
ULTIMATE GAME and SOUL M GAME Join Forces to Bring Legendary PC Game IRIS to Mobile -- Launching IRIS ORIGIN SEA Exclusively in Southeast Asia in 2025
Mr. Attachet Chaichanasongkram, CEO / Co-Founder, Ultimate Game commented, "IRIS is a powerful intellectual property (IP) with a longstanding reputation in its original PC format. While various versions have emerged globally, we recognize the unique potential of the original Korean development team. This collaboration allows us to preserve the authenticity and core essence of IRIS, ensuring it resonates deeply with both existing fans and new players in this region."
"Ultimate Game is committed to revitalizing iconic titles for the modern era. Our journey began with Luna Origin, and now continues with IRIS ORIGIN SEA — marking our first strategic entry into the Southeast Asian market. Looking ahead, we also plan to pursue a public listing within the next five years to support long-term business growth."
Mr. Attachet further emphasized the company's commitment to innovation through global partnerships: "Our collaboration with Google has enabled us to enhance targeting precision and digital marketing efficiency. By leveraging advanced digital tools, we are able to analyze performance and optimize strategies across all functions — accelerating progress toward our business objectives while continually improving our service offerings."
Mr. Um Tae Doo, CEO, Soul M Game Inc., added, "IRIS is a legendary IP that we are proud to elevate into a state-of-the-art mobile game. The development process has taken over three years using the latest Unity Engine, resulting in an immersive experience enriched with brand-new features. The game is designed for cross-platform play between mobile and PC, and includes exclusive content never seen in any previous version. Both longtime fans and new users will be able to enjoy a fresh and exciting journey together."
He continued, "We chose to partner with Ultimate Game due to their deep market expertise in Southeast Asia. Their experienced executive and operations teams have a proven track record in the online gaming industry. Collaborating with a strong local partner ensures greater market penetration with speed and precision — particularly in Thailand, which already boasts a robust MMORPG player base."
Mr. Kodchawara Vanichayapron, CMO / Co-Founder, Ultimate Game Concluded, "Our marketing strategy for IRIS ORIGIN SEA is centered on Digital Marketing, enabling precise audience targeting and in-game campaign personalization to deliver optimal user experiences. We are confident the game will receive strong support from the IRIS fanbase across the region."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
23 minutes ago
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae Myung rolls back Yoon-era tax cuts in first code overhaul
New tax plan seeks W8tr revenue boost through higher corporate, shareholder levies President Lee Jae Myung's first tax code overhaul, unveiled Thursday, focuses on reversing the tax relief introduced under his predecessor over the past three years, chiefly by raising tax rates on corporations and high-income individuals. 'The country's tax revenue base has eroded sharply over the past three years, leading to a significant drop in the tax-to-GDP ratio,' First Vice Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said Tuesday during a press briefing. 'This year's tax revision aims to support economic growth and stabilize livelihoods, while also rebuilding that weakened base to ensure fiscal sustainability.' Korea's tax burden ratio fell to 19 percent in 2023, well below the OECD average of 25 percent. It fell further to 17.6 percent last year, the lowest level since 2016. Tax revenue declined for two consecutive years, reaching 336.5 trillion won ($241.7 billion) in 2024, down 7.5 trillion won from the prior year and falling short of projections by 30.8 trillion won. The overhaul, the first under the Lee administration, is projected to generate an additional 8 trillion won. The ministry plans to submit the bill to the National Assembly before Sept. 3. The most significant change is a 1 percentage point hike across all corporate tax brackets, with the top rate -- applied to companies earning over 300 billion won -- returning to 25 percent. 'We're restoring the corporate tax rate to its 2022 level to strengthen the tax base,' Vice Minister Lee said. 'The additional revenue will be funneled back to businesses through support for ultra-innovative product development.' Companies earning under 200 million won will face a 10 percent rate; those earning between 200 million and 20 billion won, a 20 percent rate; and firms earning between 20 billion and 300 billion won, a 22 percent rate. The plan may draw criticism for bucking the global trend of lowering corporate taxes to boost competitiveness. Korea's top rate of 24 percent already exceeds the 21.5 percent average among member countries of the OECD and the rates of key trading partners. The revision also introduces a domestic minimum top-up tax, targeting local subsidiaries of foreign-headquartered firms whose effective tax rate falls below the global minimum of 15 percent. With the DMTT, Korean authorities will collect the shortfall directly. The overhaul tightens capital gains tax rules for major shareholders by lowering the threshold for taxation from 5 billion won in stock holdings to 1 billion won. Shareholders above that level will face tax rates ranging from 20 to 30 percent. 'The easing of major shareholder rules had a limited effect on boosting the stock market, while raising concerns over tax equity,' the Finance Ministry said, noting stock prices rose when the rules were tightened in 2017 but fell after the threshold was eased in 2023. The ministry is also reinstating the stock transaction tax, which had been phased out under a now-scrapped plan to introduce a financial investment income tax. The total rate will return to 0.2 percent, matching its 2023 level. To ease the burden on investors, the government plans to introduce a separate taxation scheme for dividend income. Currently, dividends are taxed at a flat 15.4 percent rate for annual income up to 20 million won, with any excess taxed as consolidated income at progressive rates of up to 49.5 percent. Under the proposed revision, dividend income would be taxed separately under a three-tier structure: 14 percent for income under 20 million won, 20 percent between 20 million and 300 million won, and 35 percent above 300 million won. To encourage corporate dividend payouts, dividend payments will be newly added to the list of qualifying income circulation categories under the tax incentive for promoting investment and mutual cooperation. The scheme imposes additional taxes on retained earnings not used for designated purposes, such as capital investment and wage increases. The revision boosts support for strategic industries, with a focus on artificial intelligence, which will be newly designated as a national strategic technology along with five related subcategories. The designation qualifies sectors for higher tax credits on R&D and investment. A 50 percent income tax break for AI professionals returning to Korea will be extended through 2028. Tax incentives will also expand for R&D in next-generation mobility and transportation technologies, as well as for defense firms entering the global defense supply chain. The content industry will receive added support, including a new tax credit for webtoon production.


