Fresh off winning the TGA Award, the major Korean studio has signed the Chinese second-tier player who’s the “perfect fit.”

Today (the 15th), Manjiao officially announced the publishers for its flagship game currently in development, *Blue Star Origin: Travel Ballad* (hereinafter referred to as *Blue Star Origin*), in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

The Korean server is published by NEXON, the Japanese server is co-published by Manjyu and Youxing, and the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan servers are published by NIJIGEN Games.

The finalization of overseas partnerships marks a new milestone in the preparations for the global release of *Blue Star Origin*. It seems the next test phase for *Blue Star Origin* is drawing ever closer.

01

Korean Server: NEXON Just Won a TGA Award and Has Now Signed a Deal for *Blue Star Field*

NEXON is a South Korean company well known to Chinese gamers. Popular games such as *DNF*, *MapleStory*, and *KartRider* have been on the Chinese market for two decades and are cherished childhood memories for many players.In recent years, NEXON has also been actively expanding into new genres and has acquired top game developers in Europe and the United States through mergers and acquisitions. These acquisitions have already borne fruit.

"ARC Raiders," which won the Best Multiplayer Game award at this year's TGA, was developed by Embark Studios, a subsidiary of NEXON. Back in 2019, when NEXON acquired the new company founded by Patrick Söderlund—the creator of the "Battlefield" series—it revealed that the studio was already developing a new first-person shooter.

Two weeks after its launch this year, the game "ARC Raiders" sold over 4 million copies and reached a peak of more than 700,000 concurrent players, establishing itself as yet another breakout hit in the shooter genre.

ARC Raiders

Aside from large-scale multiplayer online PC games, the puzzle game *Diver Dave*, released by NEXON in 2023, can be described as “small but beautiful.” Without relying on elaborate visuals, it captivates players through adventure, exploration, and management.It earned a high score of 90 on Metacritic and won the 2024 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for “Best Game Design.”

Meanwhile, Manjyu has established a significant presence in South Korea’s anime-style gaming market thanks to *Azur Lane*, and its unique product philosophy has profoundly influenced the artistic direction and operational approaches of some South Korean anime-style games in recent years.Since *Blue Star Field* released its first promotional video last year, it has not only become a phenomenon in China but has also garnered remarkable attention in South Korea. Its gameplay and art style—particularly the character designs of the cute girls—have also won the hearts of Korean players.

Overall, as a long-established South Korean developer, NEXON not only possesses extensive local resources and localization experience, but in recent years—whether developing its own games or acting as a publisher—it has demonstrated a unique eye for selecting titles. Securing the exclusive distribution rights for the Korean server of *Blue Starfield* reflects their confidence in the game’s future prospects, so it comes as no surprise that they have formed a powerful partnership with Manjiao.

02

Japanese Server: Manjyu is deeply involved in the publishing process

Manju's breakthrough hit, *Azur Lane*, was previously published in Japan by Youxing. The game topped the local App Store's Top Grossing chart upon its launch, becoming the first Chinese-developed game to reach the number one spot on the Japanese App Store.

However, the release of *Blue Star Field* will be a joint effort by Manjiao and Youxing.

“Co-publishing” means that the partnership model between the two companies is fundamentally different from that during the *Azur Lane* era. Manjyu will take the lead in publishing *Blue Star Origin* on the Japanese servers, while Youxing will assist in advancing the game’s launch process.

03

Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan Servers: The publisher also distributes the Mi Home Bundle

The Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan servers are published by NIJIGEN Games. Yes, NIJIGEN Games was previously the publisher of *Azur Lane* in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

NIJIGEN is the Japanese pronunciation of “2D,” and this publisher does indeed focus almost exclusively on releasing 2D games. According to the NIJIGEN Games official website, NIJIGEN Games has released miHoYo’s *Genshin Impact*, *Honkai: Star Rail*,*Zero Zone*, *Honkai Impact 3rd*, and *The Case Files*. Other well-known 2D games, such as *Mingchao* and *Dust White Zone*, are also published by NIJIGEN Games.

The NIJIGEN Games official website also indicates that the company is actually a Taiwanese branch of a Hong Kong-based firm. Based on local laws and regulations, it’s not hard to infer that this distribution model is likely the same as that used for the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan servers of *Azur Lane*.

Conclusion

Since the first closed beta for *Blue Star Origin* concluded in August of this year, the development team has been hard at work.Prior to publication, we confirmed with relevant sources that the Chinese server of *Blue Star Origin* has been independently developed and published by Manjiao from the very beginning. This means that while the recent overseas promotional efforts did not reveal much new information about the game itself, the gradual advancement of global distribution efforts signifies that the product’s development has entered a new phase.

The game framework presented in the first closed beta test of *Blue Star Field* has been well-received by players, who were particularly satisfied with the game’s strong anime-style aesthetic. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing how the home-building gameplay is further refined and expanded in future test versions of *Blue Star Field*, as well as how the game’s monetization system will ultimately be structured.