KRAFTON, led by CEO Kim Chang-han, is partnering with Neptune, led by CEO Kang Yul-bin, to host a global hybrid casual game competition with a total prize pool of $5 million.

The competition is titled 'Flick x KRAFTON Casual Game Challenge Season 01.' It is open to global developers and indie studios, with applications accepted for approximately one month from April 21 to May 18. Following an evaluation process, the final selected developers will be announced in July. The winning games will undergo testing and refinement through 'Flick,' Neptune's hybrid casual game publishing brand, before being launched globally.

'Flick' is a hybrid casual game publishing brand operated by Neptune that focuses on helping developers quickly validate and scale their ideas in the market. By leveraging its collaboration with KRAFTON, the brand combines global publishing capabilities with data-driven operational strategies to support projects from the early stages through to commercialization.

This competition combines KRAFTON's global publishing experience and market insight with Neptune's ad-tech expertise, developer investment experience, and casual game business know-how. Both companies aim to discover competitive hybrid casual games for the global market and build a sustainable publishing pipeline.

The official competition website provides detailed information, including an introduction to the 'Flick' publishing brand and the judging criteria. Applications must be submitted through the official website, and both finished games and prototypes are eligible for entry.

The 'hybrid casual game' sector is a new business initiative for Neptune. It is a genre that combines the simple controls and accessibility of hyper-casual games with deeper progression elements. These games feature a revenue model that integrates in-app advertising (IAA) and in-app purchases (IAP), and the sector has been growing rapidly in the global market.

Through this competition, KRAFTON plans to discover competitive hybrid casual intellectual property (IP) for the global market and continue to strengthen its global publishing capabilities in partnership with Neptune.