250 Million-View Hit "Star-Embracing Swordmaster" Reborn as a Mobile Game

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Naver Webtoon subsidiary Studio Rico announced on the 9th that it has begun development of a mobile game based on the popular webtoon "Star-Embracing Swordmaster."

"Star-Embracing Swordmaster" is a novel comics adaptation that turns a web novel of the same name into a webtoon. It follows the story of the protagonist Vlad, who encounters a legendary knight and is reborn as a swordmaster. It is serialized in 10 languages, including Korean, English, and Japanese, and has recorded a global cumulative view count of 250 million.

In this project, Studio Rico will be in charge of publishing, while the developer Code Dragon will handle production. The goal is to adapt the vast universe into an action RPG optimized for the mobile environment.

The core is the implementation of the "Aura System" that captivated fans of the original work. Code Dragon plans to make this the central axis of combat and growth, and enhance the sense of impact with flashy pixel-art graphics and fast-paced direction.

Code Dragon CEO Hwang Dae-woong explained, "We are focusing on moving away from simple number-based competition to realize the fundamental fun of RPGs, where cooperation and strategic competition between users truly come alive." Lee Seunghoon, Game Studio Lead at Studio Rico, said, "We are meticulously reinterpreting the solid narrative and compelling action elements of the original work," adding, "We will present a well-made game that can satisfy not only existing fans but also users who are encountering the IP for the first time."

Naver Webtoon has already demonstrated the potential for content expansion by releasing more than 80 games based on its IP. In particular, "99 Reinforced Wooden Club: Raising," released last year, topped the popularity charts on both Google Play and the Apple App Store just one day after launch, showcasing the strength of webtoon IP.

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