Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Netmarble’s new titles gain traction across key markets
An image of Vampir / Courtesy of Netmarble
By Nam Hyun-woo
New titles released by Netmarble earlier this year are gaining traction, posting strong results in their key target markets.
Vampir, which recently launched in Taiwan, quickly rose to the top of local app market revenue rankings. Another title released earlier, StoneAge: Idle Adventure, has maintained strong momentum, securing a top three position on both major mobile app stores in Korea.
Released Aug. 26 last year, Vampir is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by key creators behind Lineage 2: Revolution, which was widely credited with raising the bar for Korean mobile games.
The title has received favorable reviews for its distinctive vampire-themed dark fantasy setting based on a medieval world. It topped the revenue charts on Korea’s two major app markets and expanded its reach to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau on March 11.
Even before its official launch, Vampir had already signaled strong demand. In Taiwan, the first round of character name reservations sold out within five minutes of opening, while the second round closed in just 15 minutes.
With predownloads alone, the game ranked No. 1 on Taiwan’s Apple App Store popularity chart. As of Thursday morning, just one day after its release, the game climbed to No. 2 in revenue on the Apple App Store, while also ranking high on the Google Play popularity chart, drawing significant attention from local users.
Meanwhile, StoneAge: Idle Adventure, Netmarble’s first new release of the year, launched March 3, has been posting steady results in the Korean market. On Wednesday, the title ranked No. 3 in revenue on Google Play, following an earlier No. 2 position on Apple’s App Store, placing it in the top three in both major app markets. The game had already reached No. 1 in popularity rankings on both stores within two days of its release, continuing to build momentum with strong revenue performance.
StoneAge: Idle Adventure is the latest title based on the StoneAge intellectual property, which has attracted more than 200 million players worldwide. The game allows users to combine six trainers and 18 pets to build a legion-sized deck of up to 24 units. It retains the nostalgic elements of the original title while adopting a simplified and intuitive gameplay system designed for easy accessibility.
A promotional image for StoneAge: Idle Adventure / Courtesy of Netmarble
Industry watchers note that the two games are achieving success through different launch strategies.
While StoneAge: Idle Adventure improved its overall quality through soft launches in select regions before successfully settling into the Korean market, Vampir is expanding its reach by introducing a title that already proved successful in Korea, leveraging a well-prepared localization strategy and linking new releases with regional expansion.
This momentum is also raising expectations for Netmarble’s upcoming lineup this year. The company plans to release seven new titles, including The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin and Mongil: Star Dive. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad is preparing to expand into additional Asian markets after further refining its gameplay quality.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin will be previewed Tuesday on PlayStation 5 and Steam, while Mongil: Star Dive is scheduled for a global launch on April 15.
“We will continue to provide diverse entertainment experiences through ongoing content updates and stable service operations,” a Netmarble official said.