Nexon’s 'CounterSide' Launching Next Month... "Will Showcase Various New IPs" (Comprehensive)

Kim Hyun, Vice President of Nexon, is giving a greeting at the CounterSide media showcase held on the 14th at Nexon Arena in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Nexon's new mobile game "CounterSide" will launch in the domestic market on February 4. Nexon plans to introduce various new intellectual property (IP)-based games across different genres this year, starting with CounterSide and following the success of last year's hit "V4 (V4)".

On the 14th, Nexon held a CounterSide media showcase at Nexon Arena in Seocho-gu, Seoul, revealing the release schedule and service plans. At the event, an in-game trailer video was unveiled, offering a preview of the thrilling combat gameplay of the characters and key game content such as the "Gauntlet".

Kim Hyun, Vice President of Nexon, said in his greeting at the event, "Nexon plans to evenly introduce new IPs that will become new competitive strengths, including our own IP-based new titles and V4." He added, "CounterSide is the first new mobile title Nexon is releasing this year." He also described CounterSide as "a work by Studio Bside, which has unique competitiveness in the subculture genre as a new IP," and introduced it as "the first runner responsible for Nexon's quality start, featuring a distinctive original worldview and an immersive story."

Kim Jong-yul, Head of Nexon Publishing Group 2, explained the CounterSide launch schedule, saying, "It will be officially released on February 4 through Google Play and Apple App Store, and we will operate in a way that rewards users' support by holding user meetings as soon as possible after the launch." Regarding CounterSide's goals, he said, "The subculture genre itself values fandom more than sales performance," and added, "The primary goal is to form a fandom through the combination of artwork, business model (BM), and operations."

CounterSide is an urban fantasy RPG depicting battles between the real world "NormalSide" and the opposite world "CounterSide." It plans to offer content that satisfies users' fantasies with an immersive story and attractive characters. Ryu Geum-tae, CEO of Studio Bside, and Park Sang-yeon, Director, who are in charge of developing CounterSide, expressed their ambition to present a mobile subculture game representing Korea based on the unique worldview of two worlds existing in one city. The subculture genre refers to games emphasizing bishonen and bishoujo characters in the style of Japanese manga.

Kim Jong-yul, Head of Nexon Publishing Group 2; Ryu Geum-tae, CEO of Studio Beside; Park Sang-yeon, Director of Studio Beside (from left)

CEO Ryu said, "Many users have shown interest and support even before the release, so we have focused on development with a sense of responsibility," and added, "We will continuously communicate closely with users to provide content that is sufficiently satisfying." He further stated, "From a global perspective, the urban fantasy genre often combines not only bishoujo but also mechanics and military elements in various content, and we will actively bring this grammar into the game to offer imagination to gamers."

Director Park revealed that after the premium test in August last year, more than 30 modifications, including "combat gameplay" and "recruitment system," were fully improved based on user feedback, and he expressed his willingness to actively reflect additional user requests going forward. He also introduced CounterSide content such as the story content "Main Stream" and "Side Story," composed of over 300,000 characters of text and more than 50 illustrations, and "DIVE," where players explore the endless opposite world to experience battles and events, completing missions while crossing between the real world and the opposite world.