Cygames Goes International: Taking the Best in Entertainment Worldwide
Cygames may have started out as a mobile gaming company, but it has been steadily building up its position as a console game developer. We asked Cygames’ Console Publishing and Development Department Chief Ryuichiro and Global Publishing Section Chief Norio about the company’s strengths as it looks to expand and grow globally.
This article contains excerpts from the 2024 Cygames Company Profile which can be read here. (Only available in English and Japanese.)
- Executive Manager of Console Publishing and DevelopmentRyuichiro
- Joined Cygames in 2020, previously involved in the development and project management of console and arcade games. He was promoted to executive officer in May 2023 and now oversees the company’s entire console game department.
- Department Manager of Global PublishingNorio
- Joined Cygames in 2021, previously worked on a major game platform for many years. As section chief, he now oversees the company’s domestic and global sales, marketing, and research.
Tackling the Global Market
through Console Games
Could you provide some background on what led Cygames to take on the new challenge of console game development?
Ryuichiro: We’ve been asking ourselves what we want Cygames to look like 10 or 20 years down the line, but to achieve the level of growth we’re after, we know that global expansion is absolutely essential. And the key to this is penetrating the console game market—which, of course, means entering into competition with the whole world.
The Console Publishing and Development Department consists of numerous industry veterans—including Norio himself—who possess the knowledge necessary to compete on a global scale. As part of our commitment to this goal, in October 2023 we unified the various groups working on console games into a single department.
The Console Publishing and Development Department is divided into the Global Publishing Section and Console Production Section. Can you please describe their respective roles?
Norio: As their names suggest, one section makes the games and the other markets them. What we’ve done is integrate the two into a single department. Specifically, our department’s role is to ensure that players all around the world are aware of our games—and actually choose to play them.
An undertaking of this scale likely requires help from your branches in other countries. Can you give us a brief overview of what exactly your overseas offices do?
Norio: In addition to the Cygames branches established in Korea and Taiwan a few years ago, we’ve officially established Cygames America and Cygames Europe in their respective territories. They will be taking on more and more global marketing duties as they continue to grow. It’s paramount that we keep in close communication with our various offices to gauge the issues each region presents. This allows us to tailor our global marketing strategies to each respective market.
Cygames LocationsAs of May 2024, Cygames also has a branch in Singapore.
Looking at the Big Picture
Tell us about your recent console game releases.
Ryuichiro: We launched Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (“GBVSR”) in December 2023 and Granblue Fantasy: Relink (“Relink”) in February 2024. There was also the recent announcement of Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash. Beyond that, we also have other titles currently in development.
The global market is competitive these days. In light of this fact, what type of games are you looking to make?
Ryuichiro: We want to deliver games which cater specifically to that “global” aspect of the market—we feel that we have a good shot at drawing more attention to our brand that way. That’s our goal right now, and we have multiple titles in production to hopefully help us reach it.
With console games, it’s common for fans to associate certain companies with a specific genre—Company “A” makes great RPGs, while company “B” is known for their top-class racing games, for example. For a newcomer dev, suddenly jumping into the fray and attempting to tackle multiple genres at once would prove to be an impossible task. That’s why we plan to leverage our years of valuable knowledge and experience to better carve out a unique space for ourselves and our new, upcoming titles.
So instead of taking on multiple genres all for the sake of variety, you’re focusing on what allows you to showcase Cygames’ unique strengths. With that in mind, what are your thoughts on marketing our games?
Ryuichiro: Generally speaking, I prefer to look at the big picture. Instead of focusing on one specific title, I believe it’s necessary to focus on multiple titles at once and have them all represent the Cygames brand. We’ll be looking at both the industry as a whole and our progress on other in-development titles in order to determine how we prepare to tackle new projects.
What can you tell us about your plans for console game development overall?
Ryuichiro: With our new organizational structure, we have a medium-term plan in place to release multiple titles per year. However, the reality of the industry is that platform holders have enormous influence. It’s crucial to approach the coming years (and decades) with a plan and do our due diligence by researching changing industry trends.
What type of promotions has the Global Publishing Section done overseas so far?
Norio: So far, we’ve managed to accomplish two main things—we had the chance to work with a major platform holder, and successfully pulled off our own marketing initiatives. Regarding the former, we announced a new game and showcased its trailer at a PlayStation online event. Such an opportunity was immensely helpful for getting more eyes on the game and for our overseas promotion.
As for our own marketing initiatives, we opted to amplify our presence at on-site events in 2023, including Anime Expo and Evo 2023 in the United States, gamescom in Germany, Brasil Game Show in Brazil, and Paris Games Week in France. Since the Cygames brand isn’t as well known globally, our first mission was to showcase our games to eager players all over the world. This was an important opportunity to directly engage with the world’s biggest markets—and it proved to be a big success.
Ryuichiro: We saw our overseas marketing efforts bear fruit in the form of an immediate spike in preorders and Steam wishlists. Seeing this made me realize that, even in this virtual age we live in, it’s still essential to maintain offline communication with local fans.
A Bright Future for Cygames
What are your plans for the console game business going forward?
Norio: For the time being at least, our top priority is to use GBVSR and Relink as a gateway to bring in more fans from all over the world. We want players to get familiar with the Cygames name—and learn that it stands for quality. To help realize this, we’ll continue promoting our products to the best of our abilities.
What would you say are Cygames’ strengths when it comes to console games?
Ryuichiro: Even looking at the industry on a global scale, you’d be hard-pressed to find many companies like us. We’ve accumulated vast amounts of knowledge about the operation of live-service mobile games, and we also employ a great number of highly experienced and skilled staff. I’d say that’s our biggest strength. However, I think the fact that we lack an established company image in the console sphere could prove to be an advantage as well. I believe it will give us a leg up in defining ourselves as a brand.
Our vision as a department is to take on the industry on a global scale, and we also aim to achieve full integration of sales and production processes. Unifying these would allow members from both sides to more easily collaborate from the early planning stages. I believe this strategy will become one of our biggest strengths and will ensure that we continue to grow as a company.
Would you say that your readiness to tackle global challenges is also a strength?
Ryuichiro: Absolutely. We’ve been able to make a strong showing on the world stage—thanks in no small part to our speediness, excellent teamwork , and position as an industry newcomer—in a relatively short period of time. I’m hopeful that the quick timing of this entry into the market will allow us to continue growing and amassing many new fans.
Lastly, what sort of people would you like to see join the Console Publishing and Development Department?
Ryuichiro: We’re looking for people who have their eyes not just on Japan, but on overseas markets as well. Going forward, we want to avoid taking something that’s only popular in Japan and trying to forcibly sell it in the global market—our entire approach will be to enter production with a global perspective from the get-go. We want to grow by creating games that players all around the world would find interesting. If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, then consider joining us.
Norio: We’re looking for highly motivated members who have a broad range of interests. I think that whenever you’re trying something new, some people can get overly fixated on how things were done before. When you do actually take that first step into the unknown, though, there’s so much you can learn. “Take interest, take initiative, and take it to the end”—If this sounds like you, then we’d love to have you.
And that wraps up this article about our international initiatives at Cygames.
Find this interview and more in the 2024 Cygames Company Profile, available as a PDF from the link below.
© Cygames, Inc. Developed by ARC SYSTEM WORKS
