Visitors to G-STAR play games at the game industry fair held in the southeastern port city of Busan on Nov. 17, 2022. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of game developers are embracing the strategy of “soft launches,” wherein they release games in a limited number of countries prior to the official launch.
In contrast to beta testing, soft launches incorporate revenue-related elements like paid subscriptions, and the data remains intact post the official launch, essentially serving as a de facto ‘pre-release.’
Com2uS Corp. introduced a pre-release of “Heir of Light: Eclipse” on Google Play in Canada and Indonesia last week.
The company intends to enhance the game’s completeness by gathering user feedback and implementing updates before the scheduled official worldwide launch next month.
Similarly, Krafton Inc. launched its mobile game “Defense Derby” beforehand in the markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong early last month.
The improvements identified throughout the soft-launch process were integrated into the official version, thereby enhancing the overall game quality.
“MiniGame Paradise,” released by Com2uS last month, also underwent a pre-release procedure in Thailand approximately one week ahead of the official launch.
In May, Smilegate Holdings Inc. executed a pre-release of “Outerplane” in three countries: Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, a month prior to the official launch.
As demonstrated in the aforementioned instances, soft launches often target Southeast Asian and East Asian countries, alongside Canada and Australia.
These countries possess robust IT infrastructure, and their user base maintains a certain income level.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
Anyone interested in this topic should read this article. I like how you broke down complicated concepts into manageable chunks. Excellent work!