Korean Game Companies Make a Splash at the Tokyo Game Show

• Korean game companies, led by Nexon, are drawing attention as they advance into the Japanese archipelago

Domestic game companies that aim to conquer the global market are knocking on the door of overseas game exhibitions one after another. Following Gamescom in Germany last August, they will exhibit new games at the Tokyo Game Show in Japan, which is considered a global gaming powerhouse, at the end of this month.

The Tokyo Game Show is a game exhibition that began in 1996 and has been expanding in scale every year. It was called one of the ‘world’s top three game shows’ along with Gamescom in Europe and E3. This year, it will be held at Makuhari Messe from September 26 to September 29.

Nexon will exhibit and operate a separate booth for demonstrations of the hardcore action RPG ‘First Berserker: Kazan’ currently in development by its subsidiary Neople. Visitors can explore the ‘Heinmach’ area, the early part of Kazan, to learn the basic controls and gameplay, and can also experience battles with the quick bosses ‘Volvaino’ and ‘Rangers’, where they can feel the essence of action through strategic skill management and detailed strategies.

Kazan, which is scheduled to be released in the first half of next year, unveiled a new trailer and set up a demonstration booth at Opening Night Live (ONL), the eve of Gamescom 2024 held in Germany last month. The game attracted a lot of attention from visitors, with queues lasting up to four hours.

Big Game Studio, which attracted attention last month with a 37 billion won equity investment from NCSoft, will be exhibiting its new subculture game, Breakers: Unlock the World, at the Tokyo Game Show. Breakers is a PC-mobile multi-platform game with animation-style graphics, where you can experience strategic gameplay by forming a unique team based on each character’s special combat skills.

Shift Up, which has established itself as a subculture powerhouse, will present the mobile game ‘Goddess of Victory: Nike’ through publisher Level Infinity. It plans to present various enjoyable activities to visitors, such as Goddess of Victory: Nike goods and a pop-up store.

CFK has decided to exhibit five lineups at the Tokyo Game Show 2024, including ‘Chronosword’, ‘Shikhondo: Hyakuka Yoran’, ‘Ninja Island’, ‘Lapin’, and ‘Catgirl Survival’.

The Korea Creative Content Agency will participate in the Tokyo Game Show by setting up a Korean joint pavilion comprised of 25 domestic indie game companies. In addition to the game companies directly selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency, various games recommended by local game centers will meet local visitors through the joint pavilion.

Major Japanese and global game companies such as Sony, Arc System Works, Capcom, SNK, GungHo, Koei Tecmo, Konami, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Ubisoft have confirmed their participation in the 2024 Tokyo Game Show. Business days are from September 26 to 27, and general admission is available from September 28 to 29.