The Bird That Drinks Tears is a novel series that was created and written by Yeong-do Lee, who is widely acknowledged as the pioneer of the Korean fantasy genre. As one of the best-selling fantasy authors in Korea with millions of copies sold, Mr. Lee is an exceptionally imaginative writer who builds elaborate worlds and fills them with complex characters.

As originally announced in 2021, Krafton recruited Hollywood talent and concept artist, Iain McCaig, to help bring the novel to life. Mr. McCaig is a renowned concept artist who has been involved in early character visualizations for Star Wars characters, in addition to his work on many other blockbuster film franchises, such as The Avengers, Harry Potter and Terminator. His creative work will serve as the visual direction for this project. With the launch of the game’s official website, new concept art featuring key novel characters and environments has been revealed. Fans of The Bird That Drinks Tears will recognize unique interpretations of the novel’s four distinct character races, including  Human, Rekkon, Tokebi and Nhaga.  

To deliver the best experience possible, Krafton is aggressively recruiting the world’s top development talent to help create the game. For those interested in joining the project’s development team or would like to learn more about the game and The Bird That Drinks Tears, please visit here.

KRAFTON Inc. announced the opening of its first Canadian AAA game studio located in Montréal, Quebec. KRAFTON Montréal Studio will be led by Patrik Méthé, a prominent figure in the gaming industry with over 20 years of experience in leadership roles on some of the world’s most renowned franchises.

A team of industry veterans including Benoit Frappier, Producer; Frédéric Duroc, Game Director; and Martin Paradis, Technology Director; has already joined Méthé. The studio is looking to hire 150 people in the next 3 years with key positions including animation, programming and Head of HR.
 
KRAFTON Montréal Studio’s first project will be the adaptation of the acclaimed fantasy novel series The Bird That Drinks Tears, created and written by Yeong-do Lee, who is widely acknowledged as the pioneer of the Korean fantasy genre. As one of the best-selling fantasy authors in Korea, Mr. Lee is an exceptionally imaginative writer who builds elaborate worlds and fills them with complex characters.

“We are thrilled to open our first Canadian AAA studio in Montréal, one of the world’s top cities for video game production. The local pool of creative and specialized talent is impressive, and we hope that many will join our team. KRAFTON Montréal Studio will be our third studio in North America and we have found a great leader in Patrik who has extensive experience bringing franchises to new heights,” explains CH Kim, CEO at KRAFTON.
 
“Our team is currently made up of seasoned talents with a proven track record of successful games. We share a common goal: to deliver the finest adaptation of the novel and to provide an exceptional experience to gamers. As a fan of medieval fantasy since my teenage years, I’m excited to bring to life a fantasy masterpiece as an ambitious and memorable game. We couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of the KRAFTON family,” shares Patrik Méthé, Head of Studio, KRAFTON Montréal Studio.

The Bird That Drinks Tears, is a best-selling fantasy novel written by renowned Korean novelist Yeongdo Lee and is a story that has been loved and celebrated for over 20 years. Released in a series in four volumes the story begins when four races – Human, Rekkon, Tokebi, and Nhaga – get entangled in some kind of an event.

The Nhaga, one of the most unique races in this universe, occupy the Southern half of the world through a massive war that happened in the past, and leads a reclusive culture without interacting with the other three races ever since. Then, all of a sudden, by a certain collaborator of Nhaga, a frightening plot Nhaga is planning gets revealed.

Now, the three races in the North, under a proverb older than dirt ‘Three handles one,’ need to create a rescue party comprised of a pathfinder, a defeater, and a magician, jump into the jungles of Nhaga, and rescue the collaborator.

In The Bird That Drinks Tears, you cannot find races you can easily find in other fantasy novels like elves or dwarves. Instead, as a Korean fantasy novel, it’s filled with unique settings and characters the author creatively came up with based on East Asian myths.

The first race of all is Rekkon, which has traits of a giant bird. They are warriors with overwhelming physical abilities. They obtain weapons only made for them in The Final Forge and then take on a challenge to fulfill their long-cherished ambition for their lifetime. Their role in the rescue party is a defeater.

Tokebi, inspired by a traditional Korean goblin, are non-aggressive and playful. They are skillful with fire, and even if they die, they can live an eternal life as an Orusin. That’s why they’re not afraid of death. Their role in the rescue party is a magician.

Although humans have the weakest abilities compared to the two races mentioned above, they live in groups and have the biggest population, so they occupy most of the Northern cities and forces. Compared to their abilities, they have a strong desire for power and domination. Therefore, numerous soldiers who wish to put a king on a throne are eager to collect forces to carry on the Arazi Empire once prosperous.

The main character that leads the overall story of the novel is Kagan of human race. He is surviving by eating raw Nhaga out of vengeance in the realm of Nhaga due to a certain incident with the Nhaga for this lifetime. His role in the rescue party is a pathfinder.

Nhaga, the last race is a cold-blooded race like reptiles. They are sensitive to environments and temperature, so they only reside in the South filled with tropical jungle, and they cannot handle the cold of the North. They also do not communicate with sound, but they have their unique communication mechanism called “Neam”, and through heart removal, they get to have a semi-immortal body