What is CrossfireX? A Look at the the Crossfire Franchise
Those in the United States are probably unfamiliar with CrossFire and were exposed to the free-to-play FPS title for the first time a few days ago during the launch of its multiplayer trailer at Gamescom. CrossFire has a storied history outside of the west and is a franchise that’s well known and beloved by players in China and South Korea. But how does such a relatively unknown, free-to-play game become large enough to justify an Xbox-exclusive sequel? What happened in China and South Korea that caused the game to surge into popularity to become one of the top-earning Asian FPS titles of all time instead of something like CSGO?
A Brief Look Into CrossfireX
According to the game’s page on the Xbox website, CrossFire is a “fast-paced first person shooter offering a variety of exhilarating multiplayer experiences and a cinematic campaign that explores the global conflict between the world’s two most formidable private military factions.”
CrossfireX’s website states that the single-player campaign was developed in collaboration with Remedy Entertainment, the developers of Control, and Max Payne 1 and 2.
CrossfireX’s campaign trailer shows a lot of thematic resemblance to games like Metal Gear Solid and Modern Warfare. The visuals are crisp and sleek, evoking a cool, military-inspired atmosphere that sits between older Tom Clancy games and Metal Gear Solid 5.
The multiplayer trailer shows gameplay that’s a world away from the Counter-Strike inspired gameplay of the original CrossFire, showcasing fluidity of movement, ADS, smooth character animations, while also highlighting classic maps from the original game like Transport Ship, Black Widow 2.0, Laboratory, Submarine (which could be Sub Base?), and Babylon Lab which looks inspired by the Mutation map, Research Facility.
Smilegate & Microsoft: Titans on Opposite Sides of the World
Still, having a game that’s mostly known in Asia be exclusive to the Xbox, a console that’s experienced most of its success in the west, seems odd at first glance. However, consider that the Xbox Series X and Series S launched in China earlier this year. According to an article in gamesindustry.biz, the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles launched on June 10th in China, a region that’s so enamored with CrossFire that a TV drama was written about it, as reported by The Korea Herald. The drama wasn’t unsuccessful either, as The Korea Herald notes that the series’ first two episodes saw over 100 million views on the over-the-top video platform Tencent Video.
According to a 2020 whitepaper by the Korean Creative Content Agency, an agency affiliated with Korea’s Ministry of Culture, the console game market in South Korea grew by 41.5% in 2018 and 31.4% in 2019, with the agency expecting the market to record equally high growth in 2020. The agency notes that “with Sony and Microsoft releasing next-generation game consoles in November 2020, console game sales are expected to surge in 2021, showing a higher growth rate compared to 2020.” Microsoft could be looking to capitalize on this unexpected console growth in South Korea by launching a sequel to a game title that many Korean gamers can recognize.
The quest for market dominance goes both ways, however. Promotional material from Smilegate Entertainment, CrossFire’s developer and publisher, notes their goal of “Mega Value in a vast global marketplace, and through innovation, preemptively dominate; allowing it to continuously evolve into a Great Company, becoming a pioneer in the world entertainment market.”
Smilegate may already be on its way to doing so after a $100 million investment into LA-based developer That’s No Moon, according to an article published by gamesindustry.biz. In the same article, Smilegate’s vice president of business development Harold Kim mentioned that “Smilegate’s goal is to become a global player in the industry. We have been doing well in the competitive gaming space but what we lack is the storytelling element. Smilegate’s goal in expanding… is how we strengthen our storytelling element.”
There’s still the question of how CrossFire became so big though. What was the FPS market like in South Korea that games like Counter-Strike or Team Fortress 2 couldn’t see the same success in Korea as they experienced in the west?
A Brief History of FPSes in China and South Korea
In an interview with DBLTAP, retired Korean CSGO player Xeta spoke about a change in the Korean market that led to Korean PC cafes banning Valve games in an event known as the 2004 “PC Bang incident.” The interviewer notes that Valve made a decision to charge $15 a month for every computer that had a copy of their games installed in Korean PC cafes, to which Xen replies:
“According to them [Xen’s teammates on MVP PK], the tactical FPS was very dominant and popular. Back then, half of the people would play StarCraft and the other half would either play Counter-Strike or Rainbow Six… After the incident, PC Bang banned Valve games and Counter-Strike, and literally, no one has been playing Counter-Strike in PC Bangs since then. The Korean FPS scene took a different direction from the world, with games like Sudden Attack and Special Force, which are kind of similar but very different from Counter-Strike.”
As the market in South Korea veered away from western titles in favor of domestically developed ones, Smilegate had to make a decision on how they could best enter the market with two already well-established FPS titles. Smilegate decided to partner with Tencent to distribute CrossFire in China, which led to the game becoming immensely profitable in China and globally. The success of Tencent’s and Smilegate’s partnership would lead to CrossFire entering markets in Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, South America, and even North America.
CrossFire’s esports scene goes as far back as 2013 with season 1 of the CrossFire Stars being held on June 1st and 2nd of 2013. CrossFire esports continues to this day with the CrossFire Elite League and the CrossFire Open League. The appeal of CrossFire has not waned whatsoever.
Entering the Global Market
Smilegate’s ambitions of being a global provider of entertainment seem feasible with the release of CrossfireX. By teaming up with Microsoft, they’re able to reach a new market that they’re eager to enter. Smilegate brings with them the insight and history of success that western companies need in order to gain a toehold in China’s and South Korea’s gaming market, with China boasting a lucrative domestic market.
We’ll see how close Smilegate is to achieving their goals when CrossfireX launches sometime in 2021.
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