The cellular sequel to PUBG: Battlegrounds, the 2017 recreation that pioneered the battle royale style, is launching Nov 11.
Seoul-based Krafton Inc. has staked a lot of its future on increasing PUBG into an mental property juggernaut spanning totally different video games and genres of leisure, and PUBG: New State will mark the primary massive check of that technique.
The smartphone recreation is launching in additional than 200 international locations and in 17 totally different languages and it’s already had over 50 million pre-registrations, the corporate stated.
Set in 2051, the futuristic title will characteristic improved graphics and an expansive new battle map for as much as 100 gamers. It will likely be playable on iOS and Android and the corporate has carried out a collection of early exams with choose contributors, which is able to wrap with two days of ultimate testing on the finish of this month.
New State is the most important debut since PUBG’s authentic launch and is seen as instrumental to Krafton’s diversification technique. The corporate bought off to a rocky begin on public markets in August, falling as a lot as 20% after its preliminary providing, nonetheless the inventory has staged a restoration in latest weeks and is now again at its IPO worth. Krafton depends on PUBG for 97% of its earnings.
“PUBG: New State inherits the core of the PUBG IP and could have a competitiveness in and of itself on the worldwide market,” Kim Chang-han, chief government officer of Krafton, stated throughout an internet showcase. Kim has beforehand talked in regards to the firm’s plans to develop the fantasy universe with animated reveals, internet cartoons and films.
Gross sales of the brand new recreation are anticipated to achieve round 2.2tril gained (RM7.8bil) in 2022, in line with a be aware written by Kim Dong-hee, analyst at Meritz Securities Co. China’s regulatory crackdown on the video games sector could have restricted affect on Krafton, Kim stated, and the brand new title will additional cut back the corporate’s reliance on the Chinese language market.
Krafton plans to launch one other PUBG-related recreation on consoles and PC by subsequent 12 months in addition to a survival horror recreation in 2022 that can depict the PUBG universe three centuries into the long run. – Bloomberg