Game companies that have sought growth by releasing new titles are shifting their focus to extending the life of existing games. They are switching game engines to improve graphics or changing rules—such as banning player killing (PK)—to attract new and returning users. With uncertainty growing around the success of new releases, the strategy appears to be securing steady revenue by lengthening the product life cycle (PLC) of existing games.
As of the 22nd, Netmarble has recently begun a large-scale overhaul to revamp the engines and gameplay of its live titles. Blade & Soul Revolution, launched in 2018 and now in its eighth year of service, fully upgraded its game engine from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 through the NEXT update in May. It went beyond simply adding new characters or dungeons to improve overall graphics, including environmental rendering, textures, and lighting. It is rare in the industry for a live mobile massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) to replace its game engine outright.
In the same month, it also changed the gameplay of Raven 2. Netmarble opened a specialized ZERO server that increased experience gain and equipment drop rates compared with existing servers and banned PK in hunting grounds. By applying different core MMORPG rules, such as growth speed and PK, than on existing servers, it broadened choices to draw in users who feel burdened by competition and progression.
◇ 173rd→68th, 141st→22nd… sales rankings rebound after overhaul
After the major overhauls, both games saw a rebound in sales rankings. According to Mobile Index, Blade & Soul Revolution climbed from 173rd on Google Play sales on May 24, just before the update, to 68th on June 5. Raven 2 also rose from 141st on May 28 to 22nd on June 2. As users flocked to the ZERO server, additional servers were created.
Netmarble plans to keep investing in reviving existing games. Netmarble CEO Kim Byung-gyu said on this quarter's earnings conference call on the 2nd, "While tightening our new title lineup, expanding the operating PLC of existing live games is the core of our main strategy for the second half."
Netmarble has been credited with having strengths in boosting revenue by releasing multiple new titles in succession. On the other hand, it has faced criticism that game life spans are relatively short. Kim said, "Behind driving growth through frequent launches was the concern that the life cycles of already-launched games were relatively short, and we agreed with that concern," adding, "We believe improving our fundamentals ultimately aligns with market expectations."
◇ Game companies continue investing in long-running titles
Smilegate also carried out a large-scale Origin update last year for the mobile RPG Epic Seven, then in its seventh year of service. It did more than add a new episode, introducing a growth guide and equipment management system while overhauling equipment acquisition and progression methods and various quality-of-life features. The focus was on lowering the entry barrier for new and returning users.
Thanks to that, Epic Seven, which had fallen out of the top 100 in Google Play sales, climbed as high as 31st after the update. Smilegate, which marks the game's eighth anniversary this year, is set to unveil plans for future large-scale updates and anniversary events at a showcase today.
Nexon is also steadily allocating development resources to long-running games. In its 2024 investor letter, Nexon presented continued growth of core existing titles such as MapleStory and DUNGEON & FIGHTER as a key strategy, followed by major updates. In July, to mark the 21st anniversary of SUDDEN ATTACK, it began improving the user environment by raising the in-game frame cap from a maximum of 84 FPS to up to 200 FPS through an update.
◇ Less burdensome than new titles, but the key is going beyond a brief rebound
For game companies, reviving existing games has the advantage of improving investment efficiency compared with developing new ones. New titles require years of development costs plus large-scale marketing and operational resources before and after launch, with no guarantee of success. In contrast, existing games already have user bases, intellectual property (IP) recognition, development assets, and service experience. They can also bring back dormant users who once enjoyed the game.
However, a jump in sales rankings right after a major update is not enough to conclude that a game's life has actually been extended. After an update, returning users can surge and the effects of selling new servers, characters, or items can concentrate, causing sales to spike in the short term, but rankings can fall again if users who consume the new content quickly leave.
A gaming industry official said, "A single large-scale update does not keep extending a game's life," adding, "It's important to lower entry barriers so returning users don't leave again and to keep supplying content afterward."