Netmarble's Ken Kim discusses the approach to free-to-play RPG Mongil: Star Dive and how it sets itself apart
For the last several years, numerous anime-inspired free-to-play "gacha" style RPGs have made an unmissable splash in the role-playing game space, starting with mobile platforms and expanding to PC and consoles for visually impressive, high-fidelity cinematic experiences. Mongil: Star Dive, seems to be the latest RPG in this movement, aiming for a more unique angle of a monster-taming perspective from the development team at Netmarble Monster.
At GDC 2026, RPG Site had a chance to sit down with Netmarble Monster CEO Ken Kim and talk about the upcoming free-to-play monster collection RPG.
RPG Site: To start, can you introduce yourself and the development studio?
Ken Kim: I'm Ken Kim, the CEO of Netmarble Monster, which is the developer studio. We are a subsidiary of Netmarble, which we joined in 2010. Mongil: Star Dive is a follow-up to our previous monster collection game Monster Taming, which was localized by Kabam in North America as Creature Academy back in 2014.
Ken Kim: I'm Ken Kim, the CEO of Netmarble Monster, which is the developer studio. We are a subsidiary of Netmarble, which we joined in 2010. Mongil: Star Dive is a follow-up to our previous monster collection game Monster Taming, which was localized by Kabam in North America as Creature Academy back in 2014.
RPG Site: Does Mongil: Star Dive have any connection to Monster Taming, like in terms of characters, story, or setting?
Kim: So there are some shared concepts, as a predecessor, such as the basic premise and character types. But for Monster Taming, the original game, we didn't spend that much time on narratives at the time. So for Mongil: Star Dive, we considered it more of a reboot, where we can work on the weak points and everything, as we decided to start over as a better tactic. So some things, including the basic storyline and characters, are similar.
Kim: So there are some shared concepts, as a predecessor, such as the basic premise and character types. But for Monster Taming, the original game, we didn't spend that much time on narratives at the time. So for Mongil: Star Dive, we considered it more of a reboot, where we can work on the weak points and everything, as we decided to start over as a better tactic. So some things, including the basic storyline and characters, are similar.
RPG Site: How long has this been in development, and how big a team is working on it?
Kim: So we've been developing this game for 5 years, and the team size is about 125 in-house people, with a lot of help from external agencies.
Kim: So we've been developing this game for 5 years, and the team size is about 125 in-house people, with a lot of help from external agencies.
RPG Site: In recent years, we've seen quite a few free-to-play anime-style RPGs land on PC and mobile platforms, including titles such as Genshin Impact, other Hoyoverse titles, Wuthering Waves, and the like. What sets Mongil: Star Dive apart?
Kim: We think the action quality of this game is something that we put a lot of time and effort into creating this real-time combat system - the three-man team tactic combat system. So that's perhaps similar to Genshin Impact and or Wuthering Waves. But our audience is a bit more of a casual RPG player. It's not exactly the same genre as Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves, because it's not completely an open-world game. While it has a deep narrative and a lively action system, it's more of a narrative-based collection RPG. So it's a little bit slightly different genre with a very high-quality action combat system.
It's very fast-paced in terms of narrative and unlocking all the gameplay and progression features. It's very fast-paced compared to other games in the market. In that sense, it is more casual. It's very easy to understand, and the narrative is very intriguing, but it's really fast-paced. There's a culture, especially in Korea, that you fast-forward through your YouTube videos, like at two or three times speed, but still, you get it, what's going on. So that's the idea of this casual action-type RPG.
Kim: We think the action quality of this game is something that we put a lot of time and effort into creating this real-time combat system - the three-man team tactic combat system. So that's perhaps similar to Genshin Impact and or Wuthering Waves. But our audience is a bit more of a casual RPG player. It's not exactly the same genre as Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves, because it's not completely an open-world game. While it has a deep narrative and a lively action system, it's more of a narrative-based collection RPG. So it's a little bit slightly different genre with a very high-quality action combat system.
It's very fast-paced in terms of narrative and unlocking all the gameplay and progression features. It's very fast-paced compared to other games in the market. In that sense, it is more casual. It's very easy to understand, and the narrative is very intriguing, but it's really fast-paced. There's a culture, especially in Korea, that you fast-forward through your YouTube videos, like at two or three times speed, but still, you get it, what's going on. So that's the idea of this casual action-type RPG.
RPG Site: How will this game be updated over time? What is your planned cadence, and what do you have scheduled?
Kim: We have already secured a good number of update features for the future, but it's not a fixed schedule. We're thinking that there will be a major update every six weeks or so, and each update will bring big changes or improvements in terms of game features, battles, adding new story chapters and characters as well.
