[Edaily Marketin, Reporter Song Seung-Hyeon ] A trend is emerging among venture capital (VC) firms investing in the gaming industry to consider not only development capabilities but also the extent to which management communicates directly with users as a criterion for investment decisions. This comes as there have been repeated instances where a game’s success or failure is determined not by its launch date but by its post-launch operations—the so-called “live service” phase.

According to the VC industry on the 19th, Mr. A, an investment analyst at a VC firm specializing in game investments, recently met with companies that had requested investment reviews but is still deliberating on whether to invest. Although he comes from a major domestic game company, he was unable to readily answer the question: “If a problem arises during game operations, would you be willing to step in personally to reassure the users?”

In fact, since last year, there have been a series of cases in the domestic gaming industry where operational responses have led to diametrically opposed business outcomes. NCSoft’s “Aion 2,” released on November 19, 2025, held 16 live streams during its first 100 days, with the head of development appearing directly before users. During a broadcast last December, the company announced that its retention rate had exceeded 80%, and in a broadcast this past January, it revealed that cumulative revenue had surpassed 100 billion won just 46 days after launch. NCSoft’s PC online revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 reached 168.2 billion won, an 80% increase year-over-year, marking the highest quarterly figure since 2017.

In contrast, Smilegate’s “Lost Ark,” once hailed as a model of communication culture, saw a mass exodus of users due to overlapping issues with its in-game economy and rewards. It was assessed that a live broadcast held last April actually worsened public sentiment, and the game’s share of PC bang usage time dropped from around 4% at the beginning of the year to 1.62%. Based on Smilegate RPG’s audit report, Lost Ark’s revenue, which stood at 475.8 billion won in 2024, is estimated to have decreased to around 280 billion won in 2025.

It was revealed that Nexon’s “Maple Raising” had corrected a probability error without notifying users; in January of this year, the company issued a joint apology from its co-CEOs and refunded the full amount of all in-game purchases made since the game’s launch. In a February shareholder letter, Nexon Japan projected that the refunds would reduce revenue by approximately 14 billion yen (about 130 billion won) and operating profit by approximately 7 billion yen. In essence, whether or not a major game company communicates with its users has a decisive impact on its financial performance.

The fact that communication with users determines a game’s success or failure is not unique to major game companies. Epid Games, which operates the subculture collectible RPG “Trickle Revive,” is a prime example. Aligning with the game’s worldview—in which users refer to the CEO as the “Guru”—Epid Games adopted a strategy where the CEO and COO personally appeared on live streams to engage directly with users.

The results followed. Epid Games’ 2025 revenue reached 46.8 billion won—more than double the previous year’s figure (21.6 billion won)—and operating profit grew by 136.1% year-over-year to 8.8 billion won. As of April of this year, “Trickle” ranked 5th in South Korea and 11th in Japan on the Google Play revenue chart, and its cumulative revenue—including global sales—is estimated at approximately 154 billion won ($100 million). Epid Games has reportedly been pursuing an investment in the 20 billion won range since the second half of last year and is in the final stages of negotiations with a global company.

Mr. A, an investment analyst at a gaming-focused venture capital firm, said, “Whereas we used to look at development capabilities, intellectual property (IP), and the team’s track record, we now specifically verify whether the team has experience operating a service and, furthermore, whether the CEO has the ability to communicate openly and directly with users when issues arise.” He added, “After witnessing several instances where real-time responses changed revenue trajectories, we’ve expanded our evaluation criteria.”