Korea Herald
an hour ago
- Korea Herald
Agarmon: monster 'born at the moment of orgasm' questions birth, existence
Inaugural MMCA x LG OLED series exhibition shows Tzusoo's new works A mysterious translucent object with moss on it occupies the center of the Seoul Box at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The object is placed on a 9-meter-tall stainless steel installation with an overhead lamp. The floor of the installation is covered with stones. The creature, named 'Agarmon 5,' is composed of agar and moss, and the 'Agarmon Incubator' controls water, humidity and lighting, creating an artificial environment to sustain the creature's life. Korean artist Tzusoo, who chose the life of an artist while deferring pregnancy and childbirth, questions the meaning of existence and life by creating and caring for the creature. After the exhibition ends, the artist will take care of it for as long as she can. ''Agarmon 5 will be taken care of somewhere even after the show. Agarmon 1, 3 and 4 are already being looked after,' the artist said on Thursday. 'But Agarmon 2 died as the environment was not suitable, and my dad, who took care of it, felt so sad and buried it in a mountain behind his house.' The exhibition 'MMCA×LG OLED Series 2025 — Tzusoo Agarmon Encyclopedia: Leaked Edition' is the inaugural exhibition of the annual MMCA x LG OLED series, a collaborative project supporting digital art. The selected artist's works will be shown at the Seoul Box, the central exhibition space at the state museum. 'Agarmon is a monster born at the moment of orgasm — moments when sexual energy bursts. We are living in a world where childbirth is no longer seen as a necessity, and those beings become nothing if they are not fertilized. So I discovered these entities and felt that I needed to protect them,' she said. A pair of digital installations, 'The Eight Spirits of Flesh — TAE' and 'The Eight Spirits of Flesh — GAN' — on display reveal the world around the Agarmon. The concept of 'The Eight Spirits of Flesh' was derived from the 'eight trigrams,' the fundamental symbols in Chinese philosophy and cosmology, according to the museum. 'They are spiritual creatures, not necessarily holy,' the artist said, looking at the moving images of creatures in the digital works. 'Those spiritual creatures might appear again in my works in the future. Now there are two screens here, one for each spiritual creature, but it is interesting for me to imagine how they could make different synergy with more screens.' The exhibition will run through Feb. 1, 2026.


Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul downplays US claim it will take 90% of Korean investment fund profits
South Korea's presidential office on Thursday sought to downplay remarks by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick that '90 percent of the profits' from Korea's investment into the US will go to the American people, saying it understood the figure as part of a 'reinvestment concept.' Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that the US and Korea have established a 'full and complete' trade deal, saying that Korea pledges to invest $350 billion into sectors 'owned and controlled by the United States' and selected by Trump. Regarding this trade deal, the Korean government stated that $150 billion has been assigned for shipbuilding cooperation, while investments in chips, batteries, biotechnology and nuclear energy cooperation accounted for the remaining $200 billion. Adding on to Trump's announcement, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote on X that "90 percent of the profits" will be 'going to the American people.' He claimed that the recent trade deals 'reflect the clear understanding that President Trump's tariff and trade agenda has the power to reshape global commerce.' When asked about Lutnick's comments, presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom told reporters that it is "difficult to discuss further details.' 'We have documented the matter slightly differently in a memorandum, but we are unable to disclose everything,' said Kim, adding that the US side is fully aware of the understanding and expectations of the Korean side. Kim added that the split between the 90 percent and the 10 percent appeared to mirror phrasing previously used during trade negotiations between the US and Japan back on July 23. 'We don't have any intentions to argue over expressions, but the deal is not being negotiated that way,' Kim added. During the presidential office's press briefing, Kim pointed out that the official text issued by the US reads 'retain 90 percent of the profits from this investment,' which, according to Kim, makes it difficult to interpret exactly what Washington intends. 'Since it's not yet clear who will invest how much and where, it's difficult to infer precisely what the US is thinking,' said Kim. 'Our interpretation here is that it essentially refers to reinvestment — that instead of profits immediately leaving as dividend outflows, they will remain in the US.' The presidential chief of staff added that Korea was open to the arrangement if it ensured long-term benefits. 'If the US recommends truly good business opportunities, provides purchase guarantees and ensures our firms remain firmly involved, that would be fine,' Kim said. Mentioning that further discussions regarding investments are still rolling, Kim added that Korea expects to have opportunities to voice its opinion, 'to ensure that the fund operates in a way that doesn't harm (Korea's) interests.' Comparing Korea's trade deal with Japan's earlier agreement with Washington, Kim noted that Korea's $350 billion fund is significantly smaller than Japan's $550 billion pledge, despite both countries recording similar trade surpluses with the US in 2024 — $66 billion for Korea and $68.5 billion for Japan. 'Excluding the $150 billion shipbuilding fund led by Korea, (Korea's) investment fund amounts to just 35 percent of Japan's,' Kim said, emphasizing that 'more safeguards were built into (Korea's negotiations).'