Vortex Gaming

MMORPG 'Yulgang Online,' representing Mgame, is approaching its 20th anniversary.

'Yulgang Online,' which officially launched in South Korea on November 25, 2004, is a game based on the martial arts comic 'Yulgang,' with story by Jeon Geuk-jin and art by Yang Jae-hyun. 'Yulgang Online,' which appeared like a comet during the golden age of online games, gained popularity thanks to the popularity of the original work, with about 50,000 people signing up on the first day of its opening, paralyzing all server channels, and exceeding 70,000 concurrent users in just two months after its release. This popularity allowed it to advance into China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and the United States, and in 2005, it was honored with the Presidential Award at the Korea Game Awards.

The secret to the popularity of 'Yulgang Online' lies in its pursuit of 'comic martial arts.' Based on the original's solid story and vast worldview, it presents a different kind of fun from the original by bringing to life action and impact with friendly 5-headed characters, bright pastel-toned graphics, facial emoticons, and spectacular martial arts effects unfolding in 3D. In addition, like the original, the conflict structure between the Righteous, Evil, and Neutral factions and the unification of the martial arts world were implemented as a war system, which led to a high response.

Currently, 'Yulgang Online' is enjoying its second heyday due to its success in China. At the same time as the start of the Chinese service in 2005, it won as many as 7 awards related to the game, causing a sensation in the Chinese game industry, and in 2019, starting with the castle siege update, it started to run backwards, renewing not only the number of users but also sales day by day.

'Yulgang,' the original IP of 'Yulgang Online,' is one of the most representative martial arts comics, which started serialization in 1994 and is the longest-running Korean comic that marks its 30th anniversary in 2024. Story writer Jeon Geuk-jin and artist Yang Jae-hyun have been working together for a long time, and the combination of comic and deep stories and martial arts has opened a new chapter in the Korean comics industry.

This martial arts comic, which was once the exclusive property of men, changed its fate by attaching digital wings called 'online game.' 'Yulgang Online,' developed based on the popular comic 'Yulgang,' is a 'comic martial arts online game' with cute 5-headed characters and bright graphics, unlike the original, which pursued the world of orthodox martial arts.

The graphics were implemented in a cartoon rendering method, and splendid motions and martial arts effects were added to captivate users at once. Thanks to this, it gained great popularity, winning the 'Grand Prize' and 'Popularity Award' at the 2005 Korea Game Awards, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

As the history of comics has lengthened, the game's internal skills have also become solid, firmly maintaining the lifeline of PC online games. While numerous PC online games have appeared and disappeared in the market, it has steadily communicated with users and has emerged as a representative work of domestic PC online games.

'Yulgang Online' started its Chinese service in 2005 after undergoing thorough localization work by dispatching main-level developers to the site to advance into the Chinese market. The genre of martial arts, which is familiar to the emotions of Chinese people, was added, and it became an online game that formed a duopoly with 'The Legend of Mir 2,' which was very popular at the time.

'Yulgang Online,' which had been maintaining solid sales with steady growth, is entering its second heyday once again, starting with the castle siege update in 2019. With the influx of new users due to new content updates and the game environment booming, it has been continuously renewing its highest monthly sales ever in China since 2020, showing good performance that is hard to believe for a 20-year-old game, such as renewing its highest sales.

In August 2022, a renewal contract was signed with its Chinese partner, Beijing Hualian Jingwei Technology Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Beijing Hualian Jingwei, formerly 17 games, CEO Soon Jingqing), for a scale of $18.16 million, up 390% from the previous contract of $4.65 million.

In October 2022, the highest monthly sales since the service was renewed due to the expansion of the highest level, the addition of new level 160 equipment update, the National Day event, and item sales, and in May of the following year, 2023, a new server was added in the Guangzhou area due to the increasing trend of users.

