial time or financial investment. Reviews of ‘Reverse Three Kingdoms’ on Google’s App Store echo this sentiment: “not overpriced and easy to enjoy.”
