"Fanbase Tested at 27 Stores"... CRIT Ventures Bets on a Homegrown TCG [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] Venture capital firm CRIT Ventures has backed Korea Digital Platform, which entered the trading card game market with its own universe rather than relying on well-known intellectual property (IP). In a market dominated by globally famous IP, the company’s ability to build a fanbase and distribution network around original domestic IP was seen as a key investment point.
According to the venture investment industry on the 28th, CRIT Ventures invested in Korea Digital Platform, the developer of the original TCG "Stacker Battle."
Unlike existing titles that rely on popular characters or animation, Stacker Battle developed its own universe, characters and game system. It also improved the quality of its physical products by bringing in a well-known illustrator for the artwork and producing all cards domestically.
What stands out is its offline fanbase. Since launch, the game has secured 27 authorized stores and built a player community by holding regular weekly tournaments. Analysts say this is significant because a new TCG without the backing of a famous IP has managed to establish a distribution and play network in a short period of time.
CRIT Ventures is also understood to have focused not just on card sales, but on Stacker Battle’s potential for IP expansion. Once a TCG builds a fanbase, it can broaden its business into new cards, characters, games and merchandise.
Korea Digital Platform plans to use the investment as a springboard to accelerate its overseas expansion. It is also pushing ahead with the development of a mobile game based on the Stacker Battle IP. The company previously unveiled a mobile game demo at domestic subculture events such as ILLUSTAR FES and AGF.
Im Yong-muk, an investment manager at CRIT Ventures who led the investment, said, "We will support Stacker Battle so it can expand into the global market based on the fanbase it has built in Korea and grow into a competitive K-TCG IP."
An industry official said, "For a TCG, how quickly it secures offline play hubs and a user base that keeps coming back is an indicator of an IP’s vitality." The official added, "If a community is formed around original IP, there is much greater room to expand into games, merchandise and overseas licensing in the future."
[email protected] Kim Kyung-a Reporter