CookieRun might be the biggest video game franchise you’ve never heard of. Since its inception in 2016, the Korean series has spawned multiple games, reached over 300 million players, and made over $1 billion in revenue.
It started in the last chance saloon for Devsisters, with CookieRun the studio’s final gamble ahead of impending bankruptcy. Years later, that gamble is still paying off, and the team has grand ambitions for the future.
It just launched CookieRun: OvenSmash, a Brawlstars-like PVP action game, alongside a new expansion for its growing TCG, and it has set its sights on becoming the “Pokemon of Korea”.
Just ahead of the launch of OvenSmash, TheGamer was treated to an exclusive email interview with Devsisters Global Strategy Officer Alissia Hong to discuss the game’s precarious beginnings, cracking the Western markets, and its ambitions to reach the heights of Pokemon.
TheGamer: CookieRun began its life as Project: Save the Company. Did you have any idea at that point that the game would become what it is today?
Alissia Hong: I wasn’t at Devsisters at that point, but our current CEO, Kilhyeon, and Chief IP Officer, Eunji, carried this mission as fresh recruits. With only one shot left in an existential crisis, they chose to reboot OvenBreak, Devsisters’ very first game, released in 2009.
What they saw was an outstanding universal story in its character, GingerBrave. The desire to break free from an oven. To be brave enough to defy its fate of being eaten by a witch. To run toward something, even when the odds say you shouldn’t. That’s the kind of story that works in any language, any culture, any generation.
A few critical decisions set the right foundation. An easy and intuitive name: CookieRun. Bringing diversity into cookie characters that have now grown to 500 and can continue to expand endlessly. And releasing through Kakao and Line, which engraved social play into our DNA and interactive fan culture as core part of the CookieRun experience. The game was social before social gaming was even a recognized category.
In 2021, CookieRun: Kingdom elevated the IP to the next level, introducing an epic world and story driven by characters with deep philosophies. And today, CookieRun has reached 300 million players across 248 countries, defying the typical lifespan of a mobile game and continuing to grow for 17 years. To answer your question, we always dreamed of building something that could last ten, 20, 30 years and more. But even then, we couldn’t have fully anticipated what CookieRun would become today. Devsisters has always aspired to carry this mission of creating a joyful world, in more places, to more people, for more moments. And we found the right recipe.
TG: How do you go from an endless runner to a full-blown RPG? What does that process look like?
AH: CookieRun started as a running game. Cookies escaping the oven and continuously sprinting forward. But as the characters grew on us, we couldn’t stop asking the same question our fans were asking: “Where are these Cookies running toward?” That simple curiosity opened the door to something much bigger. A desire to imagine their world, their home, and their stories. And ultimately led to the creation of CookieRun: Kingdom.
With CookieRun: Kingdom, we made a deliberate choice to focus not on genre, but on emotion. Instead of asking what kind of game to build, we asked what players should feel. Even though combining kingdom-building and character-driven adventure wasn’t typical, we believed it was something people would connect with. Because at its core, it’s about building a home and going on journeys with characters you care about.
Instead of asking what kind of game to build, we asked what players should feel.
That led us to invest deeply in world-building. We paused development to create a cohesive universe. Maps, histories, and cultures all built with detail and consistency. And at the center of that world are values. Each Cookie represents something meaningful, and we believe that’s what gives the IP lasting power.
So moving into an RPG wasn’t about changing genres. It was about giving the characters and their world the space to fully come alive.
TG: What about then moving again, from that, to a competitive PvP fighter like OvenSmash, which launched last week?
AH: CookieRun: OvenSmash is another expression of the same core idea. We wanted to create a competitive experience that still feels approachable and true to CookieRun. That’s why matches are fast, around three minutes, and controls are intuitive, so anyone can jump in and have fun right away.
That direction also reflects how players engage with games today. There’s a growing preference for experiences that deliver excitement quickly. Something you can jump into, feel the action right away, and come back to anytime. OvenSmash was designed around that idea, with matches that resolve in just a few minutes, but still deliver a strong sense of impact. It’s fast, but it never feels shallow.
At the same time, we focused on making that short-form experience feel rich and satisfying. Each Cookie has a distinct role and skill set, with dynamic movement, customizable abilities, and team synergies that add layers of strategy. The result is a game that feels responsive and expressive in your hands.
We’re already seeing that resonate globally. OvenSmash hit number one in the US App Store Top Charts on launch day, with the US quickly becoming our largest market by downloads. That tells us there’s a strong appetite for this kind of fast, character-driven PvP experience.
TG: What does this diversification strategy look like? How do you decide which genre to tackle next?
AH: The short answer is: we don’t start with genre. We start with the audience. When we look at a new expansion, the first filter is: “Does it create a reason for a new audience to discover us? Or does it open up new ways for our existing fans to play?”
Underneath all of it is a principle we’ve held since the very beginning—social play. Every genre we enter has to answer one question: “How do people play this together?” Not just in a technical, multiplayer sense, but in a way that feels socially alive. Those questions guide us not only in choosing genres, but also platforms. That’s how we came to create CookieRun: Braverse TCG, and what led us further to experiences like CookieRun Card Collection on Roblox.
