Korean games met with lukewarm response from gamers on top of regulatory barriers

Pearl Abyss"s Black Desert Mobile

South Korean game developers must overcome not just regulatory barriers, but also higher expectations of Chinese gamers if they wish to penetrate in the world’s most populated market.

Pearl Abyss which managed a rare release of Korean game label in China in recent years, has been a letdown.

Black Desert Mobile, the mobile version of the blockbuster game Black Desert Online, was the first Korean game to be released in China since 2017 when the country restricted Korean games and other products in retaliation against Korea’s deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.

Upon release, Black Desert Mobile soared to the top of Chinese app store game charts and became the No. 1 downloaded game in the nation. But the game soon fell out of the Top 100 on a rush of negative reviews.

When Korean games are released after much delay, they often fail to impress Chinese gamers.

The business model for Korean games has also been limited due to the regulations of the Chinese government and Chinese games were favored and promoted against imports.

China’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) announced on April 15 that live-streaming of unauthorized video games would be banned.

Still, Korean game companies are refusing to surrender the massive market.

Pearl Abyss maintained it was just starting its Chinese service and would be bettering services to continue its business for a long time in China.

Game publisher Wemade Co. announced during the earnings conference call on May 12 that it would work to win a permit for MMORPG “MIR4” in China this year, but does not see its release happening within the year.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]