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| The 2019 game, "BTS World" / Courtesy of Netmarble |
K-pop and game industries seek to create synergy
By Dong Sun-hwa
"It's weird that a K-pop label like HYBE is obsessed with games," reads one of the online comments from a fan of BTS, the most bankable K-pop group represented by HYBE.
Similar comments criticizing the company for its "infatuation" with the gaming business are frequently found on the internet, where a legion of fans have vented their discontent since HYBE dived into the realm of game development.
The K-pop powerhouse took its first baby steps in August 2019 by acquiring music game developer Superb, which recently became its new subsidiary, HYBE IM. In 2021, the company tapped Park Ji-won, the former CEO of Korean gaming publisher Nexon, as its new CEO in an apparent move to expand its gaming business. To date, HYBE has released a series of games including, "BTS World" (2019) and "Rhythm Hive" (2021), by utilizing the intellectual property (IP) of its singers.
HYBE joined forces with Netmarble ― a game company that brought life to some of the most popular games in Korea, such as "Lineage 2: Revolution" and "Seven Knights" ― to launch "BTS World," a visual novel-styled video game in which players assume the role of the K-pop titan's managers. It has registered 12 million downloads so far, becoming one of the best-selling K-pop-related games.
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| The game, "BTS Island: In The SEOM," will be launched later this year. Courtesy of HYBE |
HYBE has more games in the pipeline.
One of them is the mobile puzzle game, "BTS Island: In The SEOM," in which BTS members participated during its development. Created by HYBE IM, the game will hit the global market later this year, but it has already exceeded 1 million registrations as of April, according to HYBE.
But why is the company dedicating its blood, sweat and tears to develop so many games? Experts say the potential profitability of a game is one big reason.
"The size of the domestic gaming market is far larger than that of the music market, so K-pop labels can rack up huge profits once they make a successful game," Ko Jeong-min, a professor at Hongik University's Graduate School of Arts and Cultural Management, told The Korea Times.
The total sales of the domestic gaming market stood at around 18 trillion won ($14 billion) in 2020, compared to about 6.1 trillion won ($4.8 billion) for the music market in the same year, according to Korea Creative Content Agency.
Knowing this fact, HYBE has been striving to create a hit game over the past few years. Its "indirect sales" ― referring to revenue generated from selling products other than the company's primary source, i.e., music, such as games and merchandise ― accounted for only 28.1 percent of its total sales in 2018, but more than doubled to 58.3 percent last year.
HYBE is not the only K-pop record label that has been mesmerized by games.
YG Entertainment, home to A-list stars like BLACKPINK and BIGBANG, recently formed a strategic partnership with the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, to create a metaverse game. SM Entertainment, which houses NCT and aespa, already released a rhythm game titled, "SuperStar SM Town," in 2014.
The fact that a growing number of entertainment companies are setting foot into the non-fungible token (NFT) and metaverse market should be noted, Ko says.
"There are various game platforms that can be used to sell K-pop-related digital content and merchandise," he pointed out. "Singers can even stage virtual concerts on these platforms by creating their virtual characters. Even if they go on a hiatus for some reason, they can still take the stage in games. They can also expand their fictional universes and engage their fans."
Wi Jong-hyun, a professor at the business administration and economics department at Chung-Ang University and the president of the Korea Game Society (KCGS), echoed this sentiment.
"A game can provide a comprehensive platform, as evidenced by the case of online video game 'Fortnite,'" he said. "American DJ Marshmello and hip-hop star Travis Scott recently played virtual concerts on Fortnite and attracted a large number of viewers. It is pretty natural for K-pop labels to join forces with game companies, given that they always seek different ways to utilize their stars' IP."
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| Hip-hop star Travis Scott's virtual concert on Fortnite / Screenshot from Travis Scott's YouTube channel |
Game publishers are willing to hop on the K-pop bandwagon as well, with some of them going beyond developing K-pop games. Last January, NCSOFT launched the K-pop fan community service, "UNIVERSE," which enables fans to receive messages from their favorite singers, like Kang Daniel, MONSTA X and (G)I-DLE, and to have "private calls" with their AI-rendered voices. It reached the milestone of 12 million downloads in December.
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| NCSOFT's fan community service, "UNIVERSE" / Courtesy of NCSOFT |
Partnering with K-pop agencies also helps game companies reduce risks.
"People in the game industry pour a lot of time, effort and money into developing a new game, but this does not guarantee success," Ko explained. "But when a game features a K-pop act, the risk goes down significantly, as the group often has loyal fans, who will loosen their purse strings to buy the game or some paid items."
But since game publishers are not experts on K-pop, they often choose to team up with K-pop labels, Wi says.
"The world of K-pop is utterly different from that of games," he stressed. "So game publishers often opt for collaboration in the beginning to get a glimpse of the entertainment scene. This is the same for K-pop companies. HYBE, for instance, joined hands with Netmarble in the beginning and then created its subsidiary consisting of some 80 game experts."
The collaborations between K-pop and games are likely to increase in the future, but the professors pointed out that there are challenges to tackle.
"The two industries need to remember that they are different in almost all aspects," Wi said. "The way that K-pop labels promote their singers is different from the way that game companies promote their games. So if they want to create synergy, they need to understand these differences to avoid conflicts and work in harmony."
Ko underscored the significance of quality.
"So far, the majority of K-pop games have not been of superior quality, as they put too much emphasis on the K-pop stars," he said. "If K-pop labels and game companies want to garner more players in addition to K-pop fans, they should endeavor to lift game quality so that more diverse players find it entertaining. Maybe they can first start with a casual game to attract K-pop fans as well as young female players. I believe they should not 'exploit' K-pop fans just because they are loyal."
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