When we enter a new genre, we build from our existing characters while introducing new ones designed to bring out the best of that experience. As we observed audience trends, especially fans who love CookieRun but are limited on time, we decided to expand into the idle RPG genre with CookieRun: Crumble, a witty and easygoing experience full of playful humor and quirky, offbeat moments. With over 500 Cookies, we’re continuing to build a CookieRun Universe that allows us to grow the IP while constantly evolving how players engage with it.
TG: Are there any genres you’d love to tap into next?
AH: There are two areas I’m particularly excited about. And they’re connected by the same vision: bringing the CookieRun world to life in more immersive ways.
The first is augmented reality. We’re developing CookieRun AR for 2027, and for us, it’s much more than a genre. It’s a bridge between the digital world our fans already love and the physical world they live in. We’ve already been turning real-world spaces into CookieRun playgrounds through experiences like escape rooms, art exhibitions, and aquariums. AR takes that even further, allowing players to move through their everyday environments while interacting with Cookies that feel alive around them.
We’ve already been turning real-world spaces into CookieRun playgrounds through experiences like escape rooms, art exhibitions, and aquariums.
The second is CookieRun: NewWorld, an open-world adventure where players can become Cookies and fully step into the universe. It brings together everything we’ve built so far. Characters, lore, and environments into one cohesive, explorable world, from cake mountains to soda oceans. Players won’t just follow a story, but live in the world. Building their own space, meeting other characters, and uncovering deeper truths about the universe. It’s a long-term project targeting 2029, timed with the franchise’s 20th anniversary. And a clear vision for where the IP is headed: more personal, more expansive, and more connected to the player.
TG: While the US market is large for the CookieRun franchise, much of its popularity lies in Asia. How do you plan to crack other markets?
AH: I’d actually say we’re already there. And now it’s about growing from that foundation. The US is currently our largest player base and our top revenue-generating region, ahead of Asian markets. In fact, last year was a breakout year for CookieRun in the US, as we were named one of YouTube’s Top 10 Trending Topics in 2025, which really shows how broadly the IP resonates. That momentum is now extending beyond the US, with CookieRun gaining popularity across key English-speaking markets including Canada, the UK, and Australia.
We’re also continuing to meet our fans in person, which has become an important part of how the brand grows in the US at major events like Gen Con, New York Comic Con, PAX Unplugged, and ANIME Impulse, we’ve seen thousands of attendees engage with CookieRun through hands-on demos and community activities. That momentum is continuing this year, with more events planned across the country, including a CookieRun pop-up store in New York Times Square this April, featuring exclusive merchandise, creator autograph sessions, and large-scale billboard activations.
TG: You’ve previously said that you want to be the Pokemon of Korea. What exactly does this look like?
AH: When you look at the biggest franchises in the world, they’re not just games. They’re part of people’s lives across different formats, generations, and moments. That kind of generational continuity, that depth of emotion is what we’re building toward with CookieRun. We want to build a world that feels truly believable and meaningful, that people grow up in, return to, and share beyond the boundaries of a game.
CookieRun has grown into a true four-quadrant IP over the past 17 years. Our player base is remarkably balanced across age groups, genders, and cultures. Something that only a handful of the world’s most successful character franchises achieve.
Our player base is remarkably balanced across age groups, genders, and cultures. Something that only a handful of the world’s most successful character franchises achieve.
What makes CookieRun unique is its foundation in food and shared emotions that come with it. Food is something everyone can relate to. It crosses cultures, generations, and geographies. It carries memory, emotion, and identity. When you think about it, there are endless kinds of food, endless stories, endless ways people connect through it. That gives us a universe with limitless room to grow. From games to physical experiences, from storytelling to real-world activations, we see CookieRun as something that can live wherever people create and share those moments.
TG: Your expertise is in mobile games, but are there any plans to bring any existing or future titles to consoles?
AH: Yes, we are actively exploring bringing our titles to consoles.Mobile has been our foundation, but we’re always looking for ways to optimize experience for players.
That includes expanding to platforms like PC, including Steam, and exploring how future projects like CookieRun: NewWorld can reach console audiences. Our goal is to make CookieRun accessible in the ways that feel most natural, wherever players choose to engage with it.
TG: How would you pitch the CookieRun games to those who haven’t played them yet, to entice them to play?
AH: Start with your favorite food. Chances are, there’s already a Cookie for that.
One of the things that makes CookieRun special is that it begins with a character you instantly connect with. With hundreds of Cookies, each with their own personality, story, and flavor, there’s always one that feels like it was made for you. The range is absurd in the best possible way. And once you find yours, you’re in. Because that’s when the stories and the world start pulling you in deeper.
In many ways, it’s like food. Everyone has a favorite. Something that triggers a memory, a feeling, a sense of belonging. CookieRun taps into that same instinct. And then builds an entire universe around it.
If you’re looking for the easiest way in right now, CookieRun: OvenSmash is your answer. Fast, fun, set in an urban fantasy world where you battle alongside cookies you love. A string cheese cookie, a bacon roll cookie, a melon soda cookie, to name a few. Easy to pick up, impossible to put down. And yes, you can dress your cookie however you want.
- Developer(s)
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PressA
- Publisher(s)
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Devsisters
