[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Domestic game companies, which have focused on mobile game development, are turning their attention to console games. The console games they have been developing are beginning to show results in the second half of the year. Domestic game companies are starting their global expansion through console games and are working to establish new growth engines.
From the second half of the year, new releases in the game industry are "console games"
On the 13th, Nexon is conducting a global test for the console game ‘KartRider: Drift.’ This game is characterized by allowing users to enjoy the game together across platforms including mobile, PC, and console. Last month, at the game exhibition 'Gamescom 2022' held in Cologne, Germany, Nexon also unveiled ‘First Descendant,’ which is being developed for PC and console platforms.
Krafton will release ‘The Callisto Protocol’ on December 2. The Callisto Protocol, developed by Striking Distance Studios (SDS), a subsidiary studio of Krafton, is overseen by Glen Schofield, famous as the creator of the horror survival game ‘Dead Space.’ Netmarble plans to release ‘Overprime’ and ‘The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin,’ which can be enjoyed on both PC and consoles, within this year.
Major console titles will continue to be released next year as well. ‘P’s Falsehood,’ a single-player action role-playing game (RPG) by Neowiz, which received three awards at 'Gamescom 2022,' is scheduled for release next year. This is the first time a domestic game company has won top awards in various categories at Gamescom.
NCSOFT is developing a large-scale multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) ‘TL (Throne and Liberty)’ for PC and consoles, aiming for release in the first half of next year. NCSOFT plans to use TL as a stepping stone to increase its market share in North America and Europe. Pearl Abyss is also developing its upcoming titles ‘Crimson Desert’ and ‘DokeV’ to be playable on console game devices.
Domestic games hold only 1.7% of the global console market share
According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, as of 2020, the market share of domestic games in the global console market was only 1.7%. In comparison, domestic PC games accounted for 12.4% and mobile games for 10.3% of the global market in the same year. There was also a significant difference in export revenue. In 2020, exports of domestic console games recorded $170 million, whereas mobile games reached $5.08 billion, showing a difference of about 50 times.
On the other hand, the console game market has shown growth every year. In 2020, global console game sales amounted to $55.826 billion, accounting for 27% of the entire game market. It is projected that by 2023, the global console game market will grow to $68.723 billion (94.45 trillion KRW).
The domestic console game market is also growing rapidly every year. Although the market size is only about one-tenth compared to the mobile game market, which is the mainstream of the domestic game market, the growth rate is nearly twice that of mobile games. Domestic console game market sales were about 1.09 trillion KRW in 2020 and are expected to grow to 1.8 trillion KRW by 2023.
This is why domestic game companies are accelerating console game development. While the domestic mobile and PC game markets have reached saturation, the console game market is showing high growth, which can serve as a new growth engine for game companies. Additionally, to target overseas markets, it is analyzed that focusing on the console market, where their presence is still minimal, can increase the chances of success.
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