South Korean game companies that have focused on mobile and online games are expanding into PC and console package games and are moving to broaden downloadable content (DLC) to keep revenue flowing after launch. They are using DLC to address the package-game model, where sales are concentrated early, as a way to generate additional revenue and extend the life of intellectual property (IP).

Mobile and online games can keep generating revenue after launch through new characters and items and content updates. Package games, by contrast, tend to see base-game sales concentrated in the early period after release, with the pace of sales slowing over time.

As more South Korean game companies enter the console market, how long they can sustain revenue and user interest after release has emerged as a task alongside base-game success. DLC can be used to create additional revenue by selling new stories, regions and characters to existing users, and to lift base-game sales again.

Crimson Desert gets DLC after 7 months, setting a new revenue window after the base game

Pearl Abyss will release the first DLC for "Crimson Desert," titled "Crimson Desert Enhanced: Unknown Journey," on Oct. 16. That is about 7 months after the base game was released on March 20.

"Unknown Journey" expands the adventure area, previously centered on land, to the sea. Users can sail ships to explore islands and the seabed, with additions such as facility management, home customisation and a new story.

The timing of the DLC rollout aligns with the base game's revenue trend. Crimson Desert sold 2 million copies on its first day, 5 million copies in 26 days and 6 million copies in 83 days. Revenue fell to 136.1 billion won in the second quarter from 266.5 billion won in the first quarter right after launch, and Steam concurrent users and the pace of sales also slowed from the early release period.

Steam indicators also rebounded in the short term after the DLC release date was disclosed. Peak concurrent users, which had been around 30,000 at the highest level in August, rose to 43,000, and as of the 7th the game ranked 12th on Steam's "Top Sellers," up 61 places from the previous week.

A post-launch decline in sales is a natural trend for package games, but Pearl Abyss is seen as trying to create new demand in the period when sales slow by introducing expansion content at a relatively early point.

DLC resells the base game and extends IP life

Neowiz added the expansion DLC "Lies of P: Overture" in June 2025 to "Lies of P," which it released in September 2023. Overture includes new regions, bosses and weapons, and a story set before the base game.

Base-game sales continued after the DLC release. According to Neowiz, cumulative sales of the base game and DLC combined topped 4 million copies in February this year. It was a case in which DLC influenced not only additional content sales but also the length of the base game's sales period.

Mintrocket's "Dave the Diver" is sustaining long-term sales through DLC and platform expansion. Mintrocket said on the 9th that Dave's cumulative global sales surpassed 10 million copies. It was the first 10 million-copy record among domestically developed single package games, about 3 years and 10 months after Steam early access in October 2022.

DLC also delivered separate sales results. Mintrocket followed up after releasing the "Like a Dragon" collaboration DLC "Ichiban's Holiday" in April 2025 by launching the story-expansion DLC "In the Jungle" in June this year. In the Jungle surpassed cumulative sales of 1 million copies in a little over 2 months.

Dave started on PC and expanded platforms to PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox, and plans to launch a mobile version globally on the 17th. It is a way of widening sales opportunities from a single IP by continuing to add DLC and new platforms to a game more than 3 years after release.

Shift Up used DLC for IP collaborations. It released DLC for "Stellar Blade" combining "NieR: Automata" and its own IP "Goddess of Victory: Nikke," adding content that brings existing users back to the base game.

Approaches vary by game. Some take the form of collaboration with other IP, such as Stellar Blade and Dave's "Ichiban's Holiday," while others expand the base game by adding new regions and stories, such as Lies of P, Crimson Desert and Dave's "In the Jungle."

Ultimately, South Korean game companies' console strategy is expanding away from a focus on initial sales of a single game toward extending the revenue period of a title and its IP through DLC and platform expansion. As Neowiz develops the next title in the Lies of P series, DLC also fills the gap between the base game and a sequel.

One industry official said, "Mobile and online games can continuously generate revenue after launch through updates and in-game purchases, but package games have the characteristic that sales are concentrated in the early period after the base game is released." The official added, "DLC can be used as a means to create new revenue while bringing existing users back to the game and to sustain interest in an IP between the base game and a next title."