Kakao Games ready for Odin's active overseas expansion after successful domestic service

[Courtesy of Kakao Games]

SEOUL -- The game publishing wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao is ready for the full-fledged overseas expansion of "Odin: Valhalla Rising," a blockbuster mobile game that has garnered the explosive popularity of domestic fans since its launch a year ago.

Kakao Games vowed to make full preparations for Odin's services in Japan and other regions by establishing a differentiated game with next-generation technology, after it completed the acquisition of a 54.95 percent stake in Lionheart Studio on June 30. Odin has already been released in Taiwan since Kakao Games secured global publishing rights in November 2021.

Lionheart Studio has developed Odin, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that can be played on mobile platforms and PC platforms. "We will sincerely work hard to make this game loved for a long time through various content that satisfies our users," Lionheart Studio CEO Kim Jae-young said in a statement marking the first anniversary of Odin's domestic service on June 29.

Kakao Games attributed Odin's growing popularity to graphics using motion capture technology, a Nordic mythological worldview, an open world that can be enjoyed without loading, a large-scale war that gives explosive combat pleasure, 3D scanning, and Unreal Engine, a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games.

Kakao Games has stepped up efforts to boost game-developing capabilities and expand its influence abroad. In January 2022, the company invested 24 billion won ($ 20 million) in Frost Giant Studios (FSG), an American game developer that produces real-time strategy games.

Through its European branch, Kakao Games invested $15 million in Playable Worlds, an American company that creates cloud-native online games, in April 2022, to develop differentiated cloud-native games and metaverse platforms.

Cloud-native games use the cloud to process certain parts of the game, such as physics, lighting, environments or artificial intelligence, freeing up processing power on a home console, or making sure that players joining an online world can get the same synchronized experience. Playable Worlds aims to unveil its first cloud-native MMORPG and a metaverse platform in 2023.

Lim Chang-won cwlim34@ajunews.com

Kakao Games ready for Odin's active overseas expansion after successful domestic service

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