[Startup Together] “We will become a global top-tier game company with 3rd generation SNG” Modle Studios

SNG (Social Network Game) is a game that operates based on social network service (SNS). As smartphones became popular and SNS grew rapidly, the SNG market that utilized it also expanded. The game industry, which competed to release SNGs to target game users, is currently continuously releasing new games and has established itself as a genre in the game industry.

Game startup Modle Studios is currently producing a new game targeting the 3rd generation of SNGs. The goal is to create a game that targets the needs for new SNGs based on the consistent popularity of the 1st and 2nd generation SNGs. The plan is to capture game users with a 3rd generation SNG that has strengthened social communication elements, especially with unique visuals and engaging content.

Modle Studios, which means 'everyone gathers' in the Jeju dialect, started with the motto 'it's more beneficial when we work together' by gathering people with over 20 years of experience in the game industry. They are currently producing a puzzle genre game called 'Merge Brothers' as a pilot project and prototyping the 3rd generation SNG 'Wild Reds'. Recognized for their strong team power, they attracted 430 million won in seed investment, and with their first title 'Merge Conquer', they were selected as a company to enter the Gyeonggi Content Promotion Agency's commercialization support project and the Gyeonggi Global Game Center, receiving various types of support. They were also selected for the KOCCA New Growth Game Content Production Support Project this year.

Koo Bon-seok, CEO of Modle Studios, explained the reason for producing SNG content, saying, “SNG is a genre that took an era by storm. I was shocked by the fact that 100 million users were playing the game at the same time. It’s a forgotten word now, but in reality, the game that continues its legacy is still in the top 10 of the North American charts, making it a genre that is still loved. I think it’s a genre that the market is still demanding, and I think that the market is demanding social networking more than before, so I’m producing a game that strengthens this aspect. SNG is still a genre that ranks at the top in the casual game market.”

CEO Koo Bon-seok said, “We are looking to receive investment for the production of our vision project. ‘Merge Brothers’, scheduled for release in November, will serve as our cash cow. ‘Merge Brothers’, which was created with the goal of ‘making a game that can be enjoyed for more than three years,’ was quickly produced as a pilot project and seems to be able to cover some operating expenses. However, we plan to secure 2 billion won in investment funds by the end of this year to proceed with a full-scale project.”

CEO Koo Bon-seok, who is seeking investment, said, “We are a team with guaranteed success. We have achieved various business results globally over the past 10 years. We have a good understanding of the game meta and have a global success strategy through data analysis. Our team, with over 20 years of experience, has a cohesive force for success. Based on this, we will create a global top-tier production company.”

Targeting the 3rd generation global mobile casual game SNG

The field that Modle Studios is trying to challenge is global mobile casual games. Among them, it is targeting the 3rd generation SNG (social network game), which is a genre that best depicts the human desire for communication, and it is also a genre with high business potential due to long PLC and high LTV. The explosive performance of the 1st generation SNG, such as Zynga's 'Farm Ville', revealed its limitations due to the spamming of social platform feeds, and the 2nd generation SNG that was established after crossing over to mobile has continued for over 10 years by transforming into a farm management game that minimizes social elements. The representative title of this is Playrix's 'Township', which has been in the top 10 of the US sales rankings for 10 years since its release.

The market demand for new SNGs is sufficiently high, and we are confident that if we present a third-generation SNG that emphasizes social communication elements again, we will be able to achieve great success in the global market, and we intend to challenge this market.

For this we First of all, we will capture the market's attention with attractive and unique visuals. Also, we will set the game's emotional code as 'excitement' and create a game that makes you look forward to meeting someone you don't know. So we will complete a new but familiar-feeling SNG.

Systemically, we plan to provide a sandbox-style island decoration centered on Crafting and Correction, adding the comfort and various collection elements felt in 'Animal Crossing'.

Team power with over 20 years of experience

Modle Studios is a complete team with over 20 years of experience in casual game production and business. We have achieved several business successes in the global market, and now we aim to become a global top-tier developer based on that experience. Most of the team members, including the CEO, have over 10 years of experience in SNG development and business, so we have sufficient technical background required for SNG development.

