In this week’s Gamemeca Ranking, PUBG has made a return to the top five, climbing two spots to reach number five after a two-week hiatus. A look at the key metrics shows a significant spike in portal searches and streaming viewership, likely fueled by the buzz surrounding the April Fool's 'Hide and Seek' mode. Seeing such vitality at the nine-year mark is a bright signal for its long-term service.

The 'Hide and Seek' mode is a content where players transform into inanimate objects to hide from a seeker. It’s a simple, intuitive rule set that translates brilliantly to streaming, making it perfect for content creators to showcase fun and unique situations. Naturally, the internet has been flooded with clips of these antics, drawing in a massive audience.

PUBG remains a titan of the domestic market. Market analysts project that Krafton could hit 1 trillion won in revenue for Q1, with annual projections smashing through the 4 trillion won barrier, underpinned by the continuous growth of the PUBG IP. The secret to its long-term success lies in its transition to a free-to-play model, consistently releasing high-profile collaborations that keep players engaged and drive financial performance.

While Krafton has other titles like inZOI and Subnautica, PUBG remains the undisputed breadwinner. To keep the momentum going, the company needs to support the game with both short-term events like the 'Hide and Seek' mode and long-term plans. With the Stellar Blade collaboration dropping in late March and major terrain destruction updates and user-generated content enhancements coming to Erangel in April, the question remains: can they maintain this heavy-hitting momentum throughout the year?

The venerable online veteran 'The Kingdom of the Winds' (Baram-ui-Nara) has hit the big 3-0, re-entering the rankings at number 44 after nearly a year away. Portal searches surged following a substantial update on April 2nd, which introduced the new 'Silla' region, the 'Black Hwarang' class, and two new raids. Nexon has been pulling out all the stops, releasing commemorative merchandise—including traditional hanafuda cards and film cameras—to keep the nostalgia train rolling.

As the very first game from domestic giant Nexon and a Guinness World Record holder for the world's longest-running MMORPG, 'The Kingdom of the Winds' is a piece of history. With over 26 million cumulative players, it famously transitioned from a monthly subscription model to free-to-play in 2005, peaking at 130,000 Concurrent Players. That shift effectively wrote the blueprint for the current PC online market in Korea. Three decades later, the journey continues.

In the upper echelons, StarCraft has climbed two spots to 12th. The ASL Round of 16 is heating up, and with legends like Kim Taek-yong, Lee Young-ho, and Lee Jae-dong back in the mix, old-school fans are glued to their screens. Adding fuel to the fire, reports are circulating that Blizzard's unannounced AAA open-world shooter might just be set in the StarCraft universe.

Down in the lower ranks, Crimson Desert has slipped two spots to 33rd. While the momentum has slowed, it’s hardly a disaster—for a single-player package, holding steady is a feat in itself. With ongoing patches like inventory expansions, players are still uncovering the sheer depth of content buried within, ensuring the game remains a hot topic in searches and streams.