NCSoft's Comeback Bid and a Wave of New Titles Heat Up G-Star 2025 (Comprehensive)

Kim Taekjin of NCSoft: "Creating Games in Our Own Unique Style"
Aion 2, Palworld Mobile, The Seven Deadly Sins Among Popular Titles
Global Game Companies Like Blizzard Elevate G-Star's Status

"I'm a university student living in Daegu, and this is my seventh year attending G-Star. I am a big fan of NCSoft, so I have high expectations for their new title in the second half of the year, 'Aion 2.' I also plan to visit the booths of Webzen and Krafton."

On the opening day of 'G-Star 2025' on the 13th, the interior of BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1 in Busan is filled with visitors. Photo by Kyungjo Noh

'G-Star 2025' began its four-day run at BEXCO in Busan on the 13th. Even long before the opening time, a long line had already formed in front of BEXCO. Some people had even waited overnight.

The opening ceremony was attended by Assemblyman Kim Seonghoe of the Democratic Party of Korea, Assemblyman Jeong Yeonwook of the People Power Party, Busan Mayor Park Hyungjoon, Choi Jaehwan, Director of the Game Content Industry Division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Park Byungmoo, CEO of NCSoft, Kim Byunggyu, CEO of Netmarble, Kim Taeyoung, CEO of Webzen, Lee Jinhyung, Head of Publishing (Vice President) at Krafton, Cho Youngki, Chairman of the Korea Association of Game Industry, Seo Taegun, Chairman of the Game Rating and Administration Committee, Yoo Byunghan, Chairman of the Game Culture Foundation, and Yoo Hyunseok, Acting President of the Korea Creative Content Agency, among others. After the opening countdown event, the heads of the game companies toured the booths and experienced various content.

Although G-Star is smaller in scale compared to last year, user anticipation is high for new releases such as 'Aion 2,' which NCSoft is presenting as part of its revival, as well as 'Cinder City,' 'Time Takers,' and 'Limit Zero Breakers.' 'Aion 2,' a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is the only AAA (blockbuster-level) new title from a domestic game company at this year's G-Star that is confirmed for release within the year.

Participating for the first time as the main sponsor at G-Star, NCSoft has prepared the largest booth in Exhibition Hall 1 (BTC), with 300 booths, to create an immersive environment for experiencing new titles and is presenting a variety of interactive events. The NCSoft booth, which fills the right side of the exhibition hall, consists of a central dome theater and two demo zones on either side. The 200 demo PCs are equipped with NVIDIA's high-performance graphics processing unit (GPU), the GeForce RTX 5080.

During the opening session at the booth, NCSoft founder and CEO Kim Taekjin stated, "Amid the cultural changes brought by new technologies and generations, we will continue to craft games in our own unique style that allow people to feel each other's presence." He added, "We will not only reinterpret the essence of MMORPGs from a new perspective but also create games with our own distinct color in genres such as shooting, action, and subculture." He also introduced the previously unrevealed new title, 'Horizon Steel Frontiers,' for the first time.

On the 13th, visitors are trying out "Aion 2" at the NCSoft booth inside Hall 1 of BEXCO Busan, where "G-Star 2025" opened. Photo by Kyungjo Noh

Krafton (Palworld Mobile), Netmarble (The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, etc.), Gravity (Ragnarok Online Project 1.5, etc.), and Webzen (Gate of Gates) have also set up booths in Exhibition Hall 1. Netmarble is welcoming visitors with 145 demo PCs across 112 booths, while Krafton has prepared space for about 80 people at a time to try out its new title. At the Webzen booth and others, cosplay events for the featured games are in full swing. In Exhibition Hall 2 (BTB), Nexxus, Samsung Electronics, Smilegate, and Tencent Korea have booths to meet with domestic and international industry professionals. With the college entrance exam concluding on this day, a large number of teenagers are expected to visit.

This year, global game companies have filled the spots left by the absence of Nexon, Pearl Abyss, and Wemade. Blizzard, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Sega/Atlus, Unity, and Plaion/Warhorse Studios are participating, enhancing G-Star's global status. Among them, Blizzard, known for 'StarCraft' and 'Diablo,' is drawing attention by returning to G-Star for the first time in 12 years, although it is showcasing existing titles rather than new releases.

The G-Star game conference 'G-CON' also features a large number of international speakers. Notably, Yuji Horii, regarded as the founder of Japanese RPGs, will discuss the origins and evolution of storytelling and character creation in the 'Dragon Quest' series.

Meanwhile, at the '2025 Korea Game Awards' held the previous day, Nexon's 'Mabinogi Mobile' was named the best game of the year. It won three awards: the Grand Prize (Presidential Award), the Technology and Scenario category of the Technical Creation Award, and the Sound category. In addition, Neople's 'First Berserker: Kazan' received the Excellence Award (Prime Minister's Award) and others, bringing Nexon's total to six awards.