In particular, the CTO is a former head of development who led Com2uS for 11 years from its founding to its listing. He also directed the production of Com2uS' Tiny Farm, which made its mark in the early mobile SNG field, and as a server developer, he has already acquired SNG server technology that can accommodate large numbers of users. In addition, the PD also produced and serviced SNGs such as 'Moa Moa Yong', and the CEO has also led SNG development and business for many years.

Puzzle genre game 'Merge Brothers' to be released soon

We are currently developing a puzzle genre game called 'Merge Brothers' as a pilot project, and are prototyping 'Wild Reds' as the 3rd generation SNG mentioned above. As for the first project, we chose the merge genre, which is currently a trend in the puzzle genre, as the game we chose based on the team's opinion that a short development period would be good, and it is about to be released soon. Even though it is our first work, it has been selected for many government support projects and has been recognized for its potential for success, and we are looking forward to it internally.

And, our team's recently launched vision project, 'Wild Reds', is expected to take about 2 years to develop, and after developing it for about a year to establish the basic framework, we will release it in advance on the 'Early Access' track of the Steam platform and continue to receive user feedback to complete it. After that, we plan to secure a certain amount of content and continue with a full-fledged service on mobile.

Targeting North America and Europe, establishing a balanced business model

We are basically targeting the global market, and in particular, our first work, 'Merge Brothers', is targeting North America and Europe. The entire mobile game market is $109.5B in 2022, and the global market size of the merge genre, which is the target of our first work, is $500M in sales and 100 million downloads (by Sensor Tower) as of 2022. And the size of the casual mobile game market including SNG is $17B, of which the United States accounts for 43% ($7.4B).

The business model is a balanced combination of in-app products (IAP) and in-app advertising (IAA) adopted by general mobile games. In addition, we aim to create base revenue with a season pass product combined with monthly/weekly events to increase RPI (Revenue Per Install) to over $10 in North America. We believe that this can be achieved by creating a long PLC (Product Life Cycle) and steadily accumulating purchases rather than increasing short-term sales.

Achieve visible results based on team power

In November 2022, the company attracted seed investment from game industry leaders in recognition of its team composition, and was selected for the New Growth Game Content Production Support Project supported by KOCCA in April 2023 with its first title, 'Merge Conquer'. In addition, the company was selected for the commercialization support project supported by Gyeonggi Content Promotion Agency with the same title, and is receiving marketing expenses, and is off to a smooth start by enjoying various benefits by moving into the Gyeonggi Global Game Center.

And a contract was also signed with NineTap and UA for pre-investment, creating a strong partner for post-launch marketing.

The CEO of Modle Studios has been working in the game industry for 15 years as a server developer and 15 years as a global marketer and businessman, and has created many successful cases in the global market over the past 10 years. His strength is that he is an expert in growth hacking, which leads the growth of game services based on data. In particular, he has accumulated know-how in creating growth graphs globally since the early days of performance marketing, and has considerable know-how in establishing integrated data governance.

In the case of the CTO, he is a veteran who has worked as the head of the development headquarters for 11 years from the founding of Com2uS to its listing and led the development of various successful games. The Creative Director, PD, and Lead Programmer are also a group of experts who have worked in the game industry for over 20 years and created various successful games.

Why we should receive investment!!

First, it is a team that can succeed globally.

With our first title, we will achieve short-term BEP in 2024, and with our third-generation SNG, we will generate monthly sales of 10 billion won in 2026. We know the way to survive and grow based on the know-how we have accumulated while leading global services for many years. We have various technologies for game development, as well as global service know-how based on data analysis. I think that is why industry leaders have sent seed investment funds to our team without hesitation.

Second, we are a team that creates games that benefit and surprise the world.

We are a team full of fun and creative ideas. We create games to spread the message that together we are more beneficial and stronger. The reason we focus on social games is to create fun and excitement through communication and interaction.

Third, the passion of members who have experienced success and failure for many years has gathered together for what may be their last.

Our team consists of four members who have experience as CEOs of game development companies. They have experienced great success at times, but they are also veterans who have experienced the pain of business closure. All of the members who are capable of becoming leaders of a team readily accept my proposal and work together as a team with passion. To prove that we are stronger and more beneficial when we work together!

Original article: [Startup Together] “We will become a global top-tier game company with 3rd generation SNG” Modle Studio – Wowtale

Interview video: https://youtu.be/j_eXFOh0Yvk