Subculture Emerges as Global Mainstream...K-Games Begin Full-Scale Attack

[Financial News] As subculture games emerge as a global mainstream, domestic game companies are also accelerating their movements. Following hits like Nexon Games' 'Blue Archive' and Shift Up's 'Goddess of Victory: Nikke', companies like Netmarble, Smilegate, and Kakao Games are preparing new releases, speeding up their market strategies for the second half of the year. Once considered exclusive to 'otaku', subculture games have now established themselves as a core pillar driving industry growth.
■Subculture Captures the Zalpha Generation...Expands into Fandom Economy
Subculture refers to the culture of a minority group with values, customs, and expressions distinct from mainstream culture, often featuring Japanese animation styles in games. In the global market, subculture games have already secured a solid position. China's HoYoverse's 'Genshin Impact' and 'Honkai: Star Rail' have maintained top global sales rankings for a long time, while Japan's 'Fate/Grand Order' and 'Puzzle & Dragons' are cited as some of the most successful mobile games in history with cumulative sales of billions of dollars.
According to market research firm Market Research Intellect on the 20th, the global subculture market size is expected to grow from $20.9 billion in 2023 to $48.5 billion by 2031.
The domestic market is also rapidly expanding. The domestic subculture game market size has already grown to about 500 billion won. According to Mirae Asset Securities, the annual growth rate of the entire domestic game market from 2018 to 2023 was 5.2%, while the subculture game market grew at a rate of 16.7% during the same period.
China, the world's second-largest game market, is the biggest battleground for subculture games. According to iMedia Research, the market size is expected to exceed $91.3 billion by 2025. The Zalpha generation (Z generation + Alpha generation) accounts for 68% of all users, forming the backbone of growth. Particularly, IP expansion sales, including goods and short-form content, accounted for more than half (58%) of the total as of the first quarter of this year, an increase of over 20% compared to the previous year.
The rise of subculture games is expanding beyond mere game consumption into a 'fandom economy'. The Zalpha generation enjoys 'participatory consumption' that extends from game play to goods, OSTs, and secondary creations. The goods market, in particular, is being highlighted as a major target for subculture culture and market growth centered on IP expansion. In fact, China's largest SNS platform Xiaohongshu held its first offline event 'Red Land' utilizing game and subculture IPs in Shanghai from the 8th to the 10th, attracting 100,000 visitors. Among Xiaohongshu's hobby-related content, the game and subculture sectors increased by 168% and 175%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. 
■Rush of New K-Subculture Releases
Domestic game companies are launching a large number of new releases from the second half of the year to keep pace with this trend. Netmarble is targeting the subculture market with 'MonGil: Star Dive' and 'The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin'. 'MonGil' is a multi-platform action RPG that has completed global testing, and 'The Seven Deadly Sins' is an open-world collectible RPG based on the Japanese manga and anime 'The Seven Deadly Sins', which has sold over 55 million copies worldwide. Both games are scheduled for release in the second half of this year.
Smilegate is targeting the subculture market with the RPG 'Chaos Zero Nightmare'. 'Chaos Zero Nightmare' is a work that Smilegate's development studio 'Super Creative', which achieved global success with 'Epic Seven', has been developing for a long time. It is scheduled for release in the second half of this year and will support Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese versions, signaling its global expansion.
NHN will soon introduce the new release 'Abyssdia'. NHN plans to first release it in Japan, a core market for subculture, to gauge reactions before finalizing the global release schedule, including Korea.
Kakao Games is targeting the global market with the publishing of the mobile collectible nurturing simulation game 'Project C', which is being developed by Lionheart Studio. 
The global expansion of existing hits is also active. Nexon Games' 'Blue Archive' has surpassed $500 million in cumulative sales and is targeting the global PC market with its Steam version. Shift Up's 'Nikke', which recorded 1.5 trillion won in cumulative sales, continues its growth by entering the Chinese market following Japan. Neowiz's 'Brown Dust 2' achieved the top sales ranking in both markets in Taiwan and Hong Kong within two years of its release. It is participating in major subculture events such as 'Bilibili World 2025' in China, 'Anime New York' in the US, and 'Fancy Frontier' in Taiwan this month, expanding its recognition and strengthening its global fandom. An industry official said, "The subculture game market has now grown into a global major market, not just a niche market," adding, "As it leads to various IP expansions such as animation, goods, and performances, fandom is forming a structure that creates a new market."


yjjoe@fnnews.com Yoonju Cho Reporter