Korean publishers are no longer only proving a game at home and taking it abroad later. More and more games are built for PC and console players worldwide from the start, and launched on Steam and consoles in North America and Europe on day one. That makes Western marketing a part of the plan from the beginning, not an afterthought.
The hard part is that Western players discover games differently. This page explains how, and how we help Korean publishers reach them.
How Western players discover games
In North America and Europe, players find games through the creators they watch every week. A streamer playing a game live on Twitch, or a YouTuber explaining why it’s worth your time, often does more than a trailer or a banner ad.
- Twitch is where players watch games being played live, especially PC games, MMOs, action games and anything competitive.
- YouTube does the explaining: first impressions, reviews, guides and class or build videos.
- TikTok and YouTube Shorts bring reach and moments that spread.
- Steam is where it all lands: wishlists, demos, Next Fest and reviews decide a lot of a PC launch.
What works for Korean games in the West
Pick creators by what they play
The biggest names are rarely the best fit. A mid-sized creator whose audience already plays your genre (MMORPG, action RPG, survival, shooter) usually brings more players than a celebrity who doesn’t. We pick creators by what they actually stream and how their audience reacts to similar games.
Let creators be themselves
Western creators expect a clear brief and room to play the game their own way. The best content comes from creators who are honest with their audience, including about monetization. Players trust a creator who explains how a game works more than one who reads a script.
Start before launch
The launches that work build over months: reveal, playtests or beta, Steam Next Fest and pre-launch keys, then launch week. Creators who were there early come back on launch day with an audience that’s already waiting. Read more about planning game launches with creators.
Keep it going after launch
A live game needs reasons to come back. We plan creators around updates, seasons and new content, and use Community Rewards and Twitch Integration so viewers get in-game rewards when they watch. See our page on live ops.
How we work with Korean publishers
We work with Korean publishers through Major9, our partner office in Seoul.
- In Seoul: Major9 is your contact in Korean, on Korean time. They know how Korean publishers work, and they’re in the room for pitches, planning and reviews.
- In the West: our team in Uppsala and Stockholm runs the creator campaigns in North America and Europe: creator matching, briefs, contracts, payments, delivery checks and reporting.
- One plan: both teams work from the same plan and share data, so you get one campaign and one report, not two agencies.
We’ve run campaigns for Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Supercell and many more, and worked with Pearl Abyss on the Crimson Desert launch across regions. See our PC and console and Steam pages for how we plan those launches.
Also in Korean
This page is also available in Korean. If you’re launching in Korea as well, read our guide to influencer marketing in Korea.
Planning a launch in North America or Europe? Get in touch and we’ll connect you with Major9 in Seoul and our team in Sweden.
