Epic Seven Collaborates with K-Pop Group aespa: Another Case of 'Company-Funded Fandom'?

Recently, Epic Seven announced a collaboration with the K-pop girl group aespa. Given the game’s history of hardcore anime collabs like Guilty Gear, Re:Zero, and Fullmetal Alchemist, this pivot to a real-life pop group caught many veteran players off guard.

Community discussion quickly heated up. One player lamented: 'We were busy guessing which anime would come next, and they dropped a K-pop group instead—the shock factor is even higher than when they collaborated with VTubers.' Skeptics noted that aespa’s agency is obsessed with their 'metaverse' concept, often forcing members to perform alongside virtual avatars, which many netizens derisively call 'metaverse skin-wearing' (a slang term for artificial, corporate-mandated virtual identities).

Community reactions are sharply divided. While some fans humorously referenced the lyrics of 'Next Level,' many others fear this will be a 'bad operation' (a term for poor content decisions), similar to the Kanna Hashimoto collab in Princess Connect. Critics argue that since Epic Seven is a mature title with a notoriously steep learning curve, it's unclear if this collab will actually succeed in attracting new players.