Nexon Raises Concerns Over Game Industry Crisis: "We Must Create 'Big Games' That Succeed Globally"

Nexon, regarded as the leader of the Korean game industry, has raised concerns about a "crisis in the game industry" and emphasized the need to develop "big games" in order to break free from a stagnant market. The company explained that it is necessary to raise game quality to a level where it can directly compete with the world's largest game companies, and to release attractive trailers years before the official launch to build anticipation among overseas users.

Park Yonghyun, Vice President of Development at Nexon Korea and CEO of Nexon Games, is speaking at the keynote speech of the 'Nexon Developers Conference (NDC)' held on the 24th at the Seongnam Creative Economy Innovation Center in Gyeonggi Province. Nexon

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Park Yonghyun, Vice President of Development at Nexon Korea and CEO of Nexon Games, stated during the keynote speech at the 'Nexon Developers Conference (NDC)' held on the 24th at the Seongnam Creative Economy Innovation Center in Gyeonggi Province, "The current game market is either stagnating or facing a crisis." He added, "For example, if you look at the rankings of domestic PC bangs, most of the top games have been out for over 10 years, and more than half of the top-ranked games on the global Steam platform have been around for 5 to 10 years."

According to Park, in order to overcome this crisis, major Korean game companies like Nexon must release so-called "big games" in the global market. The "big game" he refers to is a different concept from the "blockbusters" traditionally produced by the Korean game industry. It means a super-large-scale game that surpasses existing blockbusters and can compete with and defeat global powerhouses. Park said, "Korean game companies have consistently developed large-scale games, but these were blockbusters only by Korean standards, and in fact, we started relatively late. China and Eastern Europe have already begun. For example, China's 'Black Myth: Wukong' has sold 7.5 million copies outside China, and the Czech Republic's 'Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2' recouped all its launch costs on the first day."

Park Yonghyun, Vice President of Development at Nexon Korea and CEO of Nexon Games, is speaking at the keynote speech of the 'Nexon Developers Conference (NDC)' held on the 24th at the Seongnam Creative Economy Innovation Center in Gyeonggi Province. Nexon

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He also stressed that not only game quality but also marketing strategies must change. "Korean game companies tend to rely on intensive marketing campaigns for two months right before the official launch, but this is only possible in Korea, where the land area is small and population density is high," he said. "In overseas markets, trailers featuring gameplay should be released years before the official launch, or at the very latest, one year in advance."

For example, the action RPG 'Avowed,' released this year, had its trailer revealed five years ago. The video at the time showcased the game's unique feature of handling both weapons and magic from a first-person perspective. Park noted, "Revealing a game at such an early stage is quite burdensome for the development team, as it can reduce production efficiency. However, even Ubisoft, the world's largest game company, releases trailers over several years to build anticipation."

Jungheon Lee, CEO of Nexon Japan, delivers the welcoming speech at the 'Nexon Developers Conference (NDC)' held on the 24th at the Seongnam Creative Economy Innovation Center in Gyeonggi Province. Nexon

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This sense of crisis was also reflected in the welcoming speech by Jungheon Lee, CEO of Nexon Japan. Lee stated, "Polarization within the game industry is becoming more pronounced, and the industry is changing much faster than before due to technological trends such as generative artificial intelligence (AI). Nexon is taking on new genres, actively pursuing a multi-platform strategy and joint development with partners, and expanding IP-centered content in various directions."

NDC is Nexon's knowledge-sharing event for the game industry, which began in 2007 and is now in its 18th year. This year's NDC is being held at the Nexon headquarters and surrounding area for three days until the 26th. Various industry figures from both inside and outside the Nexon Group will participate as speakers, delivering a total of 49 lectures across 10 different fields.

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