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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: WZEN), (KOSDAQ: 069080) |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 28, 2000 |
| Headquarters | Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea |
| Key people | ChangKeun Kim, President/CEO |
| Industry | Internet gaming |
| Products | Mu Online, SUN, Huxley |
| Website | [1] or [2] |
Webzen Inc. or Webzen (NASDAQ: WZEN) is a video game publisher and video game developer based in South Korea. Their two most popular games are Mu Online and SUN. Their much-anticipated massively multiplayer game Huxley is expected to be released in 2009. Webzen will be publishing an unnamed MMORPG from Red 5 Studios. [3]
Webzen, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and distribution of online games, software licensing, and other related services primarily in the Republic of Korea and other Asian countries. The company is also developing various multiplayer online role games like Huxley: The Dystopia.
Contents |
Webzen games
- MU Online [1]
- Soul of the Ultimate Nation [2] [3]
- WIKI [4] - previously in development, no plans for that game
- MU 2 - in its initial stages of development
- Parfait Station - going to be redeveloped under the request of NHN Games
Global Portal's Games
- MU Online - in service
- Archlord - in service from August 19th, 2009* [9] [10] (developed by NHN Games)
- Soul of the Ultimate Nation - in service from October 21st, 2009 [11] [12]
- R2: Reign of Revolution - coming soon (developed by NHN Games)
- Huxley - coming in 2010
Some History Facts
In 2001 Webzen developed its first MMORPG "MU Online". It was the first of its kind full 3D MMORPG developed in Korea. Soon MU became a craze for gamers worldwide which led to the opening of the Global server of the game back in October 2003. Currently, the global version of MU Online boasts more than 56 million registered users. MU has been introduced in many other countries such as Japan, China, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines. In December 2005 Webzen landed an agreement with the US-based company K2 Network to publish MU Global. The contract was valid until May 31st, 2009. Since June 11th, 2009, Webzen has been once again the publisher of Global MU Online.
Being a MMORPG, MU needs to be constantly updated in order to keep up with other games of its genre. MU's updates consist of small and larger patches with the larger called "seasons", similar to "expansions" in other games. As of 2009, there is a total of five MU seasons:
- 2005 - Season 1 (came in Spring 2007 to MU Global)
- 2006 - Season 2 (came in Summer 2007 to MU Global)
- 2007 - Season 3 (Korea)
- 2008 - Season 4 (came in Spring 2009 to MU Global)
- 2009 - Season 5, "MU Blue" brand's service start
- 2010 - Upcoming Updates:
* Summoner Master Skill * Fully Completed Master Skill Tree * Improved Trade System * New character, New Map and New Event Map
In April 2009 Webzen opened its Global Games Portal.
In August 2009 WEBZEN announced that NHN GAMES' Archlord was the second game to be published via its Global Games Portal. At first, Archlord was planned to be published/serviced for users in South America and South East Asia, but in September 2009, after NHN Games, the developer of Archlord, and Codemasters, the NA and EU publisher of the game, failed to reach an agreement on renewing Codemasters' contract, the European and North American service of Archlord was also transferred to Webzen in October 2009.
Later in October the same year, Webzen started the global service of its long-anticipated game Soul of the Ultimate Nation (abbreviated as SUN), which was launched in Korea back in Fall 2006. SUN was Webzen's third game on the Global Portal and the second game developed by the Korean company in 2005/early 2006 after the success of MU Online. In 2010 Webzen is planning to service SUN in additional languages other than English.
Huxley: The Dystopia and R2: Reign of Revolution are Webzen's next hosting titles. They are expected to be launched sometime in 2010.
Under NHN Games' request, Webzen is now developing MU Online's original sequel - MU2, which is stated for beta testing in the end of 2010/beginning of 2011, and Parfait Station.
References
- ^ IGN: MU Online
- ^ IGN: Soul of the Ultimate Nation
- ^ IGN: Soul of the Ultimate Nation
- ^ IGN: Project Wiki
- ^ The discontinued project "WIKI"
- ^ IGN: Huxley: The Dystopia
- ^ IGN: Huxley: The Dystopia
- ^ Huxley: The Dystopia
- ^ Webzen begins Archlord's service
- ^ Archlord Global by Webzen
- ^ SUN CB Test
- ^ IJJI'S SUN CONTEST
- ^ MU BLUE AND MU SEASON 5
- ^ Webzen
- ^ The9 plagiarizing a Webzen title
- ^ Webzen takes proper measures against The9's plagiarized copy of the original MU
External links
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