Kakao Games spent last year steadily running offline events for players built around its major game IPs, strengthening on-the-ground communication and engagement. Rather than limiting efforts to one-off activations, the company differentiated event concepts and programs to match the characteristics of distinct genres—MMORPG, battle royale, and subculture titles—while pursuing a strategy of extending offline, in-person experiences back into online channels. Through this approach, Kakao Games signaled its intent to broaden touchpoints with players in multiple directions and to boost service trust and brand experience.

One of Kakao Games’ flagship titles, the PC/mobile cross-platform MMORPG ODIN: Valhalla Rising (hereafter ODIN), has continued to meet players directly through a range of offline events both in Korea and overseas. The event, held last April, operated as a traveling format that toured PC bangs in major cities including Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Busan, recruiting roughly 250 attendees. On-site programming included quiz events, participatory activities, and a large-scale prize “lucky draw,” drawing strong engagement from local players.

Then, in June of last year, the Valhalla Banquet, held to mark ODIN’s fourth service anniversary, was organized as a venue to share the game’s long-term live-ops direction. The event took place at Sebitseom in Seoul, with the development team attending in person to introduce key update details and the roadmap for future updates. Alongside in-venue participation, Kakao Games also ran events for players joining via online livestream. The hybrid communication model—linking on-site and online participation—was positively received by fans for driving higher engagement.

ODIN’s offline programming has also expanded beyond Korea onto the global stage, widening player touchpoints. To commemorate 100 days of global service, Kakao Games hosted the “ODIN: 100 days united” appreciation festival in Bangkok, Thailand, last August, inviting 100 players from regions including North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Major members of the development team also visited the venue in person, sharing planned upcoming content and broader vision while expanding exchanges with global players.

Kakao Games has likewise continued to host fan-participation offline events centered on the popular training simulation title Umamusume: Pretty Derby (hereafter Umamusume). The company explained that, given the subculture genre’s emphasis on user-focused operations and ongoing communication, it intends to maintain that stance through consistent offline activations.

In June of last year, to celebrate the third anniversary of Umamusume’s Korea service, Kakao Games held the “3rd Anniversary Festival” at Suwon Messe. The event drew attention for programs that expanded Umamusume’s core fun—its race-focused gameplay and training-based progression/competition structure—into hands-on offline experiences.

Alongside exhibition content that included a new training scenario, the venue featured experience zones reflecting the game’s training and racing concepts, as well as on-site, participation-driven stage events—designed so attendees could feel immersed as “trainers” themselves. Offline programs that highlighted competition and achievement—such as quizzes, room matches, and award ceremonies—were praised for naturally recreating the genre’s distinctive tension and enjoyment.

For PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, Kakao Games broadened player touchpoints through an offline strategy emphasizing esports tournaments and on-site immersion. The offline finals of the “PUBG 2025 Clan Championship” (titled in Korean as the 2025 integrated Clan top-team event) held last August at PUBG Seongsu in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong, were an official tournament to determine the top clan across the integrated Kakao and Steam platforms. By combining in-person spectating with an online livestream, the event delivered a high-stakes match experience. A summer party held alongside the finals also ran audience-participation programs, creating an offline space that blended esports competition with fan interaction.

During G-STAR 2025, the “AIR PUBG: First Class” event held at Shinsegae Department Store’s Centum City branch in Busan operated with a “first class in the sky” concept—featuring an experience space, event matches, and special guest programs. Pro team players, streamers, and developers visited on-site, and linked online broadcast events were also conducted, drawing attention from both offline and online players. Notably, the event invited Chef Yoon Nam-no, cartoonist Kim Poong, and Chef Choi Hyun-seok as special guests, presenting a live creative cooking show built around a PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS concept—earning enthusiastic reactions from attendees.

Meanwhile, Kakao Games will accelerate its push into both domestic and global markets in 2026 by sequentially launching a total of nine new titles, including SMiniz (Korean: 슴미니즈), OdinQ, Project OQ, ArcheAge Chronicles, Chrono Odyssey, and God Save Birmingham. The lineup is drawing attention from global game fans for substantially expanding beyond the company’s established strengths in MMORPG and subculture titles to include genres such as puzzles, online action RPGs, and open-world survival simulators.

A Kakao Games representative said, “This year, we plan to sequentially roll out nine new multi-genre titles to expand our portfolio, while also continuing to present offline programs that combine hands-on experiences and participation elements for our existing live games—strengthening the overall player experience.”

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.