Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront developed by Valve Corporation. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 to provide game updates automatically for Valve's games, and expanded to distributing third-party titles in late 2005. Steam offers various features, like game server matchmaking with Valve Anti-Cheat measures, social networking, and game streaming services. Steam client's functions include game update automation, cloud storage for game progress, and community features such as direct messaging, in-game overlay functions and a virtual collectable marketplace.
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.
The video game industry in Mainland China currently is one of the major markets for the global video game industry, where more than half a billion people play video games. Revenues from China make up around 25% of nearly US$100 billion video game industry as of 2018, and since 2015 has exceeded the contribution to the global market from the United States. Because of its market size, China has been described as the "Games Industry Capital of the World" and is home to some of the largest video game companies. China has also been a major factor in the growth of esports, both in player talent and in revenue.
Unknown Worlds Entertainment is an American video game developer based in San Francisco. The studio is best known for the Natural Selection and Subnautica series. In October 2021, the studio was acquired by South Korean video game developer Krafton.
Crossfire is an online tactical first-person shooter game developed by Smilegate Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. It was first released in South Korea on May 3, 2007.
Video gaming in India is an emerging market since India is experiencing strong growth in online gaming, making it one of the top gaming markets in the world. Over the past few decades, the Indian gaming industry has gone from close to nonexistent in the 1990s to one of the top markets globally in the late 2010s. In 2019, the online gaming market in India was estimated at ₹6,200 crore (US$780 million) with an estimated 300 million gamers, a 41.6% increase from 2018. As of 2021, it is one of the top five mobile gaming markets in the world. By the third quarter of 2020 there were more than 7.4 billion mobile game downloads. The industry is projected to reach 510 million gamers by 2022.
Pangyo Techno Valley (PTV) is an industrial complex in the city of Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is also known as the Silicon Valley of Korea. The complex focuses on information technology, biotech, cultural technology and fusion technology. One of the benefits of the diversity of fields and businesses is the maximized growth potential in the field of high-tech technology through exchanges between the companies. The location within a major metropolitan area creates synergy effects because of the proximity to other techno valleys or adjacent knowledge-based infrastructure clusters in the province. The business environment of the PTV is supported by the government of the Gyeonggi Province through the implementation of various support facilities as for examples a R&D center or public support center.
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alpha, alpha, and/or beta, while the developer is able to use those funds to continue further development on the game. Those that pay to participate typically help to debug the game, provide feedback and suggestions, may have access to special materials in the game. The early-access approach is a common way to obtain funding for indie games, and may also be used along with other funding mechanisms, including crowdfunding. Many crowdfunding projects promise to offer access to alpha and/or beta versions of the game as development progresses; however, unlike some of these projects which solicit funds but do not yet have a playable game, all early access games offer an immediately playable version of the unfinished game to players.
Amazon Games is an American video game company and division of the online retailing company Amazon that primarily focuses on publishing video games developed within the company's development divisions.
PUBG: Battlegrounds is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. The game, which was inspired by the Japanese film Battle Royale (2000), is based on previous mods created by Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene for other games, and expanded into a standalone game under Greene's creative direction. It is the first game in the PUBG Universe series.
A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who start with minimal equipment and then must eliminate all other opponents while avoiding being trapped outside a shrinking "safe area", with the winner being the last player or team alive.
Tencent Games is the video game publishing subdivision of Tencent Interactive Entertainment, the digital entertainment division of Tencent Holdings. It has five internal studio groups, including TiMi Studio Group. Tencent Games was founded in 2003 to focus on online games. In 2021, it launched its international Level Infinite brand, which is stated to be operated from its Singapore office.
Brendan Greene, better known as PlayerUnknown, is an Irish video game developer. He is best known for his work on PUBG: Battlegrounds. He left active development on the game to form PUBG Special Projects and PlayerUnknown Productions in March 2019.
Kwon Hyuk-Bin is a South Korean businessman, investor, and philanthropist. A billionaire who co-founded South Korea's third largest gaming company, Smilegate, which is the maker of the popular Crossfire games. Crossfire has gone on to become the most popular first-person shooter game in history. He owns 100% of Smilegate Holdings, which he founded in 2002.
Krafton Inc. is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang-gu, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang-Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and its subsidiaries. The company has published several notable video game titles including TERA, PUBG: Battlegrounds, New State Mobile,The Callisto Protocol and Moonbreaker. According to Forbes, Chang has a net worth of $2.9 billion and is one of the seven gaming billionaires in South Korea.
Lost Ark is a 2019 MMO action role-playing game co-developed by Tripod Studio and Smilegate. It was released in South Korea in December 2019 by Smilegate and in Europe, North America, and South America in February 2022 by Amazon Games. Lost Ark cost around US$85 million to develop. The game received generally favorable reviews.
Battlegrounds Mobile India is a version of PUBG Mobile, exclusively available in India. It is an online multiplayer battle royale game by Krafton. The game was initially released on 2 July 2021 for Android devices, and on 18 August 2021 for iOS devices.
PUBG Mobile is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, a division of Tencent Games. It is a mobile game adaptation of PUBG: Battlegrounds. It was initially released for Android and iOS on 19 March 2018.
BattlEye is a proprietary anti-cheat software designed to detect players that hack or abusively use exploits in an online game. It was initially released as a third-party anti-cheat for Battlefield Vietnam in 2004 and has since been officially implemented in numerous video games, primarily shooter games such as PUBG: Battlegrounds, Arma 3, Destiny 2, and DayZ.
Crossfire is a series of video games that are mainly tactical first-person shooter games. The series was created by Smilegate and debuted on Microsoft Windows; it has expanded to other genres and platforms.
