If you're looking to unlock significant new audiences for your PC game sales, South Korea presents a prime opportunity. While sometimes left out of marketing conversations, it’s poised for rapid growth over the next five years, and is a key pillar in all of our major marketing campaigns.
In this blog, we look at why gaming is popular in South Korea, how we can help you market your game, and go over a case study of our success in the region.
The PC gaming market in South Korea is the fourth largest in the world, yet is regularly left out of marketing strategies for PC games, with more attention being given to America and Europe.
In our opinion, this is a mistake. South Korea is a substantial market to be leaving out of your promotion strategy, with the video game market projected to reach US$ 8.85 million in revenue by 2030, and with a robust CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 14.5% expected from now to 2030.
In 2023, South Korea accounted for over 6% of the global PC gaming market.
Perhaps most importantly: the average revenue per gamer in South Korea ranks among the highest globally, second only to Japan, and is predicted to become the global leader in revenue. South Korean gamers have a strong income, a passion for gaming, and are looking for their next game to support. With the right marketing strategy, it could be yours.
Before we dive into how we can help, let’s look at why video games are so popular in South Korea.
The South Korean government has invested into the technology infrastructure of the country, significantly improving internet speed. This has allowed competitive gaming to flourish, with PC bars and cafes becoming community hubs for gamers to hang out and play, but also to get advice, hone their skills, or try new games they might otherwise never have heard about.
Certain games like Starcraft have become cultural juggernauts thanks to the South Korean PC gaming community, and the social aspect is a huge part of why the game has flourished.
Spaces like these are a reminder that gaming can be a powerful driver for community, something which can and should be tapped into in any successful marketing strategy.
Esports are big in South Korea. Again, this is all thanks to the gaming community that has been built up over the years, with social media and streaming helping to generate hype for the competitions. There are organized leagues, teams with merchandise, sold-out stadium events, and even professional coaches who specialise in specific characters for certain games.
With esports being such a big part of the gaming culture in South Korea, it’s an obvious area to target with ad spend, influencer marketing, or social marketing.
Mobile gaming has been on the rise for more than a decade, and has taken the South Korean market by storm. South Korean mobile games have achieved global success, and introduced millions of players to a new format for gaming.
Mobile games can act as a gateway for casual players to branch out into the wider gaming ecosystem, with many eventually upgrading to a PC to handle more complex games. There’s been a boom of IPs developing mobile games to capture the interest of a wider audience, and then funneling them towards higher-end experiences on PC and console once they’ve become fans.
Given everything we’ve spoken about, why do many indie game brands overlook marketing in South Korea?
While South Korea boasts a substantial PC gaming audience, penetrating the market from the outside can be challenging as there is a unique culture, different social platforms, and a different language to speak.
Fortunately, Green Man Gaming has a dedicated Territory Manager, Sua, who can provide invaluable assistance with all aspects of marketing in South Korea:
Engaging with key South Korean gaming influencers to promote your game
Organic and PPC advertising on Naver, South Korea's leading search and social media platform
Collaborating with prominent South Korean gaming communities and affiliates
Securing valuable media coverage within the region
Identifying and managing relevant sponsorship opportunities
Running targeted email campaigns to engaged South Korean gamers
All marketing copy is expertly translated by Sua, ensuring culturally relevant and effective communication, far beyond the capabilities of generic AI translations. This leads to strong engagement and click-through rates, which is why for many of our marketing campaigns, South Korea ranks as the third-largest country for game sales.
Our close collaboration with Sony PlayStation was instrumental in promoting their AAA game releases, with us working on major titles such as Spider-Man, God of War, The Last of Us Part I, Returnal, and many others.
During these campaigns, we consistently achieved No. 1 search ranking on 리터널 Naver, the country's most influential search and social media platform. Our campaigns typically blend brand awareness initiatives with conversion-focused tactics, utilising micro-influencers, display advertising, press releases, and targeted Naver ads to drive sales.
These campaigns achieve cost-effective and large-scale reach, averaging around 10-25 million impressions per campaign. All our campaigns have generated well over 100% ROI for our partners, establishing South Korea as the third-largest sales territory for each campaign period.
To explore how you can effectively promote your game within the South Korean market, please contact Adele Simpson, EVP of Performance Marketing at Green Man Gaming.
Read more about marketing for PC games, or learn about Fractional Publishing for video games.