'D-DAY for the Republic of Korea Game Awards... Nexon Family Feud Likely'

Among 12 Nominees, 4 Are Nexon Games
'Dungeon & Fighter Mobile' Considered a Strong Contender
Netmarble, Wemade, and Com2uS Face Fierce Competition
Mobile and RPG Dominance Continues

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The ‘2022 Korea Game Awards’ (hereafter Game Awards), which selects the most outstanding game in the Korean game industry this year, will be held at 5 p.m. on the 16th in Busan. Among the finalists, four games were made by Nexon affiliates, making it likely a family rivalry within Nexon.

4 out of 12 Grand Prize Nominees are 'Nexon'

There are a total of 12 nominees for the grand prize. Neople’s ‘Dungeon & Fighter Mobile’, ‘Dungeon & Fighter Duel’, and Nexon Games’ ‘HIT 2’ and ‘Blue Archive’ are nominated, making four games from Nexon affiliates.

Netmarble’s 'Seven Knights Revolution' and 'Merge Kungya Island' were also nominated. Other nominees include Wemade’s 'Mir M', Com2uS’s 'Summoners War: Chronicle' and 'Com2uS Pro Baseball V22', LINE Games’ 'Uncharted Waters Origin' and 'Undecember', and HYBE’s 'In the SEOM with BTS'.

In the gaming industry, ‘Dungeon & Fighter Mobile’ and ‘HIT 2’ are considered strong contenders for the grand prize this year. Dungeon & Fighter Mobile is a reinterpretation of Nexon’s core intellectual property (IP), which has 850 million users worldwide, adapted for the mobile environment. It was released in March this year and has maintained steady popularity, surpassing 1 million users on its first day.

HIT 2, released in August this year, is also a successor to Nexon’s existing IP ‘HIT’ and has maintained high popularity since its launch. HIT 2 boasts differentiation from existing games by allowing users to vote on server rules and effects.

Among the two games, Dungeon & Fighter Mobile is more favored for the grand prize. In 2020, the grand prize went to the mobile MMORPG ‘V4’, and in 2021, the mobile MMORPG ‘Odin: Valhalla Rising’ received the award. Both games belong to the so-called ‘Lineage-like’ category, featuring characteristics and systems similar to the ‘Lineage’ series. HIT 2 is also similar in this regard, which is a negative factor in evaluation.

If a Nexon game wins the grand prize this year, Nexon will receive its fourth Korea Game Award, tying the record with NCSoft, the company with the most awards. Nexon previously won the grand prize three times with ‘Mabinogi Heroes’ in 2010, ‘HIT’ in 2016, and ‘V4’ in 2020.

The grand prize, excellence award, and outstanding award are selected based on 60% judges’ evaluation, 20% public voting, and 20% expert voting (industry workers and journalists). The Game Awards are presented in 13 categories and 16 fields. Eligible games are those developed and released domestically from October 16 last year to June 14 this year.

2022 Korea Game Awards Nominees

Mobile and RPG Game Concentration Continues... Only One Console Nominee

This year’s Game Awards nominees, as in previous years, are mainly mobile games. Among the 12 nominees, 11 games use mobile as their main platform. Only Dungeon & Fighter Duel is a console-based game.

The genres of the games are also not diverse. Seven of the nominated games are based on the RPG genre, while the rest are puzzle, sports, and fighting action games, showing a continued concentration on RPGs. All grand prize winners in the past four years have been based on the RPG genre.

This is due to domestic game companies focusing on developing mobile MMORPG genre games that are popular in the domestic market. However, from next year, domestic game companies are expected to release new titles using various platforms, which may improve the concentration on mobile and RPG genres.

NCSoft plans to release a new PC and console-based title, ‘Throne and Liberty’ (TL), targeting the first half of next year. Nexon is also preparing a console new title, ‘First Descendant’. Recently, a hybrid ocean adventure game ‘Dave the Diver’ was released on PC, with a console version also in preparation. Additionally, Netmarble, Krafton, and Kakao Games are preparing various new titles that break away from existing genres and platforms.

Domestic game companies are expected to showcase their anticipated titles at the international game exhibition ‘G-STAR 2022’, held at BEXCO in Busan on the 17th.

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