Zipi Racing, to be released by CJ E&M netmarble and Disney Interactive Media Group. /Courtesy of CJ E&M netmarble

By Cho Mu-hyun

CJ E&M netmarble and Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG) are joining hands to publish games globally.

The two companies showcased a new game, Zipi Racing, Wednesday, which will be released next month in Korea. The game will be released in Europe and North America early 2014.

The online racing game was developed by Zipi Studio and is the first of its kind to feature characters from Disney Pixar’s movies "Cars" and "Toy Story." The game can be played on any platform with Internet connectivity without a download.

Users are able to customize their cars and meet together in in-game communities before commencing a race.

“We are expecting a lot from the new racing game as it’s the first to be playable on a new platform by us,” said Cho Young-ki, head of CJ E&M netmarble, in a press conference at The Westin Chosun Seoul, Wednesday. “We will make sure it brings in good results on domestic and overseas market.”

“Zipi Racing is a game developed by acquiring Disney’s intellectual property right, and as it will be published by North America’s largest media group, we expect its global performance to be solid.”

Also at the conference, John Pleasants, co-CEO of The Walt Disney Company’s video game publishing subsidiary said “I expect Zipi Racing plays a central role in the business shift from console to online.”

Zipi Studio CEO Choi Byoung said “we wanted to make the game fun and simple as possible and spent two years and half and giving everything we got on developing it.”