NC AI, an artificial intelligence (AI) subsidiary of NCSOFT, said on the 13th it will build a game development ecosystem that spans from game production to market validation and publishing (distribution).
The plan is to help small and midsize developers improve production efficiency and lower barriers to market entry. NC AI said, "In particular, to ease the financial burden that small and indie game developers with limited capital and personnel face at the early market entry stage, we have prepared various institutional benefits."
First, when a game developed using Varco Game AI, NC AI's in-house AI model, is officially launched on the App Store or major platforms, the company will support marketing expense in the form of an incentive. Varco Game AI is a production solution that integrates AI functions needed across all stages of game development, including 3D asset generation, sound and voice generation, and translation.
For games that achieve meaningful results after launch, NC AI will provide opportunities for in-depth market tests using the NC Mobile Casual Center. In this process, it plans to offer a testing environment and analytical capabilities at a level that individual developers would find difficult to carry out on their own, helping raise the game's completeness.
Games with strong results will have a chance to be considered for publishing collaboration with NC. After a separate internal review, they will be able to leverage NC's global publishing capabilities and marketing infrastructure. The plan is to establish a commercialization pathway for small and midsize developers' games to enter the global market and move into live service.
NC AI cited structural issues facing the mobile game industry as the background for setting up this support system. A company official said, "Even if the mobile game market has original plans and ideas, there are many cases where teams struggle to realize them into actual games and promote them to the market due to a lack of funds and resources."
Lee Yeon-su, head of NC AI, said, "As the game development environment changes rapidly, it is becoming more important to broaden opportunities for developers with creative ideas to take on the market," adding, "Based on Varco Game AI, we will create an environment where developers can reduce the burden of production and focus on experimentation and challenges, building a sustainable game development ecosystem."
This also aligns with parent company NCSOFT's strategy to expand its mobile casual business. NC has identified the mobile casual sector as a new growth engine and said it will nurture it with the goal of having new businesses account for one-third of total revenue next year. Through the "Mobile Casual Center," established in Aug. last year, it has been building a mobile casual ecosystem that integrates development, publishing, data, and technology capabilities.