Netmarble Corp. is gearing up for a strong year-end with plans to launch at least six more new games, powered by original intellectual properties, as well as diverse formats and genres, following the successful debut of two titles earlier this year.
According to sources in the gaming industry on Tuesday, South Korea’s leading game developer and publisher plans to roll out six new games – “King of Fighters AFK,” “Vampir,” “Mongil: Star Dive,” “The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin,” “Project SOL” and “Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive” – in the second half of this year.
It has also unexpectedly opened global pre-registration for two fresh titles – “Project Evilbane” and “StoneAge: Pet World,” whose release date remains unknown.
The company is expected to announce the official domestic launch of “Game of Thrones: Kingsroad,” which has already hit the market in America and Europe, before the end of this year.
Its decision to roll out a wave of additional new titles follows the enthusiastic reception of its earlier releases this year – “RF Online Next” and “Seven Knights Re:Birth.”
Expectations are high for another round of success, as the upcoming releases feature a blend of Netmarble’s original and licensed IPs and support diverse genres and formats, said market analysts.
“We aim to broaden our user base at home and abroad through diversified genres, a well-balanced IP portfolio and a multi-platform strategy,” said an official from Netmarble. “We will continue striving to deliver fresh experiences and new kinds of enjoyment.”
DIVERSE IPS, GENRES AND FORMATS
Netmarble has long been seen as overly dependent on licensed intellectual property – a perceived weakness in the eyes of industry observers.
But the strong performance of “RF Online Next” and “Seven Knights Re:Birth,” both built on the company’s own original IPs, has helped put those concerns to rest.
Of the upcoming titles, “Vampir,” “Mongil: Star Dive” and “StoneAge: Pet World” are built on the company’s original IPs, while it is developing fresh titles – “The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin” and “Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive” – with licensed IPs.
The new games also target different game styles. While “Vampir” and “Project SOL” are massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), the new open-world action-adventure collectible RPG, “The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin,” and the monster-taming action RPG title, “Mongil: Star Dive,” target fans of subculture games.
“Project Evilbane” is a co-op multiplayer action title, which has recently gained popularity among PC and console game players.
The new games are also expected to be developed for multiple platforms, encompassing PCs, mobile devices and video game consoles.
“The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin” will be Netmarble’s first game that can be played across all three platforms – PCs, mobile devices and consoles.
The company is also developing “Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive” for both PC and console platforms.
Thanks to a slew of new title launches, Netmarble is expected to report solid earnings this year.
Netmarble posted 49.7 billion won ($36.7 million) in operating profit for the first three months of this year, a more than 13-fold increase from the same period of a year ago.
Over the cited period, revenue added 6.6% to 623.9 billion won, while its bottom line swung to a profit of 80.2 billion won from a 9.9 billion loss.
By Sookyung Seo
skseo@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.
