As major domestic game companies firm up their slated releases for this year, the K-game industry is undergoing a structural shift. The strategy is to diversify platforms and genres from a focus on mobile and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) to consoles and subculture, and to target the global market. With the domestic market slowing and global competition intensifying, a recognition appears to be spreading across the industry that growth is difficult with existing approaches alone.
According to the game industry on the 2nd, the most anticipated title in Korea's game sector this year is Pearl Abyss' open-world action-adventure game "Crimson Desert." After multiple delays, Pearl Abyss set Mar. 20 for a simultaneous global launch. First unveiled at G-Star in 2019, the game is being released after about seven years of development and was built from the outset with a laser focus on the global console market. Industry watchers say whether Crimson Desert becomes a hit will serve as a milestone indicating the success or failure of Korean games entering the global console market.
Crimson Desert is built on Pearl Abyss' in-house next-generation "BlackSpace Engine." It is designed to let players freely enjoy realistic physics, a vast open world, and action-centric combat as well as exploration and life-content gameplay. By showcasing hands-on demos at major events in North America and Europe, including Tokyo Game Show, the company dispelled many concerns about technical polish. In the global game industry, it has been cited as a 2026 Game of the Year (GOTY) contender even before launch, and it was selected as a "most anticipated of 2026" title on the Sony PlayStation Store.
Netmarble will take on the global console market this year with "The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin." The game is an open-world action role-playing game (RPG) based on the "The Seven Deadly Sins" intellectual property (IP), a hit manga that has sold more than 55 million copies worldwide. It is slated for release on the 28th for PC and PlayStation. In addition, Netmarble plans to roll out a range of genres this year, spanning MMORPGs and subculture, including ▲MonG: Star Dive ▲Solo Leveling: Karma ▲SOL: Enchant ▲Evilbane.
NCSOFT will also move beyond "Lineage-like" titles this year to diversify genres. NCSOFT plans to release its first open-world shooter "Cinder City" and the time-survival shooter "Time Takers" for PC and consoles. Cinder City is a new title independently developed by Bigfire Games, an NCSOFT development studio, and is a multiplayer game offering AAA-level narrative. Time Takers is developed by Mistil Games and published by NCSOFT, featuring a distinctive rule set that uses time energy as a resource.
In addition, NCSOFT is accelerating development of "Limit Zero Breakers," a subculture-genre title targeted for release this year. Developed by Big Game Studio and published by NCSOFT, the animated action RPG Limit Zero Breakers features direction reminiscent of a single animated film, a solid story, and fast-paced combat action.
NEXON GAMES, buoyed by the success of the subculture game "Blue Archive," is preparing to release a next-generation subculture title. NEXON GAMES has assembled key developers from Blue Archive to build the new subculture project "Project RX." NEXON GAMES previously signaled its intent to focus on the subculture genre by establishing the IO Division.
Krafton is preparing the extraction shooter "Black Budget," which expands the "PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS" intellectual property (IP), and plans to release "Subnautica 2," a sequel to Unknown Worlds' survival adventure game "Subnautica," this year. Kakao Games likewise teased the PC/console-based action RPG "ArcheAge Chronicle" and the next-generation MMORPG "Chrono Odyssey" as its blockbuster lineup. Com2uS will take on its first console game development based on the Japanese animation IP "Gachiakuta."
The domestic game industry's strategy this year to diversify platforms and genres into consoles and subculture stems from the view that the market centered on mobile and MMORPGs has reached saturation. To seek new growth opportunities, companies are challenging the console and subculture segments, where they can cultivate a robust global fan base. According to global market research firm Newzoo, mobile games still account for 55% of the overall market, but their growth rate is only 2.9%, whereas the console game market grew the fastest at 5.5%. While the compound annual growth rate of the overall domestic game market was just 5.2% from 2018 to 2023, the subculture game market posted a high growth rate of 16.7% over the same period.
A game industry official said, "There is a perception that it is no longer easy to target domestic and global markets with a structure centered on mobile and MMORPGs," adding, "Because consoles and subculture are less about short-term hits and more about long-term IP building and fandom competition, the performance of this year's new releases will likely serve as an early indicator of whether the K-game industry has succeeded in fundamentally changing its structure."