Korean game companies release new titles for PCs

‘Stellar Blade.’ (Shift Up)

Major South Korean game developers are releasing new titles for the personal computer (PC) gaming market.

Although the PC segment is smaller than the dominant mobile and console gaming markets, its rapid growth makes it a crucial channel for global expansion. The gaming industry said on Wednesday that Shift Up Co.’s action game, “Stellar Blade,” which was released on the PC game platform Steam last week, hit a peak of 192,078 concurrent users within just one week.

Concurrent user count is a key metric for gauging the popularity of a PC game - surpassing 100,000 users at launch typically classifies a game as a massive hit. Stellar Blade recorded a daily peak of 157,793 users, ranking it sixth globally. The PC version of Stellar Blade sold over 1 million copies within three days, earning it million-seller status.

Shift Up attributes the PC version’s popularity not only to the strong reception in the console market but also to its technical upgrades - such as high-resolution textures and unlocked frame rates - that allowed it to deliver a superior experience on high-end PCs.

Krafton Inc. released a life simulation game called “inZOI” on Steam in March 2025. Even in its early access phase, it took the top spot globally in Steam sales revenue on its launch day and surpassed 1 million cumulative copies within a week.

Nexon Korea Corp.’s action role-playing game, “The First Berserker: Khazan,” also gained traction in March, earning the second-highest rating, “Very Positive,” from over 12,000 reviews on Steam.

Neowiz Corp. released a PC version of the downloadable content (DLC) “Lies of P,” “Life of P:Overture,” on June 7th, which surpassed 30,000 concurrent users on Steam just two days after launch.

Many more titles are in the pipeline, with Nexon set to release its survival action game “ARC Raiders,” developed by its subsidiary Embark Studios, on October 30th.

Another upcoming action RPG, “Vindictus: Defying Fate” that was developed by Nexon’s CAG Studio, held a global alpha test of its demo version on Steam from June 9th to 17th. It was ranked the most played among Steam’s top 50 demo games in June.

Pearl Abyss Corp.’s large-scale open-world game “Crimson Desert,” which has been in development for seven years, is set for official release at the end of 2025. Kakao Games Corp. will also begin a global closed test for its new action title, “Chrono Odyssey” on Steam starting June 20th.

One major reason for Korean game companies shifting toward the PC market is its scale, the PC gaming market totaled $43.2 billion in 2024 according to global games research firm Newzoo. Though it holds a 23 percent market share - smaller than mobile (49 percent) and console (28 percent) - its annual growth rate is 4 percent, outpacing console and mobile.