The Tight-Knit Relationship Between Korean Mobile Game Publishers and Gamers

Mobile games is another South Korean domestic product tha has been driving economic growth to the country in recent years, as local annual sales alone is worth $6 billion. Mobile gaming in Korea has taken the country by storm, surpassing PC and console gaming. Currently, the Republic of Korea (ROK) ranks as the 4th largest mobile games market on a global scale, after China, U.S. and Japan.

Currently, the top major mobile game companies in SoKor are Korean companies Nexon, NCSoft and Netmarble. In Google Play alone, NCSoft and Netmarble ranks 7th and 8th as top publishers globally. As of August 2020, NCSoft and Netmarble grossed $41.19 million and $41.17 million, as part of the $6.241 billion sales achieved by SoKor’s entire mobile gaming market in 2020.

South Koreans are Avid Consumers of Korean Mobile Games

Anyone who rides a Seoul Metro can easily see why Koreans spend as much as $6 billion annually for mobile games. Every male and female, whether adult or child on board the metro rail transit is engrossed with a Korean mobile game. According to statistics, casual games are popular to most Koreans, usually under the puzzle and action category. Yet in terms of sales, 75% of the revenues generated by SoKor’s mobile gaming industry come mostly from role playing and strategy mobile games.

Not surprising at all, since Koreans have been avid patrons of PC Bangs or PC rooms dedicated to video gamers aspiring to become future esports athletes. Yet the advent of smartphones and mobile applications have since given many young Koreans the chance to access their favorite games anywhere and any time. More so now after Riot Games came out with a League of Legends: Wild Rift, a mobile game built as a version of Korea’s favorite multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) and real-time strategy (RTS) game, League of Legends (LoL).

Riot Games Finds a Way Into the Tight-Knit Relationship Between SoKor Mobile Makers and Gamers

Apparently, a lot of foreign gaming companies have been wanting to take part in SoKor’s mobile gaming market, and so far, it seems only Riot Games has found a way to get the attention of Korean mobile gamers. Koreans have been avid consumers of LoL games for decades since its release in 2009. Riot therefore launched the LoL: Wild Rift mobile game last year, much to the delight of South Korean mobile game consumers.

On top of that, Riot Games announced last week that a global LoL-WR eSports Tournament will be held in the 4th quarter of 2021. This is another plus factor, as the country is the birthplace of esports, which next to football and baseball, is the most favored sports among Koreans.

Another thing about Korea’s mobile gaming population is that unlike in other countries, where mobile game contents are consumed mostly by the young people, Korea’s mobile gamer age-group is wide ranging. At least 15% are represented by male adults between ages 30 to 50 years old. Apparently these older age group is also into esports betting, and are constantly checking out local sports toto sites like, which enables them to access the esports betting markets not only in Korea but in other countries as well.

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