Korean video games Lost Ark and Blue Archive ready release in China

[Image captured from chinese Lost Ark homepage]

South Korea’s popular video games are expected to be released in China next month, raising hopes that the publishers will be able to expand presence in the neighboring market.

According to the gaming industry on Tuesday, Korean game developer Smilegate will launch the service of its massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) “Lost Ark” in China on Thursday.

Lost Ark - developed by Smilegate RPG and released in Korea in 2018 - has been gaining popularity overseas since its launch in Japan in 2020 and North America and Europe last year.

Smilegate pre-launched Lost Ark in China last week and the publisher Tencent Games is known to have added five more servers as the five previously prepared were already in full use.

Lost Ark also ranked third on the single game chart of Chinese game live streaming platform DouYu after “League of Legends” and “King of Glory.”

Earlier, Tencent Games led the success of Smilegate‘s first-person shooter (FPS) game “Crossfire” in China.

Hopes are high that Lost Ark will gain huge popularity in China given that it has been highly acclaimed in Korea and other countries for its gameplay.

Smilegate’s “Epic Seven” - published by Zilong Game Ltd. and officially launched in China last month - also received much spotlight in the local app market, ranking as one of the top 10 games in terms of sales.

“Blue Archive,” a sub culture game developed by Nexon Games Co., is also scheduled for launch in China on August 3.

The number of pre-orders on the official website of Blue Archive, published by Shanghai Roaming Star Co., exceeded 3.6 million as of Tuesday.

Blue Archive supported simplified Chinese subtitles in the global version, and Chinese sub culture fans downloaded it even before it was licensed for service in China.

Nexon Games has been making every effort to launch the game in China, including adding Chinese dubbing services to the Chinese version and an official video featuring its developers.