Indie Focus
How the Busan Indie Connect Festival is connecting developers with consumers
Event director Dustin Lee gives us the lowdown on the show
Trendy Sector
What's up with the South Korean games market?
Mobile and PC MMOs rule the roost in a sector-defining part of the world
Lineage Of Ips
Netmarble on Lineage 2 Revolution's runaway success and finding the next big hit
Simon Sim talks up the company's global strategy and M&A activity
Studio Profile
South Korean developer Ekkorr on Endless Frontier making $60m and the importance of sharing ideas
CEO Myeong Yong Shin offers up the details on the studio's work
Top Performers
PUBG Mobile and Lineage M top download and grossing charts in South Korea in H1 2018
The top 10 grossers and downloaded mobile games across the App Store and Google Play for the first six months of the year
Korea
Expo space at G-STAR sold out!
Asia’s leading games industry conference and expo fills b2b show floor one month ahead of November dates
Studio Profile
NHN Entertainment on dealing with South Korea regulations and topping the mobile charts with a fishing game
Publishing business department director Sang Ho Kim discusses the company's vast operations
Business News
Webzen launches casual games publishing brand Appmigos
But stays clear of hyper-casual
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: South Korea's Line Puzzle tops downloads as Clash Royale makes a comeback
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of October 1st to 7th
Studio Profile
Webzen: "There is a lot of pressure to always acquire a new cash cow"
CEO Tony Kim gives us the lowdown on the company's plans
Summoning A Hit
Com2uS on Summoners War's rapid expansion and applying lessons learnt to Skylanders: Ring of Heroes
"I think that gaming is a hits-driven business in the same way that publishing is a hits-driven business"
Special Focus
Don't miss our South Korea Special covering the country's games industry this week
Interviews, analysis, studio profiles and region focus all dedicated to this exciting market
Potter
Jam City launches Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery in South Korea
Move could prove a lucrative venture in the RPG-friendly market
Big Indie Awards
Entries open for The Big Indie Awards 2018 in association with G-STAR
There's STILL time to enter this year's biggest competition for indie developers [update]
Business News
Hong Kong’s Apptutti signs new partnership to help Korean devs access China games market
Support services localised for Korean speakers
East Meets West
South Korean publisher Pearl Abyss acquires Eve Online studio CCP for $425 million
Icelandic studio claims it will maintain independence while supporting Pearl Abyss' current and future projects
Financial
South Korean publisher Com2us posts over $100m in earnings for the 11th consecutive quarter
Summoners War creator reports a 9 per cent sales increase since last quarter
Oh No
Netmarble shares plummet to all-time low as Lineage 2 popularity fades
Shares dropped 11.27 per cent on August 9th to close at 126,000 won
Banned
No end in sight as South Korean games companies locked out of China for over a year
No signs of issues being resolved
Take Three
Kakao Games makes a third $16.8 million investment in esports developer Neptune
The South Korean company now holds an 11 per cent stake in Neptune
Korean Market
Your G-STAR guide to entering Asia's biggest games market
Exclusive interview: the chairman of the G-STAR organising committee explains the importance of understanding the South Korean games industry
On The App
Over 90% of Google Play revenue in South Korea comes from games
Wise App surveyed 23,000 Android smartphone users in Korea from May 1st to 31st
Korean Event
Early Bird registration opens for South Korea’s G-STAR 2018
10% off tickets to the major Asian show taking place November 15th to 18th in Busan
Heading For Ipo
King of Fighters creator SNK and RPG dev Vespa set for South Korea flotations
Vespa joins the Japanese giant in going public in 2018
Winner
Report: PUBG developer Bluehole snaps up mobile studio Delusion Studio
The terms of the deal are currently unknown
Eyes On Korea
Why Seasun and other Chinese developers are expanding their influence over South Korea's mobile market
Seasun Games overseas business development director Zhen Li tells us why Chinese games are so popular in South Korea
Developer Awards
Entries open for The Big Indie Awards at G-STAR
Gala ceremony in South Korea the grand finale to another fantastic year of international Big Indie Pitches
Top Tips
4 tips for tapping into the South Korean mobile games market
WeQ CEO Markus Malti on cracking one of the world's most lucrative mobile sectors
New Clan
Chinese dev Seasun cracks South Korean market with Clans: Shadow of the Moon
Seasun managed to score a 170 per cent ROI through the Taptica’s targeted app install campaign
International Events
Pocket Gamer and G-STAR launch international promotional partnership as Big Indie Awards heads to South Korea
UK publisher Steel Media Ltd extends partnership with South Korea’s leading game expo G-STAR, including the Big Indie Game Awards in Busan in 2018
Co-development
Canada’s Throwback Entertainment inks co-development deal with South Korea’s Leanup
Two titles set for release by the end of the year
God Like
How NadiaSoft plans to mix Eastern and Western influencers for global appeal
The new IP will feature an array of gods and heroes from Greece, China and more
Going Public
Kakao Games applies for IPO in South Korea
Publisher set to go public on South Korea's second-tier stock exchange Kosdaq
Take To The Seas
Overseas sales push Com2us to $100m revenues for Q1 FY18
85 per cent of revenues came from abroad as Summoners War continues to draw players
Event News
International Game Show 2018 PlayX4 heads to South Korea in May
Event houses B2B and B2C exhibitions
Legal Investigation
Report: South Korea’s FTC investigates Google Play over claims it abused market leading position
Storefront accounted for 60 per cent of all mobile app content sales in 2017
Boycotted
Report: China still refuses to license new South Korean-developed games
Tensions originated with South Korea’s THAAD missile defence system which led to China’s unofficial license boycott
Joining The Band
Publishing giant Netmarble picks up stake in K-pop label Big Hit Entertainment for $190m
Becomes the second largest shareholder
Group Up
China’s Shanda Games invests $9.4 million in Kakao Games
Kakao Games received a $131.6 million investment from multiple investors in February
Coin Offering
South Korea's Reality Reflection launches ICO for AR game Mossland
Moss Coins can now be purchased
Crypto Korea
South Korean cryptocurrency operator Dunamu to invest $93 million in blockchain technology
Dunamu to spread investment over three years
Another Milestone
Summoners War surpasses 90 million downloads
Com2us expects to hit 100 million downloads in the near future
Big Moves
Lineage 2 developer Netmarble names new CEO
South Korean-based developer Netmarble
Kakao Investment 2018
Kakao Games raises $131 million ahead of planned IPO in 2018
Tencent, Netmarble and Bluepoint all chip in
Nexon Shakeup
Nexon Korea CEO Jiwon Park promoted to global COO of Nexon
VP of business Junghun Lee nominated to take over as CEO
Studio Merger
Nexon merges development studios Ndoors and Nexon Red
Studios to collaborate on game development
Big Indie Pitch
Arcade shooter Defenoid shoots down the competition to win the Big Indie Pitch at G-Star 2017
Dead 2048 and GWARP take second and third spots
Iap Inspector
How does Lineage 2: Revolution monetise?
IAPs from the players' perspective
The Charticle
From Lineage 2 to Contest of Champions: The games powering South Korean powerhouse Netmarble
It's not all about Lineage 2 - though nearly half of it is
Star Event
South Korea's biggest games conference G-STAR 2017 kicks off
200,000 consumers expected