Netmarble’s 3 studios each win at KOCCA’s 2026 Game of the Year awards

Netmarble produced a clean sweep of the General Game: Blockbuster category at the Korea Creative Content Agency's 2026 Game of the Year awards, coming up with three winners. MONGIL: STAR DIVE, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, and StoneAge: Idle Adventure (each developed by a different internal Netmarble studio) all took home an award. Winning at KOCCA's Game of the Year awards program is a big deal in Korea, as it signals to the local industry which titles the government agency views as setting the standard.

The three winning games, broken down

The three titles couldn’t be any different. MONGIL: STAR DIVE, built by Netmarble Monster, is a PC and mobile monster-taming action RPG that followed Monster Taming. Unreal Engine 5 was used to rebuild its gorgeous visuals and character presentation, and players capture, collect, and synthesize monsters, then bring them into three-character party battles with real-time tag mechanics. Players can access the game for free on iOS, Android, and PC, with full English voice acting and subtitles.

In terms of scope and scale, The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is the largest of the three. Set across the continent of Britannia, it’s an open-world RPG for PC, console, and mobile. Players must control four different characters, who each share a health bar, with combat centering on dynamic weapon and hero action.

StoneAge: Idle Adventure, meanwhile, is more of a casual game perfect for idling away a few hours by collecting creatures. Think Pokemon but easier with monetization built-in. The mobile title uses the StoneAge IP and lets players build a deck of up to 24 units by pairing six trainers with 18 pets, leaning on strategic combinations within an accessible, straightforward system.

What the studio heads said

The three studio heads expressed gratitude and spoke about their plans going forward. Netmarble Monster CEO Kim Gun said that, "thanks to the interest and support of many people, we were able to receive this honor," adding that the team plans to "continuously communicate with players to enhance the game's level of polish."

Netmarble F&C CEO Koo Do-hyung spoke about his team taking the award “as encouragement and support, striving to provide an even better gaming experience through differentiated fun and high-quality content,” while Netmarble N2 CEO Kwon Min-kwan said the studio would "do our best to consistently add new content so that players can enjoy playing for a long time."

Why MONGIL: STAR DIVE has been picking up steam

Of the three winners, MONGIL: STAR DIVE has easily generated the most visible international player interest heading into the fall. The game recently added Vivian, a new five-star character that players have been raving about on social media. Engagement with the title’s expanding roster is growing.

For a free-to-play monster-taming title competing in such a crowded genre, combining KOCCA recognition with genuine player momentum puts it in a stronger position than mere player momentum could have achieved by itself. The future looks bright.

A clean sweep from one publisher

Getting one game to this level is an achievement in itself. Landing three in the same year, across three different studios? It’s not exactly a miracle but it’s a huge triumph that proves Netmarble is running its internal development operations superbly.

The awards won’t change the competitive picture overnight but they’ll put Netmarble's current slate in a favorable position heading into the remainder of 2026. All three titles will be looking to carry the momentum into Q4 content updates and beyond.