Netmarble to hit global mobile game market with Disney

A new mobile game "Marvel Future Fight”

By Yoon Sung-won

Netmarble Games, the nation’s top mobile game provider, will launch a new mobile game, “Marvel Future Fight,” globally in cooperation with Marvel Entertainment.

The move is part of the company's efforts to expand on the world stage, tapping into the popular superhero and villain character intellectual properties (IP) of the U.S. movie and cartoon studio.

“We have achieved a series of successes in the domestic mobile game market with titles such as ‘Monster Taming’, ‘Everyone’s Marble’, ‘Seven Knights’ and ‘Raven,’” said Netmarble Games mobile business head Han Ji-hoon during a press conference in Seoul, Tuesday. “But our performance in the global market has been relatively insignificant.”

Han said “Marvel Future Fight” was not an improvised game prepared for the release of Marvel’s latest movie, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”, on April 23 and will be updated to feature all Marvel characters.

Marvel Entertainment is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company and has properties such as the Avengers, Spider Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

“We have already set a long-term plan to provide steady updates to include all Marvel heroes and villains for the game,” Han said.

Netmarble Games CEO Kwon Young-sig said the company aimed to get the game into the top 10 in major markets worldwide.

Netmarble Monster, a game development subsidiary of Netmarble Games, took charge of the new game’s development and Marvel’s comic author, Peter David, participated in the game’s scenario work, the company said.

The title was tested in four markets ― Australia, Singapore, Sweden and Denmark ― in March and the full version will be available to download free on April 30 through Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play market. But China has been excluded from the global launch.

Kwon said, “It is because of the fragmented mobile game market nature of the country. Google is also not operating its application market in China. It is not because of our relation with Tencent. We will arrange a separate launching plan for the country.”

Netmarble gained a 530 billion won investment from Tencent, the largest Internet and mobile service company in China, early last year.