[DigitalToday reporter Lee Ho-jung] The landscape of South Korea's mobile game market has been completely reshaped. After an era in which massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) backed by large-scale capital and manpower led the market, idle RPGs combined with well-known intellectual property (IP) have emerged as the mainstream genre. Following record results by Nexon's 'MapleStory: Raising' in the second half of last year, major game companies are now signaling fierce competition as they line up new idle titles from the start of 2026.

Stone Age and The Kingdom of the Winds return as classics get reinterpreted

This year's key topic in the game industry is the reinterpretation of old IP. The strategy is to dress proven IP in lighter gameplay to target original fans and new users at the same time.

Netmarble plans to launch 'Stone Age: Raising' in the first half of this year. The game is based on the Stone Age IP, which has attracted 200 million users globally since its 1999 release. Netmarble N2 is in charge of development. It reinterprets the original's key fun, including the pet capture and riding system, to be simple and intuitive for mobile. Netmarble has already demonstrated the potential of the idle market with 'Seven Knights: Raising' in 2023, raising industry expectations for the new title.

Mgame will release an idle mobile game in the first half using its long-running martial arts IP 'GwiHon'. The original GwiHon is a 2D side-scrolling MMORPG that has maintained a fandom in Asia for 20 years with the unusual theme of ghost monsters and martial arts. Mgame plans to extend into the idle genre and keep the momentum after its mobile MMORPG 'GwiHonM', released in November last year, ranked No. 1 in popularity and demonstrated the power of the IP.

Com2uS is also preparing an idle RPG based on the Destiny Child IP, targeting a release in the second half of this year. It signed an IP licensing contract with Shift Up in 2024. Development is being handled by subsidiary Tikitaka Studio, whose capabilities were recognized with 'Soul Strike'. It targets the global market and is expected to absorb the original's solid fandom.

After benefiting from 'MapleStory: Raising' last year, Nexon is highly likely to release a new title this year using The Kingdom of the Winds IP. Nexon filed trademark applications with the Korean Intellectual Property Office last month for 'The Kingdom of the Winds: Raising' and 'Baram Raising', among others. With 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of service for the original The Kingdom of the Winds, speculation is dominant that a new title to commemorate it is likely to be released.

Companies boost development efficiency and follow trends as value-for-money strategy hits

Major game companies are rushing into the idle game market amid a strong push for practical gains and changes in the market environment. The main factor is minimizing development risk and achieving high efficiency. Unlike large MMORPGs that require massive capital and manpower, idle RPGs can be made with a relatively short development period and fewer staff. The industry is focusing on the genre as a so-called value-for-money business model, with higher expected returns relative to development resources than MMORPGs. As it has been proven that success can generate revenue comparable to big titles, companies have accelerated their entry.

The scalability of proven IP is also a key factor. Using widely recognized IP can reduce marketing costs and deliver a strong initial inflow of users. Nexon's 'MapleStory: Raising', released at the end of last year, surpassed cumulative sales of $100 million, about 144.2 billion won, within 45 days of launch. The example shows the explosive synergy generated when fandom-backed IP is combined with the idle genre. It has become a box-office formula that can absorb a wide range of users from general players to core users.

Above all, changes in users' content consumption patterns have driven the rise of the genre. As snack culture that prefers short and simple content such as short-form videos and OTT spreads, fatigue has grown toward games that require sustained play. In the Korea Creative Content Agency's '2025 Game User Survey', the main reason for not playing games was cited as lack of time for use, 44 percent, and the main alternative activity was watching OTT and videos, 86.3 percent. Idle games that minimize the burden of access and control have accurately tapped the needs of modern people short on time, emerging as a leading alternative in mobile games.

Idle games outpace MMOs as shakeout begins with differentiation in focus

Current data clearly points to the growth of the idle genre. According to Sensor Tower analysis, idle games' share of revenue in South Korea's mobile game market surged from 1.7 percent in 2020 to 16 percent in 2024. Over the same period, the share of MMORPGs fell by more than 20 percent, showing a downward trend.

Still, 2026 is expected to be the first year when a shakeout in the idle game market begins in earnest. The market size will grow as major game companies enter one after another, but user fatigue could rise sharply if similar titles that rely on proven IP proliferate. Beyond simply borrowing famous IP, only games with differentiated gameplay and convenience features within the idle genre are expected to survive.

An industry official said, "In 2026, idle games wearing famous IP will pour out, making the market pie itself larger," and added, "Rather than simply relying on the name value of IP, how fresh the fun elements of the original are reinterpreted to fit idle rules will likely be the key that determines survival amid fierce competition."