South Korea’s leading mobile game company Netmarble Games is looking to capture game enthusiasts and Star Wars fans around the world with the launch of its new mobile game “Star Wars: Force Arena” in 2017.

“Star Wars: Force Arena” is a mobile strategy game under development by Netmarble Games’ development studio and subsidiary Netmarble Monster, best known as the creator of the globally famous mobile role-playing game “Marvel: Future Fight.”

The new game is slated for global release in 154 countries next year, including major markets such as the US, Japan and China. Netmarble will release more details regarding the game’s launch schedule in January.

The upcoming Star Wars-based mobile game lets players battle one another in either one-on-one individual tournaments or in two-on-two team tournaments that last three minutes each, according to Netmarble.

Players can select a leader -- whether it is Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader or Princess Leia -- and seven additional supporting characters to take down their opponent’s fortress. More than 60 characters are available for selection.

“In developing ‘Star Wars: Force Arena,’” we focused on creating a game play method that can be easily grasped by anyone, including experienced gamers as well as Star Wars fans who are less familiar with game formats,” said Netmarble Monster CEO Kim Kun during a press conference held in Seoul on Wednesday.

“We’re going for a ‘global one-build’ strategy, meaning we’ve created a game that users all around the world can enjoy and understand, rather than one designed to appeal differently to differing markets,” Kim said.

Netmarble said it took great care to apply the movie’s original plot and characters into the game as much as possible. For instance, Luke Skywalker can enjoy an explosive power boost when Obi-Wan Kenobi dies during the game, just as the Star Wars protagonist falls into a shooting rampage after his Jedi master is killed by Darth Vader.

The characters in the game were all designed to realistically represent the actual actors who starred in the Star Wars series, including their appearance as well as representative movements, Kim said.

The Korean game developer said it may consider hosting an eSports tournament for “Star Wars: Force Arena” in the future, after the game gains traction in the global market.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)