The whole of Korea is heating up with the enthusiasm of the "2022 FIFA WorldCup Qatar", which opened on the 21st. The FIFA WorldCup is the most popular sports event in Korea, surpassing the IOC Olympics.

Koreans have been enthusiastic about the FIFA World Cup, which is held every four years, since Korea made a remarkable advance that it would be difficult to reach the round of 16 in the "2002 Korea-Japan World Cup".

In particular, "2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar" is the second world cupt to be held in Asia, aand the Korean team is highly likely to advance to the round of 16 tournament, drawing more attention.

Because the FIFA World Cup is so popular, many game companies in Korea have various events and promotions on their own service platforms or games. It is an essential choice to make the most of the "World Cup Special Demand" opportunity that comes once every four years.

Game companies are actively utilizing the expectations of the "2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar" to attract new users and mobilize various ideas to increase users' usage time.

Not only soccer games directly related to the FIFA World Cup, but also various genres of games are trying to maximize the marketing effect by using super star-related events such as Son Heung Min, Lionel Messi, and Neymar Jr.

Krafton has released a collaboration item with Brazilian world star Neymar Jr.(Paris Saint-Germain) on "Battle Ground." The company has already selected Neymar as its official public relations ambassador in July, and has continued to engage in various partnerships, including in-game and out-game.

Krafton also updated 20 items based on its partnership with world's top soccer star Lionel Messi. On top of that, collaboration items with Messi will also be added to various firearms and vehicles.

▲Battle Ground Title Image / Courtesy of Krafton

Nexon is hosting various World Cup events through two soccer games, "FIFA Online4" and "FIFA Mobile". The company updated its WorldCup 2022 mode to coincide with the "2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar".

"FFA Online4" has been holding a "Fighting Korea event" since the 24th of last month, hoping that the Korean national team will do well. Users who register as cheering squads during the event will receive various benefits and will be given the opportunity to participate in "Prediction of Victory" and "Burning Event" to mark the opening of Qatar World Cup.

Nexon also added the mini game "Soccer the Best!" to the mobile MMORPG "Kite of the Wind" until Dec. 22, when "2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar" ends, and "KartRider", a popular racing game, is holding a "Castradamus Event" to compensate for the winning team.

SmileGate will host the "Hot Time for the Support of the Taegeuk Warriors" event at the popular MMORPG "Lost Arc" until the 19th of next month after the World Cup. If users connect to the game on a day when the Korean team has a match, they can earn "support compensation" and "hot-time connection compensation". "Lost arc" users can get a variety of items by using them in games.

Such World Cup marketing by game companies is expected to be more active if the Korean team passes the qualifying barrier and advances to the round of 16. This is because the more enthusiastic the World Cup becomes, the more likely the marketing effect will be.

Under the current situation, the Korean team is likely to advance to the round of 16. Nexon's research group Intelligence Labs analyzed the big data of users of "FIFA Online4" on the 22nd, and the Korean team is expected to dominate Ghana in the remaining two qualifying matches. The Korean team is likely to advance to the round of 16 with just one win out of the remaining two qualifying matches.

Many Korean game companies expect the Korean team to advance to the tournament in a pure sense. On the other hand, however, he sincerely hopes that the Korean team will advance to the round of 16 or higher to maximize the marketing effect of the World Cup.

Sayart.net(세이아트) Jack Lee wangjb77@gmail.com