In this week's Inven Weekly TOP Game Rankings, 'World of Warcraft: Forever' held onto 1st place following last week, demonstrating high player expectations. 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IV' also maintained 2nd place to stay at the very top. Meanwhile, 'Final Fantasy Resonance' climbed four spots from 7th last week to take 3rd place, and 'Hearthstone - Reign of the Black Empire' also rose four spots to land in 4th. With 1st and 2nd place remaining unchanged, the upper ranks shifted as both titles mounted significant rises.
In the mid-ranks, rank drops and new entries continued. Last week's 4th place, 'The War of Genesis Side Story: The Rhapsody of Zephyr Remaster', dropped one spot to 5th, while 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time' entered the board at 6th. 'EA Sports FC 27' fell two spots from 5th last week to 7th, and 'Dynasty Warriors 2: Complete Edition Remaster' also dropped two places to 8th. The combination of new arrivals and falling positions for existing games led to notable rank movements in the mid-tier.
In the lower ranks, 'Trails in the Sky The 2nd' held onto 9th place, matching last week, while 'Minecraft Dungeons 2' newly entered at 10th. On the other hand, last week's 3rd place 'Onimusha: Way of the Sword' and 10th place 'Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theia' disappeared from this week's TOP 10. Overall, while the top two titles held their spots, the week was marked by strong momentum for 'Final Fantasy Resonance' and 'Hearthstone - Reign of the Black Empire', along with shifts in the mid-to-lower ranks driven by two new entries.
Last Week's Issues, New Releases, Events, and News
Rockstar Games' highly anticipated title 'GTA6' was confirmed to receive an Adults Only rating in South Korea last week. It was confirmed on the 16th that the Game Content Rating Board (GCRB) assigned an Adults Only rating to GTA6, marking one of the major rating classification cases handled by the private sector since the rating duties for PC and console Adults Only games were transferred to private agencies last November. Containing intense violence, sexual content, and drug depictions, GTA6 completed the required procedures for official domestic distribution through this classification. The game is scheduled for a global release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 19.
CD Projekt Red's (CDPR) new project 'Hadar' also showed progress in development. CDPR revealed in an interview on the 15th that it had finalized the worldbuilding for 'Project Hadar', its first original in-house IP, and is currently conducting small-scale prototype testing and gameplay element development. Although it has not yet entered pre-production, preparation for actual game production continues as the world concept and core elements developed over several years take concrete shape. Unlike the 'The Witcher' and 'Cyberpunk' series, which were based on existing original works, Hadar is drawing attention because it is built entirely from scratch on CDPR's own original universe.
In the domestic mobile game market, Kakao Games' MMORPG 'World of Dokkaebi' continued its success. Released on the 8th, the title reached 1st place in Google Play sales rankings on the 13th, hitting the top spot just five days after launch. Meanwhile, Super Creative's collectible roguelike RPG 'Chaos Zero Nightmare' revealed its future operational direction ahead of its 1st anniversary on the 22nd. Newly appointed Director Seung-hyun Choi presented preserving the value of existing combatants and improving roguelike content as key priorities, announcing plans to reinforce the game's core fun through new seasons.
In Smilegate's MMORPG 'Lost Ark', controversy persisted around a live broadcast held on the 16th. Amid growing player dissatisfaction regarding recent raid difficulty, balancing, and the in-game economy, former CCO Keum Kang-sun appeared on the stream instead of Director Jae-hak Jeon to address current issues. However, reactions expressed disappointment over the absence of the executive director himself and over certain explanations, and former CCO Keum Kang-sun promised a follow-up broadcast featuring Director Jae-hak Jeon within two weeks.
In the PC gaming market, Steam's concurrent user count broke its all-time record. According to SteamDB, Steam's peak concurrent user count reached 43,505,724 on the 11th, an increase of approximately 820,000 users over the previous record set in March. Conversely, Sega's 'Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition' faced a situation where sales were halted just two days after its release on the 13th. As criticisms mounted over pre-existing bugs, performance degradation, and graphical quality issues, Sega and Creative Assembly acknowledged the problems and temporarily suspended sales, deciding to re-list the original version that had been pulled from sale.
In esports, Zerg player Kim Min-chul achieved his fifth career championship in the 'StarCraft' tournament ASL Season 22. In the finals held on the 17th, Kim Min-chul secured a 4-3 victory after a close 7-set match against Terran player Yoo Young-jin. With this, Kim Min-chul became the first player in ASL history to reach five career championships, extending the Zerg race's streak to seven consecutive ASL titles. Additionally, the 'League of Legends' World Championship is currently underway.
What Are This Week's Notable Releases, Events, and Updates?
On the 22nd, dark comedy strategy RPG 'Demon's Night Fever' will be released. The game tells the story of Gigasgoides, a death god turned into a baby right before slaying a god, teaming up with Jaryuin Kyoshiro, a world-hating programmer, to stand against false gods who champion righteousness. The core feature is the 'Minion Exploitation System', where allied minions are detonated to take down enemies together. Sacrificed minions become stronger through reincarnation, and players can grow their legion using 'Vice Points' earned through evil deeds.
