KB News DeskKorea’s biggest game companies are teaming up with traditional artists to expand their cultural reach
Games and traditional arts may seem worlds apart, but the unlikely pairing is quickly becoming the South Korean gaming industry’s newest obsession.
Industry officials say the partnerships are creating a two-way exchange, introducing new audiences to traditional crafts while giving artists fresh creative inspiration rooted in game worlds.
The latest example comes from Nexon Games, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nexon Foundation and the Korea Ceramic Foundation to produce and exhibit works inspired by Blue Archive. Developed by Nexon Games and published globally by parent company Nexon, Blue Archive is a popular free-to-play tactical role-playing game and gacha title.
Under the agreement, six artists working across ceramics, metalwork, woodworking, glass, mother-of-pearl and textiles will create original works inspired by the game’s universe. The project will also feature public exhibitions and hands-on programs, while Nexon Games will provide creative consultation and oversee the production process through joint reviews.
The finished works will debut at the 2026 Gyeonggi Craft Festa, running from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1 in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.
The collaboration is part of a broader movement across Korea’s gaming industry, where developers are increasingly using traditional crafts to reinterpret some of their best-known franchises.
Earlier this year, CookieRun creator Devsisters presented an exhibition in Seoul’s Insa-dong that transformed CookieRun: Kingdom characters into works of traditional Korean craftsmanship.
Displayed at Arario Art Center from January through April, the exhibition featured Korean lantern installations, hwagak (ox-horn inlay), gold-leaf printing and sand art inspired by the game’s core characters.
Krafton has embraced a similar philosophy. In February, the publisher unveiled PUBG x Octique, a collaboration with Korean craftspeople that reimagines the massively popular battle royale game PUBG: Battlegrounds through the language of traditional craft and design.
Among the collection’s standout pieces is a folding screen inspired by PUBG’s iconic Blue Zone, reinterpreted through the concept of digital mother-of-pearl art, a contemporary take on Korea’s centuries-old lacquerware tradition. The collection also includes in-game items recreated as handcrafted objects, from frying pan-shaped wooden mirrors inlaid with mother-of-pearl to hanji accessories and wind chimes decorated with mother-of-pearl motifs.
Developers say the collection is part of efforts to expand the cultural life of game IP by placing it in conversation with Korea’s artistic heritage.
“Through collaborations with traditional Korean culture, we aim to expand the cultural value of our intellectual property,” a Devsisters official said.
“In particular, the accessibility of friendly games as a medium, combined with CookieRun’s massive global fan base, has enabled the franchise to play a role in promoting Korean culture and furthering the global spread of the Korean Wave.”
Nexon views the collaborations through a similar lens, though company officials stress that the initiative was not designed simply to capitalize on the growing global fascination with Korean culture.
“The growing global interest in Korean culture has certainly created a favorable backdrop,” a Nexon official said.
“However, this project was not conceived to capitalize on a particular trend. … We wanted to offer the Blue Archive IP as a source of artistic inspiration and create a new model of corporate social contribution by turning that inspiration into original creative works.”
