Netmarble's 'BTS World' fails to fascinate users

Netmarble's mobile game “BTS World” / Courtesy of Netmarble

By Jun Ji-hye

Netmarble's “BTS World” has faced harsh reviews from users, falling short of market expectations that the new game would be a boost to the company on the back of the boy band's explosive popularity and selling power in the global market.

The mobile game, which utilizes the images of the K-pop sensations, was released internationally on June 26.

The game received huge attention from fans worldwide, becoming the top free game at the App Store in 33 countries including Korea and those in North America and Europe, only 14 hours after its release.

But users' reactions to the new game have been disappointing.

“The game seems to rely only on fandom of BTS as the quality was so disappointing,” a user wrote on a Naver blog.

Another user said, “If BTS World stays the same, its popularity will hit bottom.”

“BTS World,” a story-based mobile simulation game, allows players to manage BTS, as the story of the game goes back to the start before the band's debut, with the ultimate goal of fostering BTS to become superstars.

Amid disappointment among users, securities companies have also provided gloomy assessments about the sales performance of the game.

Samsung Securities analyst Oh Dong-hwan said, “The much-anticipated BTS World has appeared to fall short of market expectations. It was originally expected to generate 2 billion won ($1.7 million) a day, but it is now estimated that the game is gaining about 500 million won to 700 million won a day.”

KTB Investment & Securities analyst Lee Min-ah also estimated that the game is earning less than 1 billion won a day.

“The company's sales during the second quarter may have increased but its operating profit may have failed to be improved due to an increase in marketing costs,” Lee said.

The value of the firm's stocks has gone way down as well since the release of the game.

Netmarble shares closed 11.06 percent down at 100,500 won on Monday, and 3.4 percent down at 96,600 won on Thursday.

The downtrend continued Friday, with shares closing 0.1 percent down at 96,500 won.

A Netmarble official said the company is dealing with the issue from a long-term perspective.

“We believe it is more important for the game to be loved by gamers over a longer period of time rather than producing short-term results,” the official said. “We will continue to bring updates to the game and diversify content so users can enjoy the game consistently.”