"Our project goal was to create a game that could succeed in the global market through live service," Lee Beom-jun, lead producer of the loot shooter game, said in a recent media event.
He emphasized that the game was designed with "complete cross-platform functionality" in mind from the early planning stages.
The game has undergone two global beta tests over the past two years to improve its quality. Unlike Nexon Games' previous games that focused on probability-based items, "The First Descendant" will center its business model on a battle pass system that rewards players based on their progress.
Loot shooters are a subgenre of shooting games that emphasize item collection and character growth. While relatively less known in Korea, the genre has long been popular in North America and Europe, with titles such as "Warframe," the "Borderlands" series, and the "Destiny" series receiving positive reviews.
Nexon Games is positioning "The First Descendant" as a purely player-versus-environment (PVE) game, focusing on cooperative gameplay rather than player-versus-player (PVP) combat.
The company aims to capture the global loot shooter fan base with what it calls an "internationally acceptable business model and perfect console support," Kim said.