"Catch the 3N" Smilegate Becomes a Dark Horse [Buaeri's Game Dictionary]

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Smilegate has emerged as a dark horse in the gaming industry by joining the "1 Trillion Won Club." In terms of revenue, it ranks around fifth in the industry, following the 3N (NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble) and Krafton.

According to the gaming industry on the 9th, Smilegate surpassed 1 trillion won in revenue last year. On the 7th, Smilegate donated a special contribution of 10 billion won to the social contribution foundation "Hope Studio" to commemorate reaching 1 trillion won in sales. Prior to this, Smilegate also showcased its presence by giving all employees a generous performance bonus of 1.5 million won.

Smilegate's annual revenue achievement of 1 trillion won is the highest ever since its founding in 2002. Smilegate's strong performance was driven by its flagship games such as Crossfire, Lost Ark, and Epic Seven.

Smilegate grew into a global company as the first-person shooter game "Crossfire," released in 2007, became a worldwide hit. Crossfire has accumulated 1 billion registered users and total revenue reaching 12 trillion won. Currently, the global eSports league for Crossfire, "Crossfire Stars (CFS)," averages about 20 million viewers per event and is expanding its reach to regions including China, South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

The PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Lost Ark has also shown strong performance, ranking first on a Japanese game specialty site. It attracted attention with 100,000 pre-registrations in the Japanese market, which is considered barren for PC online games. Epic Seven demonstrated its strength by winning the $50 million export tower award in 2019 and the $70 million export tower award last year.

Chairman Kwon Hyuk-bin (left), Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo (right)

Riding on these global achievements, Kwon Hyuk-bin, founder of Smilegate and director of Hope Studio, became the first in the gaming industry to receive the Bogwan Cultural Medal from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The ministry explained, "By developing famous games such as Crossfire and Lost Ark, they achieved cumulative export revenue of 3.5 trillion won from usage fees in 80 countries worldwide."

Smilegate is also actively expanding its entertainment business using the Crossfire intellectual property (IP). The Chinese drama "Chun Yue Hua Xian," based on the Crossfire IP, has recorded over 1.9 billion cumulative views. Crossfire's entry into Hollywood films is also underway. In January last year, Smilegate signed a global distribution contract for the Crossfire movie with Sony Pictures.

Smilegate plans to continue its positive momentum with new releases this year. Smilegate Entertainment is developing "CrossfireX," which will enter the console market following PC and mobile platforms. Additionally, titles such as "Titanine Online" and "Outer Plane" will be introduced. Director Kwon stated upon receiving the medal, "Now, I will challenge to win the most GOTY (Game of the Year) awards, the highest honor in gaming." The next steps of Smilegate, as it surpasses 1 trillion won in revenue and aims to stand shoulder to shoulder with the 3N, are highly anticipated.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.