Sony Online Entertainment is looking East to determine Planetside 2’s next market.
The publisher revealed today that it will debut its free-to-play online shooter in South Korea in the near future. SOE is partnering with Korean Internet company Daum to publish the game in that country.
“PlanetSide 2 has proven itself ideal for South Korea based on gaming’s massive popularity and penetration throughout the region’s culture,” SOE senior vice president of business development Louis Figueroa said in a statement. “A game on the scale of PlanetSide 2 requires an engaged and equally massive community. Daum’s track record in the space made them an ideal partner, and we are confident this will lead to a highly successful launch and ongoing support in South Korea.”
Planetside 2 is a massively multiplayer online competitive shooter. It has players joining different factions to fight over territories. It is available now in North America for PC, but SOE intends to release it for the upcoming PlayStation 4 in 2014.
The Korean market is well known for its highly successful e-sports landscape, and Daum’s head of games Sean Hong believes that Planetside 2’s competitive aspects could help it catch on with a Korean audience.
“PlanetSide 2’s competitive nature is a perfect fit for the South Korean audience,” said Hong. “The constantly evolving battlescapes and state-of-the-art visuals allow for a sense of scale not offered by any other games on the market.”
In July, SOE introduced Battle Islands into Planetside 2 that it intends to act as e-sports arenas. It creates instances where teams of 48 players can battle against one another, but the game is not part of any organized e-sports companies.