Netmarble, Kakao Games, Com2uS and Smilegate plan to launch new massively multiplayer online role-playing games in the second half. Their four titles aim to address structural constraints in the genre through different approaches, including handing operating authority to users, directly inheriting a proven intellectual property, differentiating myth-based worldbuilding and reducing the burden of logging in. With launches clustered in the same period, the market will test which approach works in live service.

Major South Korean game companies are flagging unusual first-quarter earnings improvements, a period typically considered an off-season. Pearl Abyss and NCSOFT are expected to post sharply stronger results from early momentum in new titles Red Desert and Aion 2, respectively. Krafton and Netmarble are seen benefiting from steady performance of existing intellectual property, while Nexon projects double-digit top-line growth based on company guidance.