[E-Daily Reporter An Yu-ri ] Kakao Games Corp.(293490)announced on the 24th that “Today’s Walnut,” a new casual brain training game developed by Beluga (CEO Kim Jong-yun), a startup specializing in cognitive function assessment and treatment, has been officially launched in South Korea.

“Today’s Walnut” is the official service name for the “Walnut” project, which Kakao Games Corp. and Beluga have been jointly developing. Beluga is a startup specializing in cognitive function assessment and digital therapeutics, comprised of a research team from Seoul National University College of Medicine and a group of experts including cognitive scientists and neuroengineers; it develops games based on research in neuroscience and cognitive psychology.

In particular, “Today’s Walnut” is designed to help users manage five key cognitive domains—memory, attention (concentration), executive function, language skills, and spatio-temporal skills—in a balanced manner. With intuitive gameplay and diverse content, it is designed so that anyone—regardless of age or gender—can use it easily and consistently in their daily lives, allowing people of all ages interested in brain health to enjoy it without any pressure.

Users can train their core cognitive functions by enjoying a variety of casual games every day and continuously track their progress through domain-specific growth records. In addition to casual games, the app features “Mission Challenges” where users can tackle various goals and a “Social Ranking” system that allows them to compete with other users by comparing scores, adding to the fun of playing together.

Each game incorporates scientifically proven cognitive enhancement techniques and, based on highly reliable cognitive assessments and training feedback, helps users continuously monitor their cognitive status and track their training progress.

Kakao Games Corp. and Beluga signed a business agreement in 2023 and have been conducting joint research on functional games for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of dementia. Professor Min Kyung-bok of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine participated as a member of the joint research team. The team has continued its research in this area, including the publication of a paper in the medical journal *Diagnostics* that demonstrated the effectiveness of cognitive function measurement in “Brain OK,” a game for detecting signs of dementia launched in June 2024 prior to “Today’s Walnut.”