Only Battlegrounds Soaring High... Cloudy Outlook for Game Exports
by Lee Jungyun
Published 17 Jan.2025 11:02(KST)
Export Outlook for Korean Game Companies Remains Unchanged
Battlegrounds Dominates Overseas While Other Titles Struggle
Mobile-Centric Industry Faces Challenges in Global Markets
Experts Emphasize Need for Government Support for Overseas Expansion
The export outlook for domestic game companies has darkened. Except for Krafton's popular title Battlegrounds (PUBG) in the global gaming market, the influence of other games remains relatively weak.
According to application analytics firm Mobile Index on the 17th, as of the 15th, it was difficult to find games other than Battlegrounds in the Google Play Store revenue rankings by country. Games using the Battlegrounds intellectual property (IP) ranked high in countries such as India and T?rkiye (1st), China (4th), and Germany (5th).
Battlegrounds also ranked among the top in Malaysia (6th), Canada and Indonesia (9th), and Spain (12th). The shooting game Battlegrounds, released in 2017, shows overwhelming popularity overseas. In contrast, other games only saw Shift Up's "Goddess of Victory: NIKKE" rank 17th in Japan's revenue rankings.
However, game exports excluding Battlegrounds remain sluggish. The "2025 South Korea Content Export Outlook" report predicted little change in the game sector's export outlook over the next three years.
The report selected Nexon's "First Berserker Kazan," Shift Up's "Goddess of Victory: NIKKE," Pearl Abyss's "Crimson Desert," and Com2uS's "NPB Pro Baseball" as demand export contents. However, it evaluated that exports would only "slightly improve" over three years due to PC and console game releases in North America, while in other regions, export conditions are unlikely to improve easily due to entry barriers and purchasing power issues.
The difficulty in exports is also attributed to the domestic game industry's focus on mobile devices, making it challenging to respond to platforms popular overseas such as consoles and arcades.
Experts call for government support to enable games that can succeed in the global market to actively attempt overseas expansion. Professor Kim Jeong-tae of Dongyang University's Game Department said, "Since overseas expansion by game companies is not easy at the corporate level, government policies encouraging support are necessary."
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