Netmarble to release new games for rebound
A poster for “Phantomgate” that Netmarble Games released Sept. 18 on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store in 155 countries. / Courtesy of Netmarble Games
By Jun Ji-hye
Netmarble Games plans to launch a series of new games on both domestic and international markets before the end of the year to reinvigorate its sluggish performance.
The game company saw a downward curve during the April-June period due to delays in releasing new games _ its operating profit fell by 40.8 percent from a year earlier.
The firm has begun efforts to improve its performance beginning with the Sept. 18 release of “Phantomgate,” a mobile role playing game (RPG), on Google Play Store and Apple's App Store in 155 countries.
The new game, inspired by North European mythology, offers a mythological adventure as players enter the land of Midgard when Astrid, a young Valkyrie, attempts to save her mother from the mad god Odin. Singer Heize sings the soundtrack for the game.
The firm is now working to fill “Seven Knights 2” with a variety of charms to differentiate it from existing massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs).
Expectation has been also growing toward another upcoming game, “BTS World,” which uses the intellectual property of the members of K-pop sensation BTS.
An official from the firm said Tuesday “BTS World” is expected to be released within the year though the exact launch date has yet to be decided.
The game, which uses more than 100 video clips and 10,000 photos of the boy band, allows users to nurture a BTS member in the game.
Expectation toward the success of the game in North America has been raised especially after the iconic seven-member boy band, also known as Bangtan Boys, was named “Top Social Artist” for the second year in a row at the Billboard Music Awards held at Las Vegas, May 21, beating out Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and Shawn Mendes.
The boy band also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with its new album “Love Yourself: Tear,” May 27, becoming the first Korean group ever to reach the top of the Billboard main albums chart.
Other games expected to be released include “Blade & Soul Revolution.”
In a bid to target the Japanese game market, the game firm displayed “Yokai Watch: Medal Wars” during the Tokyo Game Show on Sept. 20. The game is a mobile RPG that reinterprets the popular animation “Yokai Watch.”
The game company is also planning to release “The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross of Light and Darkness” in Japan. The mobile game utilizes the intellectual property of “The Seven Deadly Sins,” a Japanese fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki.
On May 25, the firm opened a teaser site for the new game, unveiling a video promoting the new game's realistic 3D graphics.
“We are preparing new games with various genres including a large-scale MMORPG such as Blade & Soul Revolution,” a Netmarble official said. “In the Japanese game market, we are preparing games based on local intellectual property such as The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross of Light and Darkness.”