South Korea’s major video gaming companies bet big on China’s continued openness to franchises with proven track record overseas
- At least 18 South Korean video games have been granted licences for commercial release in mainland China since late 2022
- Those included major titles from Nexon, NCSoft and Netmarble, which are South Korea’s top three video gaming companies
A version of this article was first published by The Korea Times in a partnership with the South China Morning Post.
With at least 18 Korean video games licensed for release on the mainland since late 2022, those top developers are betting big that China’s openness would continue and enable more titles in future to be enjoyed by gamers on the mainland, according to industry insiders and analysts.
Video gaming companies “would naturally prefer [to get licences for] products already with proven performance and achievements [overseas]”, according to a report by Shanghai-based video gaming industry research site GameLook, which referred to the strict control on the number of imports released in the market.
South Korean video game imports already represent a “a bright spot in the market”, the GameLook report said.
