KakaoGames said on July 28 it has signed a global publishing contract for 'Guardian Maiden', a new title being developed by global game developer Kong Studio.

Under the publishing deal, KakaoGames secured rights to provide services in South Korea and globally, excluding the Greater China region, for 'Guardian Maiden'. KakaoGames plans to work with Kong Studio, with which it has cooperated for a long time, to prepare the game for an official launch later this year.

'Guardian Maiden' is a dot-graphics-based collectible action role-playing game being developed for mobile and PC platforms. It depicts an epic fantasy narrative in which a hero and a saintess partner up to fight evil forces on a vast continent where various races live together.

KakaoGames plans to provide a stable publishing environment by incorporating its global service operations know-how.

The two companies have previously broadened their contact points with users and built expectations through offline events. At 'Illustar Fes' held in May, a booth introducing 'Guardian Maiden' was operated. On site, they first unveiled a video showing the game's concept, combat and key content, and drew a positive response from visitors by providing various goods.

KakaoGames CEO Si-woo Lee (이시우) said, "Kong Studio is a company with an original worldview and game development capabilities with a high level of completeness." He added, "We will do our best in preparations so that we can create synergy once again with Kong Studio, with which we have continued to cooperate in game services for a long time, and present a successful service in the global market."

Kong Studio CEO Gwang-won Seok (석광원) said, "We are glad to be able to present 'Guardian Maiden' to users worldwide, as it brings together our development experience and know-how in dot graphics, action combat and the collectible RPG genre." He added, "As KakaoGames is a reliable partner with which we have maintained cooperation for a long time, we will work closely together to present a game with a high level of completeness."