[Intellectual Property Boom Era] Netflix Showcases the Real 'Ojingeo Game'... Series-Game 'Synergy'

Netflix to Release Mobile Game Squid Game: Unleashed
Game Developed Using IP... Netmarble Also Pursues Transmedia Strategy

Multiplayer mobile game 'Squid Game: Unleashed' gameplay screen on Netflix. Netflix homepage

Global online video service (OTT) Netflix attempted to launch a game service ahead of the release of its original series 'Squid Game Season 2' on the 26th. Before the series release, Netflix decided to launch a multiplayer mobile game on the 17th. Netflix has introduced various game services using popular intellectual properties (IPs), and this is considered the largest scale among the games it has produced itself. To expand the use of IPs, Netflix acquired a developer called Boss Fight in 2022.

The competition to expand the value chain through popular IPs is intensifying, centered around content companies. There are many cases of creating dramas using game characters or vice versa. This is interpreted as an intention to maximize profits in a business environment where IPs are directly linked to revenue.

Boss Fight, the developer acquired by Netflix, created 'Squid Game: Unleashed' to allow users to experience the Squid Game IP. The game consists of a total of nine events, including obstacle running. Each event has six modes, allowing for a total of 54 different forms of play. This reflects the original drama where participants compete in survival contests to win prize money.

Netflix produced a game using the Squid Game IP to increase interest in the drama and easily attract users. The company described Squid Game: Unleashed as "a battle royale action game inspired by the popular Netflix series," adding, "Players can encounter new games inspired by the challenges seen in 'Squid Game' and childhood games." Games based on content such as the animation 'SpongeBob' and the drama 'Narcos: Cartel' are popular within the Netflix application.

Users have also become quite familiar with various IP uses. According to the '2024 Character User Survey' published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, 61.2% of respondents said they have experience using other content created based on their favorite characters. This response rate increased by 4.1 percentage points from 57.1% last year.

This can be interpreted as an increase in loyalty to IPs. It means there is less resistance to opening wallets and paying for other genre content using character IPs. Animation accounts for the highest proportion at 55.6%, followed by comics (43.3%), games (27.3%), and movies (25.9%).

The game industry is particularly sensitive to IP utilization. The preference for favorite characters being used in game genres is higher among males and younger age groups. While the overall preference rate is 27.3%, it rises to 33.1% among males only. For teenagers and people in their twenties, the rates are even higher at 38.8% and 37.2%, respectively. Additionally, the proportion of those willing to use game content when new technologies such as augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR), and artificial intelligence (AI) are applied is highest among teenagers at 75.8% and those in their twenties at 72.1%.

Among domestic companies, Netmarble is actively leading the way. Bang Jun-hyuk, founder and chairman of Netmarble and Coway, visited Korea's largest game exhibition 'G-Star 2024' last month and announced plans to implement a transmedia strategy to expand existing IPs across multiple media platforms.

Netmarble's 'Solo Leveling: Arise' is considered a representative work that successfully turned the popular webtoon and web novel IP of the same name into a game. The protagonist 'Sung Jin-woo' is the only character in the universe who levels up, growing into a powerful hunter and awakening as the Shadow Monarch, allowing players to use game-original characters. The game was officially released in May in 174 countries worldwide, including Korea, and ranked number one in downloads in 141 of those countries. Netmarble is also developing the role-playing game (RPG) 'Game of Thrones: King's Road' based on the fantasy drama 'Game of Thrones' IP.

Netmarble's IP utilization case was also introduced at the 'Content Industry 2024 Review and 2025 Outlook Seminar' hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency earlier this month. 'Solo Leveling: Arise' was selected as a case of K-webtoon IP value expansion during a presentation on the theme of 'IP Economy.'

Nexon also attracted attention by conducting a collaborative update between MapleStory and the popular animation 'Demon Slayer.' An event was held where players could create and play a new job character resembling 'Tanjiro,' a character from Demon Slayer, along with the introduction of exclusive skills and items.

A game industry official explained, "Using popular IPs tends to attract more initial interest than launching works by creating IPs independently. People who liked existing IPs are drawn into games, and IPs that are easy to adapt into games also facilitate smoother development."