Kakao Games, SM Entertainment Sign Licensing Agreement for Games Featuring K-pop Idol Groups

Kakao Games Corporation entered into an intellectual property (IP) rights agreement with SM Entertainment, and the deal was revealed on Tuesday, April 16. The South Korean video game publisher will develop several games featuring the entertainment firm’s K-pop idol groups through the partnership.

The IP licensing agreement will grant Kakao Games the rights to include K-pop idols managed by SM Entertainment in its future games. As per Pulse News, the former created the “SM Game Station,” which has been described as a digital collection of mobile games featuring artists from SMEs.

Games Created for Kpop Fans

It was mentioned that the SM Game Station would allow users and fans to act as managers of idol groups. Just like the real managers take care of the artists’ activities, players will also handle and carry out the scheduled activities reproduced in the mini-games.

Gamers must also collect digital photo cards as part of the gameplay. By adjusting their personalities, they may customize the photocards according to how they want the artists to look and behave.

Game Launch Date

Fans and gamers would be happy to know that Kakao Games is targeting the second half of this year as the release date of the mobile games with their favorite artists. The SM Game Station is set to be launched not only in South Korea but globally.

“We plan to provide new entertainment experiences in the global digital content market by combining our service and development capabilities with SM Entertainment‘s strong content power,” Han Sang Woo, Kakao Games’ chief executive officer, said in a statement.

SM Entertainment’s chief, Jang Cheol Hyuk, added, “We are pleased to offer our fans a variety of content consumption opportunities. We will continue to explore more content mixes within Kakao Group moving forward.“

Finally, IT Chosun reported that SM Entertainment and Kakao Games also plan to add content related to the idol groups’ real activity timelines. They will link the game to actual data such as the artists’ debut anniversary, birthdays, and more to make the game more realistic for players.

Photo by: Kakao Games Website