Chrono Studio is a South Korean video game development studio and a subsidiary of NPIXEL. Headquartered in Gangnam, Seoul, the studio is developing Chrono Odyssey as its primary and flagship project. The studio was originally NPIXEL's internal development team before being rebranded as Chrono Studio to reflect its dedicated focus on the game.
History
NPIXEL was founded by Spike Bong-gun Bae, a former Seven Knights developer who is CEO and director of Chrono Odyssey. NPIXEL's first release was Gran Saga, a mobile MMORPG that launched in South Korea in 2021. Gran Saga was commercially successful in its early years but shut down on April 30, 2025, allowing NPIXEL to concentrate its resources entirely on Chrono Odyssey.
The transition from Gran Saga to Chrono Odyssey represents a deliberate pivot from mobile to PC/console development. Mobile platforms (iOS, Android) were part of Chrono Odyssey's original December 2020 announcement but were dropped during development as the team narrowed focus to dedicated gaming hardware.
Key staff
Spike Bong-gun Bae: CEO and director. Former Seven Knights developer.
Cris Velasco: Composer. Credits include God of War, Bloodborne, Overwatch, and Mass Effect.
Publishing partnership
Chrono Studio works with Kakao Games as the global publisher. Kakao Games signed on at GDC 2024 and handles localization, marketing, and community engagement. The publishing agreement was announced alongside Chrono Odyssey's push into Western markets, with Kakao Games providing the infrastructure for global distribution that a studio of Chrono Studio's size would struggle to build independently.
Technical approach
Chrono Studio develops Chrono Odyssey on Unreal Engine 5, using Nanite geometry, Lumen lighting, DLSS, FSR, and TSR. The transition from Unreal Engine 4 to UE5 happened during 2021-2023 and was one of the factors that extended the game's development timeline.
Studio culture
Chrono Studio's response to the CBT1 reception demonstrates a willingness to make significant changes based on feedback. The post-CBT Developer Notes committed to a complete story rewrite, major combat improvements, and expanded open-world content. Committing to a full narrative rewrite after a beta test is unusual in the industry and suggests the studio prioritizes long-term quality over short-term timelines.