Kim: We have already secured a good number of update features for the future, but it's not a fixed schedule. We're thinking that there will be a major update every six weeks or so, and each update will bring big changes or improvements in terms of game features, battles, adding new story chapters and characters as well.
RPG Site: As a free-to-play game, how will the monetization or 'gacha' system work in Mongil: Star Dive?
Kim: We're not very unique or special in terms of monetization. Honestly, we'll just follow the proven tactics in the market. I believe gacha shouldn't be a showstopper or a mandatory thing for you that you need to do in order to progress the narrative. It's more of an additional feature to make your characters slightly stronger. You can play the game, you can play the narrative without purchasing anything from gacha. Everything in terms of percentage chance, I would say, is lenient compared to other competitors. Our philosophy is that you can just enjoy your game. It's purely a single-player experience with a little bit of a social system or PvE co-op, but other than that, it's purely single-player.
Kim: We're not very unique or special in terms of monetization. Honestly, we'll just follow the proven tactics in the market. I believe gacha shouldn't be a showstopper or a mandatory thing for you that you need to do in order to progress the narrative. It's more of an additional feature to make your characters slightly stronger. You can play the game, you can play the narrative without purchasing anything from gacha. Everything in terms of percentage chance, I would say, is lenient compared to other competitors. Our philosophy is that you can just enjoy your game. It's purely a single-player experience with a little bit of a social system or PvE co-op, but other than that, it's purely single-player.
RPG Site: Can you just describe the approach to the combat design and why you went with that?
Kim: It's a little bit tricky to explain, but we are aiming for a "chain action" type of system. It's not that hard to control, but it'll be tricky to master, because each character has its own unique action patterns and playstyle. It's a three-person team, and if you switch your playable character, the previous character you were controlling remains in the field, taking actions. The lingering effect of the previous character or characters still makes an impact in the field. The character chaining could be very strategic when you consider the character's attributes, the elemental system, and everything else. It can be complicated.
It's important to make this situation where your three team members are taking out the enemy at the same time with maximum efficiency. So you combine different characters with different elements and different skills and different action styles. You may need to study hard and test combinations in order to master it. However, since we are serving this product on multiple platforms, including mobile platforms, controlling the action itself is pretty simple.
Kim: It's a little bit tricky to explain, but we are aiming for a "chain action" type of system. It's not that hard to control, but it'll be tricky to master, because each character has its own unique action patterns and playstyle. It's a three-person team, and if you switch your playable character, the previous character you were controlling remains in the field, taking actions. The lingering effect of the previous character or characters still makes an impact in the field. The character chaining could be very strategic when you consider the character's attributes, the elemental system, and everything else. It can be complicated.
It's important to make this situation where your three team members are taking out the enemy at the same time with maximum efficiency. So you combine different characters with different elements and different skills and different action styles. You may need to study hard and test combinations in order to master it. However, since we are serving this product on multiple platforms, including mobile platforms, controlling the action itself is pretty simple.
RPG Site: Can you describe the narrative premise of Mongil: Star Dive?
Kim: The narrative starts with the two main protagonists, Cloud and Verna. They've been teammates and joined a famous guild. They're basically young adventurers. They go out to the field, take care of monsters, and then get some sort of bounty. Sometimes they tame the monster.
But the main protagonist, Cloud, kept dreaming about this girl with nine tails. It's a fox girl. He doesn't know anything about her or her backstory. He's just wondering what's going on in his head. He also has a very special ability to communicate with monsters. So based on this background, they will find out more about that part of the story, and it'll be very intriguing and interesting.
Kim: The narrative starts with the two main protagonists, Cloud and Verna. They've been teammates and joined a famous guild. They're basically young adventurers. They go out to the field, take care of monsters, and then get some sort of bounty. Sometimes they tame the monster.
But the main protagonist, Cloud, kept dreaming about this girl with nine tails. It's a fox girl. He doesn't know anything about her or her backstory. He's just wondering what's going on in his head. He also has a very special ability to communicate with monsters. So based on this background, they will find out more about that part of the story, and it'll be very intriguing and interesting.
RPG Site: Mongil: Star Dive is described as a 'Creature Collector' RPG. How does the creature collecting work?
Kim: This one is Nyanners, our companion. Their special ability is to devour a Monster soul and then turn into an accessory. We call it Monsterling. For example, this character has two Monsterlings, and you can combine their effects. You can even adjust the bonus feature of each Monsterling so that you can get the maximum efficiency out of it. So, this is the purpose of the monster collection, as it can be practically beneficial in combat. Each Monsterling has its own bonus properties, so there's a mix and match, and it's aesthetically very satisfying. It'll be a very strategic element of the game. In fact. I think this is the most important, unique selling point of this game. Also, the animation where Nyanners devours the monsters? It's pretty cute.
