October 25, 2024

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 After a major regulatory setback in China, Nexon is striving to turn things around in other regions by releasing a new first-point-shooter game that offers a twist on Krafton’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a battle royale shooter that pits 100 players against each other.

According to the South Korean game company Monday, its Stockholm-based subsidiary, Embark Studios, is developing a brand-new team-based multiplayer shooting game that will allow Nexon to target the North American and European markets.

Character concepts from Embark Studios’ second game, a team-based PVP shooter (Embark Studios)

“Nexon currently holds a 77 percent stake in Embark Studios. As announced last August, Nexon will fully acquire the company within five years,” a Nexon official said. In July last year, Nexon turned Embark Studios into a consolidated subsidiary of Nexon Group after increasing its stake in the company to 66.1 percent from 33.3 percent. 

It remains to be seen whether Embark Studios’ new FPS game will revitalize Nexon’s sluggish foreign business.

In China, the release of a mobile edition of Nexon’s flagship title “Dungeon & Fighter” was blocked just one day before the official launch date of Aug. 12 as the Chinese authorities ordered updates to the game’s addiction prevention system. Though the game garnered more than 60 million preregistrations in the country, its release has been postponed indefinitely.

Nexon’s revenue in the January-September period decreased on-year in multiple regions -- China, North America, Europe and Japan.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)