Lineage M, the mobile version of South Korea’s all-time favorite multiplayer role-playing label, has attracted more than 10 million users in a month since its launch, raising expectations that its revenue would have set a new record high in the local game industry.

South Korean online game giant NCSoft Corp., the creator of Lineage M, said on Thursday that more than 10 million users have joined to play the game until Wednesday. The game had received pre-orders from 5.5 million people before its launch on June 21.

The rapid increase in the number of its users has raised expectations that its monthly revenue might have already surpassed the local game industry’s all-time high of 206 billion won set by Lineage 2: Revolution of its arch rival Netmarble Games Corp. Lineage M also made a milestone of revenue record by raking in 100 billion won ($89 million) in just 12 days after its launch, the rapidest gain in the Korean game industry. NCSoft has yet to disclose the monthly revenue.

The success of the new mobile role playing game has come after it has successfully attracted gamers in their 30s and 40s who enjoyed the prequel of the game when they were young. Lineage M is a sequel of Lineage, a medieval fantasy and online role-playing game that had become a huge hit since its launch in 1998.

Until the release of Lineage M, mobile games have been mainly played by those in their 10s and 20s. But according to a survey conducted by app analytics firm WiseApp Inc. on the launching day of Lineage M last month, 51 percent of its users were in their 30s, while 22 percent in their 20s, 19 percent 40s, and 7 percent teens.

Thanks to the huge hit of the game, demand for emulators (app players) including Nox, BlueStacks, and MEmu that help run mobile apps on a wider computer screen is also growing.

By Seo Dong-cheol

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]