PUBG: Battlegrounds’ Director Discusses the Importance of the Game’s Community
PUBG: Battlegrounds celebrated its seventh anniversary this year, and it’s still going strong. The free-to-play battle royale shooter has welcomed millions of players from around the world during those seven years, and the development team has been focused on releasing new content and updates to keep that massive community engaged.
“The key thing that I’ve learned over the past seven years is how important fans are,” said Taehyun Kim, Production Director of PUBG: Battlegrounds. “Our game has been serviced globally and it has been played in many countries and by many people around the world. So we keep looking for ways to satisfy diverse countries and diverse fans.”
Kim has been a member of the PUBG team since its initial phase of development in 2016. He worked his way up to Production Director, where he is now responsible for guiding all aspects of the game’s progress. We got a chance to sit down and chat with him in Cologne, Germany, where he and his team were on hand for gamescom.
Throughout our discussion, Kim stressed how vital he thinks it is for developers to stay in contact with their player base. He’s even been going out of his comfort zone to engage with fans publicly in new ways.
“I had a livestream with Korean users, and it was really, really challenging,” Kim said. “I’m a developer, not a professional emcee, so I was afraid. ‘Oh, what if I make a mistake in front of this many people in real time?’ But I think, of course it is difficult, but I need to keep challenging myself and I have to continue this effort.”
That effort is one of the reasons he came to Cologne. He attended PUBG: Hot Drop Cologne, an in-person event that allowed fans to meet the game’s devs, partners, and other special guests. It was one of the first times Kim has had direct contact with Western players, which is something he wants to continue to improve at.
“I’m Korean, and I’m more comfortable speaking in Korean, so I have been communicating with Korean users using livestreaming,” he said.
Read more on ign.com
