Mobile Version Launch Imminent... Nexon Aims for Second Heyday
12 Million Pre-registrations... Accounts for Over Half of Nexon's Total, a 'Revenue Hero'
[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Nexon subsidiary Neople developed a mobile version of Dungeon & Fighter (DNF) called 'Dungeon & Fighter: Hon' in October 2016. However, this game was only released domestically in January of the following year, and its release in China never materialized. Three years later, in 2020, the mobile version of DNF is on the verge of entering the Chinese market. Although the Chinese government has not issued game licenses (distribution permits) for Korean games since March 2017, citing the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) conflict as a pretext, obtaining the license for the mobile version back in 2016 turned out to be a 'masterstroke.'
◆ The 'Masterstroke' of Obtaining the License in 2016 = According to the gaming industry on the 9th, Nexon is in the final stages of a closed beta test (CBT) for 'DNF Mobile' (tentative title) in China. DNF Mobile is scheduled to be released in the Chinese market within the first half of this year. The PC game DNF, which began service in China in November 2007, is being revived on mobile after about 12 years to target the local market. A Nexon official stated, "DNF Mobile will be released first in China in the first or second quarter of this year, followed by a domestic release, but the domestic release schedule is not yet determined."
Nexon is relieved about the decision made at the time to resolve the licensing issue for DNF Mobile before the Chinese license problem arose. Had the license not been obtained then, the entry of DNF Mobile into the Chinese market could have been indefinitely delayed.
Given the immense popularity of DNF in China, expectations for the mobile version are high even before its release. Tencent, which manages DNF services in China, began accepting pre-registrations for the DNF Mobile CBT on December 30 of last year, and as of the afternoon of the 8th, pre-registrations have exceeded 12 million. Tencent has set a pre-registration target of over 40 million. An industry insider explained, "A pre-registration of 40 million in China is an astonishing level." DNF, which started service domestically in August 2005, is Nexon's flagship PC game with about 600 million members worldwide. Notably, after starting service in China in 2007, it hit a so-called 'jackpot,' surpassing a peak concurrent user count of 5 million by the end of June 2014, and also recorded a peak concurrent user count of 290,000 in Korea.
◆ Pre-registrations Surpass 12 Million = Internally, Nexon expects to enjoy a second heyday in China with DNF Mobile. DNF accounts for 50% of Nexon's total revenue and more than 90% of its revenue from China, playing a crucial role. According to North American game market analysis firm SuperData, DNF's revenue last year was estimated at $1.6 billion (approximately 1.872 trillion KRW). Nexon's 2018 revenue was 2.5296 trillion KRW, and last year's revenue is expected to be at a similar level, indicating that DNF's revenue share is very significant. Due to Nexon's high dependence on DNF, when DNF's performance in the Chinese market faltered in the third quarter of last year, Nexon's third-quarter revenue dropped by 24% compared to the same period the previous year. However, industry experts predict that if DNF Mobile succeeds in China as DNF did, Nexon could surpass 3 trillion KRW in revenue this year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
