First launched for South Korea in 2002 by developer HQTeam (which later merged with the now-defunct Joyon Entertainment), The Great Merchant is a unique MMORPG which is now owned and operated by AK Interactive. While there is PVE content, a major focus is on gathering resources, crafting items, and ultimately trading as a merchant across lands and oceans. Yesterday, a little-known Korean studio known as RPG Republic announced that is developing a modernized mobile version of The Great Merchant (also known as Gersang). There was a 2D mobile version back in 2017 under AK Interactive, but it flopped badly.
Other than updating the graphics from 2D to 3D, RPG Republic aims to retain all the game’s iconic characters, along with the economy systems found in the original PC version. The Great Merchant Mobile (or Gersang Mobile) will be debuting this November at G-Star 2019. The PC English server of The Great Merchant can still be found here. RPG Republic is a new player in the mobile games market, having previously worked on educational software. It is now developing 2 other mobiles games, and intends to publish several other titles soon.
