Next Floor

What Next Floor does

Next Floor is a Korean game developer and publisher founded in 2012 and headquartered in Mapo, South Korea, with a workforce of 251–500. The company originated as a developer of social mobile games, with early titles including Dragon Flight and IX-Runner, and has since evolved into a multi-platform publisher operating under the LINE Games brand (line.games). Its portfolio spans mobile, PC, and console, with distribution through mobile app stores, the LINE Games Launcher (a dedicated PC client), and the Steam marketplace.

The company's current catalog includes core live-service titles such as Uncharted Waters Origin (a historical naval MMORPG receiving ongoing character updates), UNDECEMBER (a hack-and-slash action RPG with seasonal content), and Genesis War (a tactical RPG / turn-based strategy MMORPG with crossover events). It has expanded into adjacent genres through idle RPGs (Animal Busters), roguelite pixel adventures (FairyTale Quest), match3 puzzle games built on licensed IP (Hello Kitty Friends Match), visual novels, and co-op horror (QUIET, CODE EXIT). The LINE Games Launcher functions as a central PC distribution point, while Steam serves as a parallel publishing channel for Western and global audiences.

Monetization mechanics are typical of the free-to-play mobile and live-service PC gaming model, including in-app purchases, seasonal battle passes, and microtransactions tied to character progression and events, though specific pricing is not disclosed in the source material. The LINE platform relationship provides a low-cost user acquisition channel in Korea and Japan, while Steam listings in English signal intent to capture global demand. No revenue, ARR, customer logos, or pricing data is publicly available in the provided sources.

Name

Next Floor

Website

https://nextfloor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Next Floor is a Korean multi-platform game publisher operating under the LINE Games brand, developing and publishing MMORPGs, action RPGs, casual, and indie titles across mobile, PC, and console for global consumer audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Gaming

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Game Publishers (1st/2nd/3rd-Party Publishing) (MPAFABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

PC & Console Game Distribution Platforms (BPAMAKAA), Gaming & Virtual World Social Platforms (MPACAJAG)

Keywords

• Mobile game development
• Social games
• MMORPG games
• Multi-platform games
• Free-to-play gaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Mapo

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Core offering

Next Floor is a Korean developer and publisher of social games for the smartphone industry, with notable titles such as Dragon Flight and IX-Runner. The company operates a multi-platform gaming ecosystem centered around the LINE Games portal and a dedicated Windows launcher, publishing proprietary and licensed game titles across mobile, PC, and console platforms spanning MMORPGs, action RPGs, tactical RPGs, idle RPGs, match3 puzzles, roguelite adventures, visual novels, and co-op horror genres.

Product overview

Next Floor operates a multi-platform gaming ecosystem centered around the LINE Games launcher for PC and a portfolio of proprietary and licensed game titles spanning mobile, PC, and console platforms. The portfolio includes core MMORPGs and action RPGs (Genesis War, UNDECEMBER, Uncharted Waters Origin), alongside diverse genres such as tactical RPG, idle RPG, roguelite pixel adventure, match3 puzzle, visual novel, co-op horror, and survival-adventure games. Games are distributed through the LINE Games portal, Steam marketplace, and mobile app stores.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LINE Games Launcher Desktop application for Windows that enables streamlined game execution and management for LINE Games titles.
• Genesis War Tactical RPG x Turn-Based Strategy mobile game featuring collaboration events such as the Genesis War x Doom Breaker crossover content.
• Uncharted Waters Origin Historical naval adventure MMORPG available on mobile and PC that receives periodic mate updates and character additions such as Margareta di Parma.
• UNDECEMBER Hack and slash action RPG available on mobile and PC that receives seasonal content updates such as Season「The Forge」 and thematic events like the Sweltering Heat Event.
• Buried Stars Communication x Survival x Adventure game released on mobile and console platforms.
• Hello Kitty Friends Match Match3 puzzle game featuring Hello Kitty characters available on mobile.
• Animal Busters Idle RPG available on mobile platform.
• FairyTale Quest Roguelite pixel adventure game for mobile devices.
• Hamster Talk Idle social game for PC involving interactive hamster characters.
• Souls Awakening Game featuring seasonal events such as the Sweltering Heat Event with thematic content activations.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pearl Abyss: Korean developer of high-end MMORPGs (Black Desert Online). Comparable for live-service MMORPG production, cross-platform (PC/mobile/console) operations, and global publishing ambitions.
• Netmarble: Korean mobile-first game developer/publisher with MMORPG and RPG titles distributed globally. Highly comparable in studio scale, genre mix, and multi-platform strategy.
• Smilegate: Korean developer/publisher (Lost Ark, CrossFire). Comparable for cross-platform MMORPG operations and self-publishing through its own platform (Stove).
• Krafton: Korean game developer/publisher (PUBG, inZOI). Comparable for studio scale, multi-genre portfolio expansion, and PC/console publishing infrastructure.
• Wemade: Korean MMORPG developer (Legend of Mir series). Directly comparable for cross-platform MMORPG operations and live-ops content cadence.
• Com2uS: Korean mobile game developer/publisher with a strong match3 and RPG portfolio. Comparable for mobile-first development scale and IP licensing capability (e.g., Summoners War).
• NCSoft: Pioneer Korean MMORPG developer (Lineage, Aion, Throne and Liberty). Directly comparable for the MMORPG/ARPG portion of Next Floor's portfolio and live-service operating model.
• Kakao Games: Major Korean game publisher and developer operating MMORPGs and mobile titles globally through its own platform (KakaoTalk). Closely comparable to Next Floor given the LINE Games/KakaoTalk-style super-app distribution model and overlapping MMORPG/mobile portfolio.
• Shift Up: Korean game developer (Nikke: Goddess of Victory, Stellar Blade). Comparable for studio scale, cross-platform (mobile/console) execution, and successful global IP-driven titles.

Broad incumbents

• LINE Games: Publishing arm of LINE/Ly Corporation that distributes Next Floor's titles via the LINE Games portal and launcher. Acts both as a sibling publisher and as a broader incumbent platform comparable to Kakao Games' publishing operations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NextFloorGames
• Facebookfacebook.com/NextFloor

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Next Floor