“BTS World”, a new mobile game in which the game user manages the career of South Korean boy group BTS that has raised Beatles-like syndrome around the world, is poised to become an instant global hit game.

According to mobile app analytics platform App Annie, BTS World was the top free game at App Store in 33 countries including Korea and those in North America, Europe, and Asia as of 9 a.m. on Thursday.

South Korea’s leading game publisher Netmarble Corp. officially released the story telling game BTS World on June 26, and it took only 14 hours for the newly game to sweep Apple App charts across the globe since its launch.

By country, the mobile game topped App Store charts in the United States, Canada, and Russia, second in the United Kingdom and France, and third in Germany, Spain, and Italy. It was also No. 1 in Japan, the world’s largest game market, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia, and second in Taiwan.

In Korea’s Apple App Store, BTS World ranked No. 4 in terms of revenue backed by its popular downloads.

The BTS manager game also made it to top five list in all 82 countries after ranking first in 13 major Apple App stores including Korea, the U.S., and Japan, in just five hours its release.

Industry experts noted that the latest Netmarble game has succeeded to win the hearts of gamers as it sought to offer differentiated entertainment from those popular existing mobile games that mainly focus on character breeding and item farming. Instead, BTS World enables its players to take on a role of BTS manager and guide the members to build career.

Netmarble also maximized excitement and interest by offering interactive contents and over 10,000 photos of BTS members and 100 videos. The game allows players to both directly and indirectly interact with BTS members instead of breeding characters and farming items.

Shares of Netmarble closed 0.82 percent or 1,000 won ($0.86) higher at 122,500 won on Thursday.

By Lee Yong-ik and Lee Eun-joo

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