South Korea’s top mobile game company Netmarble Games Corp. that has successfully launched its mobile game Lineage 2: Revolution in Japan is readying to repeat the success in China.

“We will make a success” of the new game in foreign countries with thorough pre market research and specifically customized versions, Netmarble CEO Kwon Young-sik told in a recent interview with Maeil Business News.

Kwon’s comment comes after the company successfully launched Lineage 2: Revolution in Japan. He explained that the Korean game player has revamped the new mobile game to meet the specific demands of Japanese game players and showcased the game at the pre-release party via Niconico Live, the Japanese Internet broadcasting platform, to make headlines among Japanese game players.

“Based on thorough market research before the launch, we have targeted game players who are fans of high-quality RPG (role playing game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting) and received about 1.6 million pre-orders,” said Kwon. In just 18 hours since its release on August 23, the game ranked first on App Store’s best-seller list in Japan, and over two million people have downloaded the game in just 48 hours.

Riding on the popularity of the mobile game in Japan, Netmarble Games is also preparing for the launch in China. CEO Kwon showed his confidence in the success of the game in China, saying “We have completely revamped the game to tailor to the needs of Chinese users.”

To obtain sustainable growth engines, the company is also actively seeking merger and acquisition targets at home and abroad. The company acquired U.S.-based mobile game developer Jam City at 150 billion won ($131 million) in 2015 and a 100 percent stake in mobile MMORPG game developer Kabam’s Vancouver studio at $700 million in February. It already vowed to spend the proceeds worth 2.6 trillion won the company has earned when it was listed on Korea’s main Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) market in May on M&As.

“We’re actively seeking possible targets to take over” though nothing has been decided, said CEO Kwon.

Shares of Netmarble Games on September 29 closed 2.36 percent up at 151,500 won from the previous session.

By Seo Dong-cheol

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]