Bluehole enters the post-PUBG world

CEO Hyo-Seob Kim expressed her thoughts on reaching the top for the first time in Bluehole’s 10-year history and preparing for a new game.

2017 is coming to an end and Bluehole has never been as widely known and respected as it is now. If you’re into the multiplayer shooter genre – or you’re even just interested in a certain aspect of the gaming industry, from anywhere – there’s a good chance you’ll recognize the name of the house. This Korean developer, even though you didn’t know him 12 months ago.

The reason is because the game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a game that is so successful and eclipses any competitor released this year, and in a short time PUBG has made all comparisons with it become meaningless. lame. Last checked PUBG had sold 20 million copies – while still in Early Access, and only on one platform – Bluehole is currently working with Microsoft to bring the game to Xbox, and Tencent to bring the game to Xbox. Official release in China – rumor has it that Tencent will acquire Bluehole in the near future.

This may sound strange, but while Bluehole was very successful in 2017, this year is just the beginning on the road to match Riot Games’ League of Legends. Indeed, creative director Brendan Greene set his sights on hitting LoL in an interview back in August.

If PUBG’s meteoric rise was a surprise to the gaming industry and the world watching, for the company behind the game the surprise seems to have diminished somewhat. Speaking to us at Gstar in Busan, South Korea, Bluehole CEO Hyo-Seob Kim acknowledged the original goal of working with Brendan Greene on the Battle Royale concept was primarily, “targeting the Western market.”

“But we’re not going to push the game to the world,” he said. “Even in China and Korea (the game became popular). We never expected PUBG to thrive.”

“We have focused on increasing the quality of the game for the Western market. The results have been very good, and other markets have also gradually moved up. All thanks to the intense focus on the game, and how good it is.

The reasons for PUBG’s popularity are hard to pinpoint, but the impact the game is making is clear and powerful. At Gstar, Bluehole is the most spectacular area on the entire exhibition floor; Everything becomes even more memorable knowing that this is the first time in six years that Bluehole is on display at Korea’s premier consumer event regardless of size.

“We were here to do service for Tera through NHN Entertainment,” Hyo-Seob added. “But at that time NHN did almost everything with the booth, so we just joined as a developer.

“This is Bluehole’s 10th year, and it’s really our first time joining Gstar on our own. Everything is very new, and we are very proud of what we are trying to accomplish here.”

It is true that PUBG has helped make Bluehole’s name known to millions of people, more than at any point in its last 10 years, and also helped the company have enough resources to own an entire exhibition floor at a venue. such a big event, and at the same time the game has become a solid foundation for this company. Tera, the game it brought to the show last year, really shows what Bluehole is like as a company; an MMORPG that was first released in Korea in January 2011, before coming to Europe and North America in May 2012, and finally moving to a free-to-play model in January. /two thousand and thirteen.

Tera is an okay game for a genre that has, in the past, peaked with World of Warcraft, and has generally struggled to step out of Blizzard’s oversized shadow. Despite this, Tera is still supported with a lot of new content, and as of May 2017 the game has reached 26 million registered accounts. In short, Tera is a success, despite being in the era before PUBG completely smashed Bluehole’s view of what a successful game was like.

A lot of qualities exist in the game also from Bluehole and have the same level of investment as PUBG: Ascent: Infinite Realm, abbreviated A:IR, an MMORPG that has been in development for nearly 3 years, and will be a new product. Bluehole’s first launch in a world where everyone now knows the name.

If PUBG represents a whole new direction for Bluehole, A:IR is a game that goes back to the original essence of the company – a return with many big changes in the MMORPG scene since Tera was released. onion.

“MMORPG is still very fresh [mười năm trước], with World of Warcraft and many others,” said Hyo-Seob Kim. “But the gameplay remains the same regardless of time, so players become fed up with the system. And they started looking for other genres of games.”

Mindful of PUBG’s early rise, Bluehole has strived to make A:IR a viable MMORPG in a market where time is the most valuable resource, where brands as disparate as Destiny and FIFA have absorbed the enduring, persistent systems that were once the money-making feature of the MMORPG genre. That means less plowing, and more meaningful quests, says Hyo-Seob Kim, and unlocks most of the great features and content in the game from the very first hours of play.

“Now there are also mobile games and games on consoles. We thought we could adapt to that lifestyle and make the MMORPG something you don’t have to spend your life on.”

“If you’re playing WoW and a new MMORPG comes out, you’ll have to choose whether to move on or stay with the game you’ve worked so hard on. The market has changed, and so has the style of MMORPGs. We’re trying to change that, so you can play other games and still come to A:IR.”

“At the moment, there aren’t many companies making MMORPGs and games in this genre that are still active have been out for several years. A lot of players are tired of the same old missions and activities, and while there are plenty of choices in other genres, the MMORPG category is still not much to look at.

“If something new comes out, it gets more attention.”

And Bluehole wants the excitement to come from mainly the regions where PUBG has gone far: Europe and North America, which the gaming industry calls “the West.” However, according to Mr. Hyo-Seob Kim, this focus on the western market is not due to the success of PUBG.

“Bluehole has been making PC MMORPGs for a long time – 10 years. With Tera, we’re targeting the Western market from the start, and for A:IR we’re still largely focused on that.

“You can recognize the word [phong cách đồ họa] and characters, it is favored for audiences in the West. Koreans would prefer everything to look pretty, that sort of thing. There is a style specifically for Korean users, and A:IR is not really that type.”

A:IR has a very unique style; it’s a mix of very classic medieval landscapes and iconography, using ancient technological machines, special animals that occasionally appear, and a design cast of stylish characters. way from Red Dead Redemption to Dark Souls and Asian MMORPG. A:IR also emphasizes real-time PvP combat, with limited time to invest in leveling up and questing.

There is no denying the ambition here, although the qualities and abilities of the game can sometimes be completely done. It may not be for everyone, but Bluehole seems to be aiming for something for MMORPG lovers in Europe and North America.

“We weren’t trying to create a game that was perfect for both regions,” said Hyo-Seob Kim. “To make a game that satisfies people on every continent, you have to put what each region loves into it. We tried doing the same with Tera and the results were not what we expected.

“So we’re trying to focus on the western market, but if the game quality is high, there’s no reason for Korean and Asian players not to accept the game. I also don’t completely agree that each region has its own style [ít nhất thì bây giờ không còn nữa]but like PUBG, we wanted to create an MMORPG that everyone likes – the original content, the systems, and the way it works.

“The difference will be in the graphics, or character customization; There will be regional variations, but the basic system we are creating will work anywhere in the world.”

The business model can also differ from region to region, and Hyo-Seob Kim only revealed that Bluehole has no intention of including a subscription model around this biggest MMORPG launch since 2011. Not only because the genre is becoming ever more picky, but also because each PUBG version sold has led to the public’s attention for Bluehole’s next product – the higher the entry fee. low, the ability to earn new players will be higher.

Source: gamesindustry