Battle Royale and MMORPG Combined... Launching in March
Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk Praises... Expected to Make Up for Last Year's Lack of Major Hits
[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] 'A3: Steel Alive,' highly praised by Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble, has finally been unveiled. Netmarble, which lacked a major hit last year, is determined to restore its pride with this game. It also draws attention as the first attempt at a 'fusion genre' combining different game formats.
◆ "Fusion Genre Will Become the Trend" = On the 22nd, Netmarble held a media showcase for 'A3: Steel Alive' and announced that the game will be released on Google Play and the Apple App Store in March. The exact release date is still being coordinated, and pre-registration began on the same day. 'A3: Steel Alive' attracted attention even before its release, with game footage revealed at G-Star for two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019. Above all, it stands out as Netmarble's first fusion genre game. 'A3: Steel Alive' combines the battle royale format, where the last person standing wins, with elements of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) where multiple gamers participate simultaneously. At last year's G-Star, Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk praised it, saying, "Fusion genre games will become the mainstream in the future." Netmarble's confidence in the game's success is evident as this is their first showcase in one year and three months since 'Blade & Soul Revolution' in October 2018. Kwon Young-sik, CEO of Netmarble, expressed confidence, saying, "A3: Steel Alive is the most anticipated title of the first half of the year, concentrating Netmarble's accumulated publishing capabilities. As a fusion genre game combining battle royale and MMORPG with advanced content and gameplay, it will set a new standard for mobile MMORPGs."
'A3: Steel Alive' is also significant as a mobile game based on the intellectual property (IP) of Netmarble's PC game 'A3,' which was released in 2002 and gained popularity. Netmarble's previous successful titles such as 'Lineage 2 Revolution,' 'Blade & Soul Revolution,' 'Marvel Future Fight,' and 'The Seven Deadly Sins' were developed based on other companies' IPs. Jang Joong-sun, Head of Netmarble's Business Division, said, "Since it overwhelmingly incorporates the strengths of MMORPG and battle royale content, it will offer users a different level of enjoyment with vast content as well as spectacular action and combat fun. It will present a new play paradigm where growth and competition can be experienced simultaneously and will open the era of next-generation mobile MMORPGs."
◆ Expectation for a Rebound in Sluggish Performance = Unlike NCSoft and Nexon, which released 'Lineage 2M' and 'V4' respectively in the second half of last year, Netmarble, which lacked a major hit last year, is placing great expectations on 'A3: Steel Alive.' The securities industry estimates Netmarble's fourth-quarter sales last year to be in the 550 billion KRW range and operating profit around 55 billion KRW. Compared to Netmarble's third-quarter sales of 619.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 84.4 billion KRW, these figures are somewhat lower. However, due to the strong performance of 'The Seven Deadly Sins: GRAND CROSS' and 'BTS World,' both released in June last year, the third-quarter results improved significantly, and the estimated sales for last year are expected to reach around 2.17 trillion KRW, an increase from 2.0213 trillion KRW in 2018.
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