Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams.
Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, and was a wholly owned Perfect World subsidiary, and is now owned by Embracer Group through its subsidiary DECA Games.
Battlefield is a military first-person shooter video game franchise primarily developed by Swedish company EA DICE and published by American company Electronic Arts. The series mainly focuses on online multiplayer, with gameplay taking place across large maps, and emphasizes teamwork and combined arms warfare.
Wemade Co., Ltd is a South Korean video game developer, based in Seongnam. They are the creators of the Legend of Mir series of MMORPGs, the two most successful being The Legend of Mir 2, and its sequel The Legend of Mir 3. Legend of Mir has attracted over 120 million users in Asia, and generated over $65 million a month in revenue during its height. Even today, in its ninth year of operation, Legend of Mir 2 still generates well over $20 million a month in China alone.
MU Online is an isometric medieval fantasy MMORPG, produced by Webzen, a Korean gaming company. It was introduced in 2001, and is still being supported and updated in 2024.
Huxley was a multiplayer first-person shooter computer game with persistent player characters published by Webzen Games Inc. It was being developed for Microsoft Windows. An Xbox 360 port was planned, but it has been put on an indefinite hold. Huxley initially was going to be cross platform, but according to statements made at the 2009 E3 Expo press conference that feature is currently excluded from development. The contract to operate the game in China was sold to The9 for $35 million USD on February 12, 2007, considered the largest export transaction to date for a Korean-developed game.
Webzen is a South Korean developer and publisher of video games. The company, together with its subsidiaries, also engages in software licensing and related services all over the world.
Shot Online is a massively multiplayer online golf video game which also features character development and MMORPG elements. It is developed by the Seoul-based game developer WebzenOnNet Co. Ltd., and published by Webzen under their game portal website, GamesCampus. Although there is no subscription fee or cost to download and play the game, the game offers upgraded "Gold" membership plans for a monthly fee, and additional items may be purchased using real currency through the game's website.
Dungeon Fighter Online, known in South Korea as Dungeon & Fighter, is a multiplayer beat 'em up action role-playing game, developed and published for personal computers by Neople, a South Korean subsidiary of Nexon, and originally published by Hangame in 2005. The game was originally released in South Korea as Dungeon & Fighter, then in Japan as Arad Senki, and then published in China by Tencent. A global version of Dungeon Fighter Online was released in May 2015.
Soul of the Ultimate Nation was a fantasy-based massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) produced by Webzen, a Korean-based company. It was operated in South Korea by Webzen and in mainland China by The9. The game was launched in Taiwan on April 19, and in China on May 24, 2007 as a paid online service and closed on July 3, 2013.
Flyff is a fantasy MMORPG by Korean development company Gala Lab.
T1 is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003. In April 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom began sponsoring the team, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1.
G-Star is an annual trade show for the video game industry presented by Korea Association of Game Industry and Busan IT Promotion Agency in November. Originally held in the Seoul Capital Area, it was relocated to Busan in 2009.
Respawn Entertainment, LLC is an American video game development studio founded in 2010 by Jason West and Vince Zampella and owned by Electronic Arts since 2017. West and Zampella previously co-founded Infinity Ward and created the Call of Duty franchise, where they were responsible for its development until 2010.
ASTA: The War of Tears and Winds was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by South Korean developer Polygon Games. The game was in development from 2010 through mid-October 2013.
Gala Inc. is a holding company based in Tokyo, Japan, that administers GALA Group, which is made up of subsidiary companies of Gala Inc. The group of companies comprises three types of businesses: MMORPG games, web design, and data mining. Within the group companies Gala Lab Corp. was established in South Korea after the merger of Aeonsoft and n Flavor and develops games for the group's online gaming portal gPotato. GALA Group focuses on developing largely multiplayer online role-playing games. To cover local areas, there are group companies located in the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
gPotato is a free multiplayer game portal website operated in Japan and South Korea by Gala Inc. and its subsidiaries, and formerly in North America and Europe by subsidiaries of South Korean-based Webzen. gPotato game portals are in South Korea and Japan. Games hosted at gPotato range from traditional MMORPGs to more accessible casual flash games/browser-based games, all of which are free-to-play so no annual/monthly payment is required; revenue is generated from a micropayment system. Games and their premium item shops can be accessed by the Group's regional gPotato portal sites.
KOG Co., better known as KOG Studios, is a South Korean game development company based in Daegu. They specialize in producing online free-to-play games, and currently publish the side-scrolling action MMORPG, Elsword and the early access action MMORPG, KurtzPel: Bringer of Chaos. They have also developed the game Grand Chase.
The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 44-pound (20-kilogram) Summoner's Cup, and a multi-million-dollar championship prize. In 2018, the final was watched by 99.6 million people, breaking 2017's final's viewer record. The tournament has been praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its dramatic and emotional nature.
37Games is an international browser and mobile game developer and publisher. Its gaming platform covers North America, Europe, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and several Southeast Asia countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Singapore. 37Games is registered in Shanghai and has branch offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In 2014, 37Games went public on China's A-Share stock market.
