As Major Game Disappear, 'Mumyeong' Game Companies Rise... Sales Rankings Soar

Small and Medium Game Companies Continue Revenue Growth
"A Situation Where Niche Markets Can Be Created"

Trickcal Revive image by Afid Games

In the absence of major games, small and medium-sized game companies are standing out in the market. The lack of blockbuster titles is being seen as an opportunity for these game companies.

According to application analytics firm Mobile Index on the 8th, the domestic game company Epid Games' service "Trickcal Revive" ranked 6th in Google Play Store revenue rankings as of the 4th.

Trickcal Revive, a collection-type role-playing game (RPG), experienced a slump where its revenue ranking once dropped to around 180th place after its release in September last year, but recently began gaining attention through updates such as the release of a new character for its 1st anniversary. The game's existing fun and characteristics were reappraised, leading to an increase in revenue. Unlike the existing subculture genre that features Japanese anime-style characters prominently, Trickcal Revive received positive responses from users with its graphics emphasizing cuteness. Additionally, it incorporates the convenience of idle games, which have recently gained popularity in the domestic game market, and its solid storyline is also considered a strength.

Furthermore, the absence of major games currently leading the domestic game market is said to have played a positive role in Epid Games' advancement. In the current domestic game market, existing games such as NCSoft's Lineage M, Lineage 2M, and Kakao Games' Odin: Valhalla Rising still rank high in revenue, indicating a shortage of new blockbuster games. The Chinese games dominating the charts are mostly familiar titles rather than new releases, resulting in a lack of freshness.

As this situation continues, an environment has been created where new releases from small and medium-sized game companies with novelty and gameplay can more easily attract users. The previously released "Unppal Jonmangem" by 111 Percent is also cited as an example of a domestic small and medium-sized game company achieving high results. It is a defense-type game where characters are summoned to defend against monster attacks, with a system allowing players to obtain powerful characters based on luck. It ranked 1st in Apple App Store revenue last month and currently maintains a position within the top 10.

In addition, the domestic game company Playwith Korea's new release "Rohan 2" is also gaining attention. This game is a sequel to the popular intellectual property (IP) "Rohan Online," and since its release on the 25th of last month, its Play Store revenue ranking has risen from 67th to 21st, showing a successful trajectory.

Wi Jeong-hyun, Dean of the Virtual Convergence College at Chung-Ang University and President of the Korea Game Society, explained, "NCSoft has been producing games called Lineage-like games, and other major game companies have shown similar inertia. As leading game companies hesitate without trying various approaches, small and medium-sized game companies have been able to create niche markets." He added, "The current structure that allows for new attempts also acts as a driving force for the Korean game industry itself to create good games again."

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