Nexon launches hit RPG Blue Archive in China

South Korea’s major game company Nexon Co. on Thursday said it officially released on the Chinese market Blue Archive, a subculture mobile role-playing game (RPG) developed by its subsidiary Nexon Games Co.

The game is available in both Android and iOS versions and can be downloaded through its official website, the (Apple) App Store, and Android app platforms such as Bilibili and TapTap.

During its testing period in China in June, Blue Archive topped the popular game rankings in major app market platforms with 4.25 million pre-registrations.

Shanghai Roaming Star, a subsidiary of subculture hitmaker Yostar Games, supervises the game's Chinese edition. Shanghai Roaming Star is holding a large-scale offline secondary creation festival ahead of Blue Archive's release and promotional activities like the opening of an official merchandise store in time for the debut.

"I want to express my gratitude to all Chinese teachers (an expression referring to the game's users) who've been waiting for Blue Archive," said Kim Yong-ha, Nexon Games' executive producer of the game's development. "I'll do my best to receive love from them for a long time."

Blue Archive was released in Japan in February 2021 and other countries like South Korea and North America in November that year. It topped the sales charts on Japan's Android and iOS markets and the App Store and One Store in South Korea.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com