NPIXEL, the developer of the MMORPG Gran Saga, shared its views on the current video game market in South Korea, as well as the trends and challenges facing local developers. In an interview with the portal app2top.ru Head of Business Kim Myung Gilem paid special attention to the changing preferences of players and the development of the industry.
Kim Myung Gil noted that since the end of 2023, the Korean market has been actively developing incremental games, such as clickers, which are rapidly gaining popularity. However, MMORPGs remain a firm favorite thanks to stable interest from the core audience. According to him, this genre continues to hold a leading position and remains one of the most competitive in the country.
One of the key features of Korean games, according to a representative of NPIXEL, is the emphasis on interaction between players – cooperation and competition. The domestic market has traditionally been focused on creating games with a free-to-play monetization system, especially for mobile devices, but in recent years projects with other business models have begun to appear. The success of Lies of P and Stellar Blade shows that big-budget console titles with different approaches to monetization can achieve recognition.
NPIXEL is also actively developing in this direction, developing large paid projects such as Chrono Odyssey to expand beyond the traditional mobile market. At the same time, as Kim Myung Gil noted, an important feature of the Korean market remains the practice of pre-registration, which plays a significant role in the success of projects. However, today developers are increasingly collaborating with companies from other industries, conducting joint advertising campaigns with fashion brands, cafes and fast food chains, which helps attract the attention of new audiences.
Despite all this, Kim Myung-gil admits that the South Korean gaming industry is still quite closed and focused on the domestic market. At the same time, according to him, it is increasingly reaching the international level, although the influence of Korean games on the Western market remains relatively small.
