Nexon, the South Korean company behind hit titles like The First Descendant and The Finals, revealed a new game called Dungeon & Fighter: Arad in October 2024. Originally announced in early 2023 under the codename Project DW, the upcoming title was shown off with a teaser trailer during G-STAR 2024, an annual video game trade show that was held in Busan, South Korea. At the time, Nexon confirmed that Dungeon & Fighter: Arad would be an open-world action RPG based on the titular Dungeon & Fighter franchise, but it shared very few details about the actual content of the game. The studio did, however, reveal that the RPG was in development for PCs, mobile phones, and consoles.
After a few months of silence, Nexon showed off Dungeon & Fighter: Arad again at The Game Awards 2024. This sneak peek at the game, however, was far more informative. Although the TGA trailer didn’t show any of Dungeon & Fighter: Arad‘s gameplay, it gave viewers an idea of what its tone would be like. The flashy anime aesthetic and colorful visuals shown in the trailer gave off a happy and cheerful vibe, and the game’s art style looked similar to Genshin Impact. Nexon didn’t really provide much information about Dungeon & Fighter: Arad‘s plot after the TGA reveal, but it did share some additional details about how the game would be played.
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Dungeon & Fighter: Arad is a New Open-World Action RPG from Nexon
According to a press release from Nexon, Dungeon & Fighter: Arad is going to feature class-based RPG gameplay systems. Players will be able to select a unique class for their characters, each of which has special combat techniques that can aid them in battle. Despite being distinct enough on its own, the gameplay in Dungeon & Fighter: Arad is apparently going to take some inspiration from the fast-paced combat of previous Dungeon & Fighter games. Its emphasis on open-world exploration will, however, set itself apart from other installments in the series.
Dungeon & Fighter: Arad is running on Unreal Engine 5, which is unusual for an anime-styled gacha game like this one.
Dungeon & Figher: Arad is going to take place in a large, expansive region, which will be filled with tons of content for players to discover. There will be multiple quests to complete, monsters to defeat, and puzzles to solve throughout the game’s open areas. Players will also encounter a plethora of distinct characters as they explore the world of Dungeon & Fighter: Arad. While, from the outset, this premise doesn’t sound that original, the heritage behind the franchise that the game is based on may be enough to make it a major hit in the long run.
Dungeon & Fighter’s History
Dungeon & Fighter isn’t that well-known in the West, but in regions like South Korea and China, it’s actually quite popular. In fact, the first game in the series, Dungeon Fighter Online, is one of the most successful entertainment products of all time. This 2D MMO has attracted the attention of around 850 million players worldwide, and has accumulated over $22 billion in revenue, more than double the amount of cash that the Grand Theft Auto franchise has generated in its entire lifetime. Although subsequent Dungeon & Fighter games, such as 2022’s DNF Duel, haven’t been nearly as successful as the original Dungeon Fighter Online, it’s safe to say that the series has more than enough fans.
Considering how renowned the Dungeon & Fighter IP is, Dungeon & Fighter: Arad has the potential to become the next big gacha game, up there with recent hits like Wuthering Waves and Zenless Zone Zero. Ultimately, though, the platforms the game is released on will play a big role in how popular it ends up being. If the game is, say, exclusive to PlayStation 5 (like many gacha games these days) and does not land on other consoles like the upcoming Switch 2 on day-one, then its success may be inhibited. Since Nexon hasn’t confirmed any specific systems or even a release window for Dungeon & Fighter: Arad, fans will probably have to wait a while to get some clarification on the matter.
Nexon
- Date Founded
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December 26, 1994
- Headquarters
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Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
- Subsidiaries
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Big Huge Games