An image from Epic Games’ “Fortnite” (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest computing game expo is slated to open in Busan this week featuring a wide range of new computer and mobile games with virtual reality technology taking the center stage, sources said Tuesday.
Hundreds of game developers and distributors from scores of countries will take part in the G-Star Global Game Exhibition scheduled to kick off in the southeastern port city Thursday for a four-day run.
Attendees include South Korean gamemakers Nexon and Netmarble Games, as well as foreign companies, such as U.S. video game developer Epic Games, Google Korea and American video game live streaming platform Twitch.
South Korean online gaming giant Nexon Korea Co. plans to showcase 14 new games during the game expo to be held at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (BEXCO).
Nexon will release 11 new mobile games and three new computer games, including the mobile version of the company’s first mega-hit computer game, “The Kingdom of the Winds.”
Nexon will also take the wraps off mobile versions of signature computer games, “Crazy Arcade” and “TalesWeaver,” while showing off an ocean adventure game called “Dave.”
Netmarble Games, South Korea’s No. 1 mobile game developer and publisher, is set to unveil four new mobile games. South Korean game developer Bluehole plans to roll out a joint game brand, Krafton, and some five new titles that are currently under development.
South Korean online gamemaker NCSOFT Corp. will not attend the upcoming game expo, but it unveiled five new massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for the mobile platform.
Among the much anticipated lineup is “Line 2M,” a follow-up to the mega-hit mobile game “Lineage M” that is slated to be launched during the first half of 2019.
The annual game fair will also lure a number of foreign companies. Epic Games has become the main sponsor of the show, the first foreign company to do so.
In a news conference early this month, Park Sung-chul, CEO of Epic Games Korea, said the sponsorship is the company’s first step to make its globally loved game “Fortnite” better known to South Korean gamers.
X.D. Global Limited, a Chinese game developer famous among South Korean gamers for its title “Girls’ Frontline,” is slated to participate in the show by establishing an independent booth.
The game expo will also draw a number of cloud computing providers and blockchain companies, which will unveil their technologies in a bid to attract potential customers.
In addition, Epic Games and several other companies will hold e-sports competitions at the event, which made their full-fledged debut last year.
(Yonhap)
