Scary Rookie 'Gransaga'... Will It Break Through Lineage's Fortress? [Buaeri's Game Dictionary]

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] A 'major rookie' has emerged in the gaming industry. A fierce counterattack by a new game company has begun in the mobile game rankings, where games from the 3N (NCSoft, Nexon, Netmarble) have dominated the top spots.

On the 6th, NPIXEL's massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) 'Gran Saga' ranked 3rd in Google Play revenue rankings, following NCSoft's 'Lineage brothers (Lineage M and 2M)'. Gran Saga is an MMORPG depicting the adventures of a knight order to save the kingdom, characterized by its stunning graphics and action.

Gran Saga attracted industry attention even before its release through advertisements and pre-registrations. The Gran Saga advertisement themed 'King of Theater' featured 13 celebrities appearing simultaneously, a feat rarely seen even in blockbuster movies. Starting with child actor Kim Kang-hoon, Yoo Ah-in, Shin Goo, Lee Kyung-young, Cho Yeo-jeong, Taeyeon, Yang Dong-geun, Park Hee-soon, Bae Sung-woo, Um Tae-goo, Lee Mal-nyeon, and Joo Ho-min delivered serious acting performances, making the game advertisement video popular with over 10 million views on YouTube.

After gaining attention through the advertisement, Gran Saga demonstrated its strength by surpassing 5 million pre-registrations. In the domestic mobile game market, only NCSoft's Lineage M and Lineage 2M, Pearl Abyss's Black Desert Mobile, and Nexon's Traha had previously exceeded 4 million pre-registrations.

Now, there is interest in whether 'Gran Saga' can break the fortress of the Lineage brothers. Since the release of Lineage M in June 2017, the Lineage brothers have held the number one spot in Google Play revenue for nearly four years. Lineage M and Lineage 2M consistently compete for first and second place. However, in July last year, Nexon's 'The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon' briefly separated the Lineage brothers by ranking second in revenue. In November last year, Netmarble's 'Seven Knights 2' broke the Lineage duopoly.

With Gran Saga's strong performance, there is also anticipation for a precedent like Pearl Abyss, which quickly rose to become a mid-sized game company with 'Black Desert'. NPIXEL, the developer of Gran Saga, was founded by star developers of Netmarble's flagship title 'Seven Knights'. NPIXEL co-CEOs Bae Bong-geon and Jung Hyun-ho are founders of Nexus Games. Nexus Games became Netmarble Nexus after being acquired by Netmarble in 2014. Despite being a new game company, NPIXEL received 60 billion KRW in investment last year, reflecting high industry expectations. NPIXEL's corporate value is estimated at 400 billion KRW. A NPIXEL representative stated, "Through the principle of communication, which is the core value of our service, we will become a game company that is loved and trusted by users for a long time."

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