KOG Co., better known as KOG Studios, is a South Korean game development company based in
Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
. They specialize in producing online
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
games, and currently publish the
side-scrolling action
MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
, ''
Elsword
''Elsword'' ( Korean: 엘소드) is a free-to-play, 2.5D action MMORPG developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. It features real-time action gameplay and includes both player vs. environment and player vs. player modes. There are four ...
'' and the
early access
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
action MMORPG, ''
KurtzPel: Bringer of Chaos''. They have also developed the game ''
Grand Chase
''Grand Chase'' ( ko, 그랜드체이스, lit=Grand Chase) was a free-to-play, two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG, developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. Alternative names for ''Grand Chase'' included ''Three Young Heroes'' ( zh, ...
''.
History
KOG Co. was founded on May 1, 2000. Their first game, ''
Grand Chase
''Grand Chase'' ( ko, 그랜드체이스, lit=Grand Chase) was a free-to-play, two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG, developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. Alternative names for ''Grand Chase'' included ''Three Young Heroes'' ( zh, ...
'', an action
side-scrolling MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
, launched in August 2003. After being a large success in South Korea, the game expanded to mainland
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, as well as the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
in 2006. It was notable for reaching mass popularity in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
, breaking the record of most played online game in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Ntreev Soft
Ntreev Soft ( ko, 엔트리브 소프트) is a South Korean video game development studio primarily known for the development of the online multiplayer golf game '' PangYa'' as well as the anime-styled MMORPG, '' Trickster Online''.
The compan ...
began publishing ''Grand Chase'' for North America in early 2008. KOG ceased support for the game in 2015, 12 years after its initial release.
In 2010, KOG Studios partnered with Philippine company
Level Up! Games, the publisher of ''
Grand Chase
''Grand Chase'' ( ko, 그랜드체이스, lit=Grand Chase) was a free-to-play, two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG, developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. Alternative names for ''Grand Chase'' included ''Three Young Heroes'' ( zh, ...
'' in South America, to found Kill3r Combo, a subsidiary company headquartered in
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...
, with the objective of bringing KOG's games to North America. Their first game was ''
Elsword
''Elsword'' ( Korean: 엘소드) is a free-to-play, 2.5D action MMORPG developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. It features real-time action gameplay and includes both player vs. environment and player vs. player modes. There are four ...
'', which began open beta testing in North America on April 27, 2011, and released on July 2, 2014.
In June 2012, KOG Studios purchased LevelUp!’s interest in Kill3rCombo to become the sole owner, and officially changed the company's name to KOG Games Inc. Since then, KOG Games has been responsible for publishing their games in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
.
Although ''Elsword'' received some criticism for
pay to win
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
systems, the game was generally well-received, and peaked with 2,500 active players on Steam in August 2013.
''
KurtzPel Bringer of Chaos'' was first announced in the South Korean game exhibition
G-Star
G-Star (sometimes also written G*STAR, G★ or G★STAR; ) is an annual trade show for the video game industry presented by Korea Association of Game Industry and Busan IT Promotion Agency in November. Originally held in the Seoul Capital Area ...
2017, and entered worldwide
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...
early access
Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
on April 30, 2019.
KOG Games
KOG Games (previously as Kill3r Combo from 2010 to 2012) is a
subsidiary company
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sam ...
of KOG Co., and since 2012, publishes games from KOG in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
. It is headquartered in
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...
and currently publishes ''
Elsword
''Elsword'' ( Korean: 엘소드) is a free-to-play, 2.5D action MMORPG developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. It features real-time action gameplay and includes both player vs. environment and player vs. player modes. There are four ...
'' and ''
KurtzPel'' on the
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizatio ...
store. KOG Games also briefly published ''
HeroWarz'', a
MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
developed by ''A.Storm'', in July 2016, but the servers were closed a few months later.
Games
References
External links
* {{Official Website, kog.co.kr
Video game development companies
Companies based in Daegu
Video game companies established in 2000
Video game companies of South Korea
South Korean companies established in 2000