‘Battlegrounds’ has surpassed 20% in weekly shares. It signaled start of its official service as it had closed the gap with number one game called ‘League of Legends’.
According to Gametrics, which provides statistics especially on PC cafes, on the 19th, Battlegrounds recorded 22.24% of shares on hours of use during the second week of October and is placed on the second place. It is its best weekly shares since it begin its service and it also closed the gap with League of Legends (LoL), which recorded 25.25% of shares, within 3%.
If this trend continues, it is expected that it will be able to compete with LoL for the first place around the start of its official service. LoL has been defending its first place for 40 weeks in a row. Although it was able to defend its first place for the most of the times since it began its service in 2011, it had faced heavy competitions.
KakaoGames started preorder period for Battlegrounds on the 17th. Compared to Steam version (19 years and older) of Battlegrounds that was released based on an early access version, it received a rating of 15 years and older.
With this rating, it will be able to attract teenagers who are not able to access the game currently. On the 24th, KakaoGames is going to announce policies on users and PC cafes through its media showcase.
After Battlegrounds was released through Steam in April, 10 million copies were sold globally.
Although it was an early access version, it was practically an official release and most of PC game users with intentions of playing Battlegrounds already purchased the game. Accumulated sales of Battlegrounds is estimated to be at least $177 million (200 billion KRW). People who purchased Steam version do not have to pay additional fees for playing Battlegrounds after purchasing the game.
Microsoft’s console called XBOX ONE, payment system for PC cafes in South Korea, additional contents such as new maps, and start of the official service in certain countries such as China are seen as areas that can bring in more sales for Battlegrounds. Bluehole’s subsidiary called PUBG, which developed Battlegrounds, started channeling Battlegrounds in Russia on the 17th through a Russian internet service provider called Mail.Ru.
Excluding China where it will be difficult to provide service in due to controversy regarding THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), it seems that an outline of rest of the business will come out around the start of the official service of Battlegrounds.
Battlegrounds has a crucial impact on a possibility of KakaoGames and Bluehole being listed on South Korean stock markets. It holds the key for these two companies to grow as mid-tier game developers that are placed right below the leading game developers such as Nexon, Netmarble Games, and NCSoft.
Stock industries are estimating that the value of KakaoGames to be between $442 million (500 billion KRW) and $1.33 billion (1.5 trillion KRW). Performance of Battlegrounds is one of the important elements that will determine the value of KakaoGames. Bluehole’s stock price also skyrocked from $26.52 (30,000 KRW) in January to $530.29 (600,000 KRW) in October. Based on number of outstanding shares, value of Bluehole surpasses $4.42 billion (5 trillion KRW).
“It is crucial for Battlegrounds to secure sources of regular sales while continuing this popularity.” said a representative for a game developer. “Because it has been a while since a South Korean IP (Intellectual Property) is targeting global markets, it is important for KakaoGames and Bluehole to take a careful and detailed approach.”
Staff Reporter Kim, Siso | siso@etnews.com