In July 2023, a license agreement was signed with Chinese game developer 'Kingnet' to allow the use of 'Yulgang Online' resources. Under this contract, Kingnet is developing and servicing 'Jeonmin Gangho' in China using the graphic resources of 'Yulgang Online,' and Mgame receives a contract fee of $2.75 million and royalties for the service. Mgame will be in charge of the domestic publishing service of 'Jeonmin Gangho' with the goal of launching in the second half of this year.

Thanks to the popularity of 'Yulgang Online' in Greater China and the strong overseas sales of long-lived games, it recorded sales of 73.4 billion won in 2022 and 81.6 billion won in 2023, achieving the highest sales since its foundation for two consecutive years.

There are five main reasons why 'Yulgang Online' was able to make a reverse run in China starting in 2019: the castle siege update in 2019, rapid updates and continuous events, synergy effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in new releases in China, stable operation and reliable response from Chinese publishers, and expansion of users due to the opening of new local servers.

■ Increased Users with 'Castle Siege' Update in 2019

'Yulgang Online' implemented a large-scale castle siege update in May 2019. Castle siege is a battle content between forces to occupy territory, divided into siege and defense camps. New content updates have brought in a large number of new users, and 'Castle Siege' has become a new source of vitality for existing users, creating an opportunity to heat up the game. Since then, the number of concurrent users has steadily increased, with the average number of concurrent users increasing by 15% per year. With this booming game environment, the number of returning users naturally increased, and 'Yulgang Online' gradually gained word of mouth among users in China, marking its second heyday.

■ Quick Updates and Events 'Continuous'

'Yulgang Online,' which has been satisfying its fandom for more than a decade and providing stable service, has utilized a strategy of continuously playing the game by connecting updates and events in a timely manner. It provided Chinese users with opportunities to acquire the equipment and accessories they wanted, and then connected the strengthening event to stimulate their desire to purchase. In addition, the Singles' Day discount event lowered the consumption barrier and increased sales. In this way, users were able to have continuity in their game play through event links.

In particular, large-scale events ranging from the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day to Singles' Day were held in detail. Since then, users have responded well to general in-game events, not large updates or special events, and those responses have naturally led to sales.

■ 'Synergy' Effect Due to COVID-19 Benefits and Decrease in New Releases in China

As the 'homebody' life became commonplace due to the impact of COVID-19, which began in December 2019, users' game usage time increased, and new releases decreased significantly in a situation where regulations on game laws, such as banning not only foreign but also domestic licenses in China, were tightened, and this situation coincided with 'Yulgang Online' becoming more popular.

■ Stable Operation, Reliable Response from Chinese Publisher

Beijing Hualian Jingwei, the Chinese regional service provider of 'Yulgang Online,' is Mgame's long-time partner. We have been operating a stable game service by working closely with developers and publishers for a long time. In particular, the publisher is reliably responding to the Chinese government's strict guidelines and regulations for game services, and is preparing in advance and checking from time to time to prevent problems from occurring.

China has even stronger regulations on youth games, and 'Yulgang Online' does not have any risks such as decreased sales because accounts under the age of 18 cannot be created or paid for. In addition, while domestic game companies are having difficulty obtaining Chinese licenses, 'Yulgang Online' is already doing well in Chinese services with the licenses it has already obtained. In addition, the Chinese publisher is imposing strict penalties on private server operators to ensure that there are no disruptions to the game service.

■ User 'Expansion' by Opening New Local Servers

'Yulgang Online' has been operating 36 servers in 11 regions, including Shanghai, Chongqing, Qingdao, and Xi'an, since its service in 2005. As Yulgang Online made a reverse run in China, a new server was opened in Wuxi, China in June 2022, reflecting the needs of users for the first time in 10 years. As a large number of users flocked to the new regional server, the influx of users to all channels surged and the game fever rose once again. Since then, in May 2023, a new server was opened in the Guangzhou area, continuing the trend of increasing users, and in June 2024, one new server was added in the Wuxi area, continuing the heat.

웹진 인벤윤홍만 기자
2024-11-19