[Edaily An Yu-ri Reporter] “Since we’ve chosen Japan as our first market, we’re preparing with the goal of making local fans feel that ‘the original work has been faithfully adapted into a game.’”

Kim Kyung-ryul, Executive Producer in charge of development at Netmarble Corporation Nexus, revealed this strategy for the Japanese market regarding *Shangri-La Frontier: The Seven Strongest Species*, which was showcased at the “Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2026” held at Makuhari Messe in Japan on the 17th. The game has gone to great lengths to feel familiar to Japanese fans, from the voices of the original SUNGWOO CO., LTD. actors to the characters’ speech patterns and even the names of the combat system elements.

The game is a mobile and PC role-playing game (RPG) developed by Netmarble Corporation and published by Netmarble Corporation(251270). It marks the first-ever video game adaptation of the “Shangri-La Frontier” IP (intellectual property), which originated as a Japanese web novel and expanded into manga and anime. According to Netmarble Corporation, the web novel has accumulated 1 billion views, while the manga has sold over 17 million copies.

Netmarble Corporation plans to launch the game first in Japan, the home of the original work. After confirming stability and identifying areas for improvement during the Japanese service, the company is considering a simultaneous launch in South Korea and global markets. A specific release date has not yet been confirmed.

Kim Hyung-jin, Head of Business at Netmarble Corporation, said, “Shangri-La Frontier is a continuously growing IP.” He added, “It began as a web novel, was expanded into a manga by Kodansha, and then adapted into an anime—growing at every stage. We believed the next logical step should be a game.”

Netmarble Corporation Invests in Anime Production… Participating in the IP’s Growth Process

Netmarble Corporation has also invested in the production of the anime, participating in the original work’s growth process. Four years ago, in July 2022, Netmarble Corporation announced its participation in the production committee for the “Shangri-La Frontier” anime, an IP owned by Japan’s Kodansha.

Kim Hyung-jin, Head of Business Division, said, “What attracted us most to adapting this IP into a game was that the original story is about ‘players who enjoy and strategize their way through games.’” He added, “Since the setting of the work itself is a virtual game world, adapting it into a game aligns directly with the essence of the original—unlike with other IPs. We believed this story would resonate not only with fantasy fans but also with gamers.”

At the heart of the localization effort targeting the Japanese market is the faithful recreation of the original work. The original voice actors re-recorded dialogue specifically for the game, and the characters’ speech patterns and scene direction were refined under the supervision of the original authors, Katarina and Fuji. The combat system, known as “Tag Battle” in Korean, was renamed “Switch Battle” for the Japanese version. This adjustment ensures that even the terminology used within the game is naturally accepted by the local audience.

Producer Kim stated, “Since the original work is a Japanese IP, we focused most on preserving the essence of the original beyond a simple translation,” adding, “Above all, we incorporated new voice recordings made exclusively for the game by the original voice actors, so that local fans can immerse themselves in the story with voices they are familiar with.”

Although the game was initially announced as an anime-style open-world RPG powered by Unreal Engine 5, it was ultimately developed as a casual tag-battle collection RPG. Producer Kim Kyung-ryul explained, “We explored various directions in the early stages of the project and ultimately decided to focus on the core concept that ‘players should be able to access the world of the original work anytime, anywhere.’ That conclusion led us to the format of smartphones, portrait orientation, and tag battles.”

Combat involves forming a team of four characters, fielding two at a time, and substituting the remaining two as the situation dictates. The focus was on reducing the burden of complex controls while preserving the fun of defeating powerful enemies—a key element emphasized in the original work.

The team is also preparing features to offer new stories to fans of the original work. While the official version will be based on key episodes from the first season of the anime, the team plans to expand the story through side stories featuring characters and events not covered in the original. In collaboration with the author, they will also introduce original characters and bosses exclusive to the game.

Kim Hyung-jin, Head of Business Division, stated, “Although we call it ‘supervision,’ it’s actually closer to a collaborative creation process—so much so that there have been cases where the game’s original settings were incorporated into the original work.” He added, “Therefore, rather than focusing on how far we can push the boundaries, we first consider whether this decision aligns with the goal of growing the IP.”