From BTS and Blackpink to NCT, K-pop video games are proving a match made in heaven, experts say

Hybe, the label behind BTS, is the latest K-pop company to make video games and though some fans are unhappy about it, we should expect to see more in future

The gaming market is larger than the music one in South Korea, so ‘K-pop labels can rack up huge profits once they make a successful game,’ says one expert

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K-pop and games are a winning combination, say experts – which is why we should expect to see more video games like BTS World in future.

Published: 4:00pm, 9 May 2022

By Dong Sun-hwa

“It’s weird that a K-pop label like Hybe is obsessed with games,” reads one online comment from a BTS fan.

Similar comments criticising the company for its “infatuation” with the gaming business can be found everywhere on the internet, where fans have been venting their discontent since the label behind BTS dived into game development.

The K-pop powerhouse took its first steps into gaming in August 2019 when it acquired music game developer Superb, which recently became its new subsidiary, Hybe IM. In 2021, the company tapped Park Ji-won, the former chief executive of Korean gaming publisher Nexon, as its new CEO.

BTS World is a video game styled like a visual novel in which players assume the role of the K-pop group’s manager.

Hybe has released a series of games including BTS World (2019) and Rhythm Hive (2021) by using the intellectual property (IP) of its singers.

Hybe joined forces with Netmarble – a game company that has produced some of the most popular games in Korea, such as Lineage 2: Revolution and Seven Knights – for BTS World, a video game in the style of a visual novel in which players assume the role of the K-pop group’s manager. It has been downloaded 12 million times and has become one of the bestselling K-pop-related games.