Nexon’s popular MMORPG, HIT (Heroes of Incredible Tales 2), is expanding its reach from South Korea to Japan.
Upon its release, it will be rebranded as HIT: The World. Serving as the sequel to the original Heroes of Incredible Tales, this MMORPG stands as one of Nexon’s most triumphant mobile ventures, with the HIT franchise boasting over 25 million downloads worldwide.
However, it’s important to exercise caution. Nexon has a track record that raises concerns, particularly regarding in-game microtransactions. The company faced a significant fine of $8.85 million from the South Korean Fair Trade Commission for violating the Electronic Commerce Act in relation to MapleStory and Bubble Fighter.
Japanese gamers can anticipate the arrival of HIT: The World on April 17th with pre-registered user numbers exceeding 100,000.
The initial iteration of Heroes of Incredible Tales was developed using the Unreal Engine 4 engine, setting a benchmark for exceptional graphics within the mobile / free-to-play genre at the time.
With regards to HIT: The World, initial impressions suggest that its graphical quality remains uncompromised, evident in the teaser trailers that have been unveiled. Should it maintain this level of visual fidelity during actual gameplay, HIT: The World stands poised to outshine other stylistically-driven titles prevalent in the MMORPG genre.
Despite the positive reception, the original Heroes of Incredible Tales was unexpectedly terminated in 2019, though given how the game itself was announced back in 2015 it certainly did last longer than most live service games.
The franchise seemingly was exclusive to the South Korean market, which only makes its longevity even more impressive. However, considering the game’s inclusion of high-quality “loli” characters, which would put even Final Fantasy 14 to shame, if Nexon were to expand its reach to Western audiences, it would absolutely face significant backlash with accusations of “pedophilia” and “child exploitation.”
Given the highly competitive and oversaturated nature of the MMORPG market, it’s unsurprising that Nexon has chosen to broaden its scope by launching Heroes of Incredible Tales 2 in countries beyond Korea.
Among these, Japan stands out as one of the largest audiences, known for their acceptance of content featuring enticing “assets,” which aligns with the games nature, it’s the only logical choice for a first time venture for Nexon to target Japanese consumers.
Should HIT 2 / HIT: The World achieve success in Japan, there’s a strong likelihood that Western audiences could anticipate an English release. However, considering the time it took Nexon to release the Korean-exclusive MMORPG in Japan, the one and only country that would be most accepting of it, it seems improbable that we’ll witness a release in the Western market.