Kim: This one is Nyanners, our companion. Their special ability is to devour a Monster soul and then turn into an accessory. We call it Monsterling. For example, this character has two Monsterlings, and you can combine their effects. You can even adjust the bonus feature of each Monsterling so that you can get the maximum efficiency out of it. So, this is the purpose of the monster collection, as it can be practically beneficial in combat. Each Monsterling has its own bonus properties, so there's a mix and match, and it's aesthetically very satisfying. It'll be a very strategic element of the game. In fact. I think this is the most important, unique selling point of this game. Also, the animation where Nyanners devours the monsters? It's pretty cute.
RPG Site: How does the character progression work in Mongil: Star Dive?
Kim: At first, it's through fairly traditional leveling mechanics. Eventually, however, you'll hit a limit. You need to perform a Breakthrough. Breakthrough requires a certain kind of elite item. You need to explore certain content to acquire this kind of material. But as soon as you get these items, you can break the maximum, which goes from Level 40 to Level 50.
There are also skills that you can upgrade, too, which also cost various types of materials. You need to get the materials by playing the daily dungeon and such. Equipment has levels, also. There is a level system and a tier system.
Kim: At first, it's through fairly traditional leveling mechanics. Eventually, however, you'll hit a limit. You need to perform a Breakthrough. Breakthrough requires a certain kind of elite item. You need to explore certain content to acquire this kind of material. But as soon as you get these items, you can break the maximum, which goes from Level 40 to Level 50.
There are also skills that you can upgrade, too, which also cost various types of materials. You need to get the materials by playing the daily dungeon and such. Equipment has levels, also. There is a level system and a tier system.
RPG Site: And how do you level up a Monsterling?
Kim: This is done in two ways. A monsterling can be powered up through dedicated EXP items. It's one of the most important growth systems of this game. There is also a Monsterling fusion system. It's pretty easy to understand. When you combine two Monsterlings, you can expect a certain type of Monsterling to be formed as a result. In the menu, you can just follow a recipe. Many Monsterlings are not something you can easily tame from the field. There are some that you can only obtain by combining certain specific monsters.
Kim: This is done in two ways. A monsterling can be powered up through dedicated EXP items. It's one of the most important growth systems of this game. There is also a Monsterling fusion system. It's pretty easy to understand. When you combine two Monsterlings, you can expect a certain type of Monsterling to be formed as a result. In the menu, you can just follow a recipe. Many Monsterlings are not something you can easily tame from the field. There are some that you can only obtain by combining certain specific monsters.
RPG Site: Can you describe the world of Mongil: Star Dive?
Kim: Starting from the original Monster Taming franchise, we followed pretty universal narrative grammar. We start from a medieval Western fantasy-themed town, and we have a forest region and a desert region. However, at a certain point, you will be teleported to another side of the planet. For example, we recently announced a region based on medieval-era Korea.
At some point, you will be teleported to a sort of future cyberpunk. So it'll be really interesting to see, you know, what kind of various cultural backgrounds you'll be encountering in this game.
Kim: Starting from the original Monster Taming franchise, we followed pretty universal narrative grammar. We start from a medieval Western fantasy-themed town, and we have a forest region and a desert region. However, at a certain point, you will be teleported to another side of the planet. For example, we recently announced a region based on medieval-era Korea.
At some point, you will be teleported to a sort of future cyberpunk. So it'll be really interesting to see, you know, what kind of various cultural backgrounds you'll be encountering in this game.
RPG Site: All of these characters you get, do they each have their own character storyline quest? How do characters differ from each other in gameplay?
Kim: Each character has their own story. It could be a part of the main storyline, or it could be a separate storyline. We try to make enough rationale to launch the new character by providing all the different stories to get to know them. Also, in battle, each character has their own unique way to collect energy ... the action points needed so that he or she can activate their ultimate skill. So, you'll need to learn how to properly use each character in combat in order to figure out utilize this character fully.
RPG Site: Thank you for your time.
Kim: Each character has their own story. It could be a part of the main storyline, or it could be a separate storyline. We try to make enough rationale to launch the new character by providing all the different stories to get to know them. Also, in battle, each character has their own unique way to collect energy ... the action points needed so that he or she can activate their ultimate skill. So, you'll need to learn how to properly use each character in combat in order to figure out utilize this character fully.
RPG Site: Thank you for your time.
Mongil: Star Dive is set to release on April 15 for mobile devices and PC (Epic). A release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S will follow.