Releasing on the same day, 'Final Fantasy Resonance' is a turn-based RPG introducing HD-2D graphics to the series for the first time. Reimagining the first story arc of the discontinued mobile game 'Final Fantasy Brave Exvius' for console RPGs, it follows Rain, Lasswell, and Fina on a journey to face the darkness threatening the crystals. Features include equipping past series characters such as Cloud, Tidus, and the Warrior of Light as 'Visions' to utilize their abilities and skills, along with a Break combat system that renders enemies helpless.
On the 23rd, Infinity Ward's new title 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IV' will officially launch. Set in South Korea during a Second Korean War triggered by a full-scale invasion from North Korea, the story unfolds through intersecting perspectives of Private Hyun-jun Park on his first deployment and Captain Price, who has gone off-grid. Ahead of the official release, campaign early access has been underway since October 17 KST for digital pre-orders, and the extraction mode DMZ will also be playable starting on the 21st. Additionally, it currently holds a 'Very Positive' rating on Steam across 3,109 user reviews.
XL Games' open-world action MMORPG 'ArcheAge Chronicles' will make a Steam demo available from October 20 at 2:00 AM to October 27 at 2:00 AM. Any Steam user can participate without a separate application, exploring the Glowing Coast region and experiencing PvP content for the first time among builds revealed so far. Life content such as housing and trade will be excluded from this demo, and XL Games plans to prepare for Early Access within the year based on player feedback.
'Steam Next Fest', where players can preview upcoming titles, will also run from October 20 at 2:00 AM to October 27 at 2:00 AM KST. Players can try free playable demos of unreleased games across various genres, communicate with development teams through developer broadcasts and chats, or add titles of interest to their wishlists. Along with 'ArcheAge Chronicles' mentioned above, several new titles will showcase demos through this event.
Game launch events and special broadcasts will also continue over the weekend. 'Cookie Run Grand Festival' will take place on the 24th and 25th at Seoul Children's Grand Park, featuring a 'Cookie Run: OvenBreak' 10th anniversary exhibition, World Championship finals, a marathon, and an AR tour. On the same day, October 24 at 7:00 PM, a 4th-anniversary special broadcast for 'Goddess of Victory: Nikke' will air on its official YouTube channel, revealing new information about the 4th-anniversary update and celebratory events.
What Were Last Week's Major METACRITIC Scores?
Among major new releases evaluated on Metacritic this week, 'Enshrouded' achieved the highest score, recording an 89 on PC. 'Planet Zoo 2' and 'Castlevania: Curse of Belmont' also received positive reviews with scores of 85 and 84, respectively, while the remaining three titles settled in the 70s range.
'Enshrouded' scored an 89 on Metacritic based on 10 reviews for the PC version. Praise was directed at its seamless combination of survival crafting and action-RPG exploration and progression, along with its vast world and highly flexible voxel building and destruction systems. Rich content enjoyable in both solo and co-op play was cited as a key strength, though some pointed out a lack of combat depth and the inherent limitations of a voxel-based world.
'Ratatan' scored 76 based on 10 reviews for the Nintendo Switch 2 version. Its combination of 'Patapon'-style rhythm action with fast pacing and roguelike progression structures, along with catchy music and distinctive visual art, earned positive marks. On the other hand, a cluttered screen making it difficult to assess battle situations, repetitive progression, weak meta-progression, control and performance issues, and the absence of local co-op were noted as drawbacks.
'Castlevania: Curse of Belmont' recorded an 84 based on 59 score-eligible reviews for the PS5 version. Fluid combat, acrobatic movement, interconnected area exploration, a progression system utilizing tarot cards, and outstanding audio and art led to praise for a successful return for the series. However, criticism was raised regarding uneven difficulty and balancing in certain sections, as well as clunky controls and technical issues that occasionally hampered the experience.
'Planet Zoo 2' scored 85 based on 16 reviews for the PC version. Aquatic and flying animals, new habitats, improved animal AI, and expanded building tools were praised for delivering a more complete zoo management experience than its predecessor. Conversely, some noted that the extensive management mechanics could be overwhelming for newcomers, wildlife sanctuaries lacked depth, and meticulous micro-management tasks felt tedious.
'Tenebris Somnia' and 'Penguin Colony' recorded scores of 79 based on 5 reviews and 76 based on 6 scored reviews, respectively, both for the PC version. Tenebris Somnia cited its direction combining 8/16-bit retro survival horror with live-action video, along with its tense atmosphere and narrative, as key strengths, while sluggish controls, combat, frustrating puzzles, and sharp difficulty spikes in boss fights were criticized. Penguin Colony received praise for its unique premise reinterpreting Lovecraftian lore through the perspective of penguins, Antarctic exploration, non-linear narrative, and voice narration, though collision issues, awkward animations, short length, and a weak ending left room for improvement.
New Release Popularity Poll
This week's poll invites votes on game popularity for newly released or upcoming titles scheduled between September 18 and November 25. Accordingly, games past their voting window have been removed, and new games have been added.
