The Korea Professional Baseball (KBO) league announced the season's opening with the start of the exhibition games on the 8th, as game companies compete with new releases. Baseball games tend to gain more attention during the opening season when fans' interest is highest. They are focused on providing a realistic experience that makes players feel as though they are playing actual baseball, by implementing high-quality graphics.
According to the gaming industry on the 10th, major domestic game companies such as Com2uS, Netmarble, and Wemade are developing new baseball games based on official professional baseball licenses or updating existing games. They plan to launch new content this month to attract users in line with various countries' professional baseball opening schedules. Regarded as a powerhouse in baseball games, Com2uS began pre-registration for its mobile baseball games, 'Com2uS Pro Baseball 2025 (컴프야2025)' and 'Com2uS Pro Baseball V25 (컴프야V25)', on the 17th of last month in preparation for the KBO league 2025 season.
Com2uS has operated the 'Com2uS Pro Baseball' series since 2003. Com프야2025 is a traditional mobile baseball game that showcases development capabilities and know-how accumulated by Com2uS over 20 years. Com프야V25 is also gaining popularity due to its top-tier graphics and high casual gameplay. This game features a realistic physics engine that provides a play experience similar to an actual baseball game and enhances live content by reflecting real-time records of the KBO league on player cards.
Netmarble will implement a 'Magu Magu 2025' update on the 20th to coincide with the KBO opening season. The Magu Magu series is a casual baseball game based on the official KBO license. Netmarble has been operating the PC and online baseball games 'Magu Magu' and 'Magu Magu Mobile' for 20 years. The game is characterized by high-quality realistic graphics that depict the players' faces and movements, enhancing the excitement and immersion to make it feel like watching an actual baseball broadcast through various camera effects. Additionally, there are unique interactive features linked to users' location information.
Wemade entered the baseball game market last year by launching 'Fantastic Baseball.' Fantastic Baseball is a realistic mobile baseball game developed by the sports-centric Round One Studio. Wemade globally launched this game in over 170 countries, securing official licenses from major professional baseball leagues such as the KBO, Major League Baseball (MLB), and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), allowing users to form teams with players from multiple leagues.
The gaming industry plans to expand its services into the global baseball powerhouse market of Japan this year. Com2uS began pre-registration for 'Pro Baseball Rising' in Japan on the 20th of last month. This game is based on the official license of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It is characterized by the realistic depiction of players, logos, uniforms, baseball fields, and commentary from the 12 teams in both the Central League and Pacific League.
Wemade plans to target the Japanese baseball game market through 'Fantastic Baseball: Ilmi Pro War.' This game features players from 12 NPB teams and 30 MLB teams, rendered in high-quality realistic graphics that depict the players' faces and movements. Various camera angles enhance the excitement and immersion, making it feel like watching a real baseball broadcast.
The gaming industry believes there is significant potential in Korean baseball, which is why they are showing interest in the sport. Last year, the number of spectators visiting domestic baseball stadiums exceeded 10 million for the first time in history. This year, baseball fans have filled the stadiums with anticipation as the exhibition game season kicks off. On the previous day, a record 71,288 spectators attended the KBO league 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO league exhibition games held at five stadiums, marking the highest attendance ever for a single day of exhibition games. Given this fandom, the gaming industry considers there is a high possibility of increased engagement in baseball games.
An official from the gaming industry noted, "Domestic baseball is rapidly growing, with the number of spectators increasing every year. Given that the mobile baseball game market in the traditional baseball powerhouse Japan is valued at around 600 billion won annually, if baseball games establish themselves well, there is potential for them to become a cash cow."