[Digital Daily’s Reporter Moon Dae-chan] Three Korean game companies that consecutively released new games in March had a positive start to the 2025 race with smiles on their faces. Their new releases, which embody their unique styles and strategies, have achieved expected results, likely giving a boost to their business directions this year.
According to the gaming industry on the 7th, all four new titles released by Nexon, Krafton, and Netmarble in the past month have been successfully engaging audiences initially. Netmarble’s new MMORPG ‘RF Online Next,’ released on March 20, topped the sales rankings in both major domestic app markets six days after its release. It currently ranks 2nd in Google Play’s sales and 6th in Apple’s App Store, indicating potential long-term success.
RF Online Next utilizes the ‘RF Online’ IP, which has been serviced for over 20 years since 2004. It features diverse combat strategies with elements like bio-suits, flight action, and mechanical equipment called ‘Shingi’ based on a storyline involving three states set in space.
Despite a successful turnaround last year due to new title successes, Netmarble faced concerns about maintaining growth momentum with the rapid stabilization of key titles like ‘Solo Leveling: Arise.’ However, the company showed positive signs by starting the new year successfully.
Netmarble plans to release anticipated titles utilizing both internal and external IPs in the first and second halves of the year. They intend to maintain a rebound trend by sequentially launching ‘Seven Knights Reverse’ and ‘Game of Thrones: King’s Road’ in the first half, and ‘Mongeol: Star Dive’ and ‘The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin’ in the second half.
Nexon’s ‘Mabinogi Mobile,’ released on March 27, has seen an upward sales trajectory. Starting around the 20th rank in Google Play’s sales rankings post-launch, it moved into the Top 5 over the past weekend, now standing at 4th place. It ranks 1st in the App Store sales rankings.
The game’s appealing gameplay, spread through word of mouth, has drawn a flood of users. Unlike similar genre games that typically emphasize competition, ‘Mabinogi Mobile’ focuses on everyday content like cooking and music-playing to reduce playing stress. Its charming costume content is also a noted appeal.
On April 5, approximately 20,000 users were queued up in line for the popular server ‘Duncan’ on ‘Mabinogi Mobile,’ with connection taking more than 4 hours. According to Mobile Index, its weekly active user count was the 5th largest during the 4th week of March.
Nexon also enjoyed a stroke of good fortune with ‘First Berserker: Kazan,’ which launched on PC and console on March 28. The hardcore action RPG made a smooth transition into the global market.
On its release day, Kazan ranked 2nd globally on the PC game distribution platform Steam in sales, 2nd domestically, and 3rd in the US. Even accounting for the genre’s niche appeal and high price, this performance is significant. Currently, it stands at 12th among global top sellers.
The success of these new releases is expected to energize Nexon’s growth strategy to reach the ‘7 trillion won club’ in sales. Nexon had previously announced plans to expand popular original IPs in various ways. Games like Mabinogi Mobile and Kazan, which are based on ‘Mabinogi’ and ‘Dungeon & Fighter’ IPs respectively, are anticipated to drive further development momentum for upcoming related new titles.
Krafton’s ‘Injoy,’ launched on Steam for early access on March 28, reached a record-breaking pace by selling 1 million copies in just a week. This surpasses the speed of ‘PUBG (Battlegrounds),’ Krafton’s flagship title, which took 16 days to hit the same milestone. Compared to other domestic games that became million-sellers in the last 2-3 years, ‘Injoy’ has achieved it the fastest.
‘Injoy’ continues its success, currently holding 3rd place in Steam’s global top sellers. Despite not being the full release version, it has generated significant buzz, ranking high in viewer numbers across domestic and international streaming platforms’ game categories, suggesting potential long-term increases in sales.
The success of ‘Injoy’ has heightened expectations for an increase in Krafton’s corporate value. Although Krafton has continued to grow steadily, achieving record earnings annually owing to the long-term success of PUBG, its corporate value has been considered undervalued due to challenges in discovering new-generation IPs. With ‘Injoy’ proving its global competitiveness again, Krafton is likely to see a favorable stock price movement.
Krafton plans to continue its momentum throughout the year by sequentially launching new titles like ‘Dark & Darker Mobile (tentative name),’ ‘Subnautica 2,’ and ‘Dinkum Together.’