Taking GBVSR and Relink Overseas: An Interview with Cygames’ International Staff
Cygames is committed to releasing its games not only for a domestic audience, but for those overseas as well. Recent examples include Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising (hereafter: GBVSR) in December 2023, followed by Granblue Fantasy: Relink (hereafter: Relink) in February 2024, which released across multiple languages.
For this interview, we sat down with three team members involved in bringing GBVSR and Relink overseas to learn more about how they laid the groundwork for each game’s introduction and community management.
※The information in this article was current at the time of the interview.
- Global PublishingMasafumi
- A native of Japan, Masafumi worked on marketing for platformer games and game studios before joining Cygames in 2023. He is currently working as part of the global marketing team for GBVSR and Relink.
- Manager, Global Marketing Section 2Julia
- Hailing from France, Julia created outfits for events and motion capture before joining Cygames in 2017, where she was responsible for mobile title marketing and the management of the European and North American regions. She currently heads the team tasked with creating influencer strategies for Relink in Europe and North America.
- Assistant Manager, Global Marketing Section 2Sheau Ying
- Originally from Singapore, SheauYing was a language instructor before joining Cygames in 2019. She works to bring in-person events to North America, handles the licensing of Cygames’ works for English-speaking regions, and manages the company’s English social media accounts, as well as influencer strategies for GBVSR.
Growing the Granblue Name Overseas:
Debut Strategies and Public Relations
What were your goals when aiming for a global release of GBVSR and Relink?
Masafumi: We wanted players around the world to know what Granblue is about. In the ten years since Granblue Fantasy was released in Japan, it’s received much love and support from domestic fans, but the title is still relatively unknown overseas. However, with the development of GBVSR and Relink for the console and PC, and the release timing for both being close together, we started thinking about how to introduce the Granblue franchise to players outside of Japan.
What are some points you kept in mind when introducing Granblue to fans of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds?
Julia: Cygames’ vision to provide the “the best in entertainment” encompasses players of various cultural backgrounds, and we keep that in mind when creating our games. One of the main goals in expanding our reach overseas is that we want as many people as possible to create shared experiences through our works.
What specifically did you do to expand Granblue to players overseas?
Masafumi: This time, we paid special attention to two things in particular.
The first is how we could debut the titles in a way that truly stands out. The GBVSR championship series took place at EVO (1) in Las Vegas, USA. Relink, on the other hand, was featured on Opening Night Live at gamescom (2), one of the world’s largest gaming events, which is held annually in Germany. Both of these events gave us the opportunity to introduce the games, talk about release dates, and share information on a grand scale. This venture was unprecedented territory for Cygames and was only made possible with the cooperation of so many talented people.
(1) EVO, which draws competitors and spectators from around the globe, is purportedly the world’s largest esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games.
(2) Opening Night Live is a gamescom event at which new titles are revealed. PC and console gaming media outlets look to this annual event for the latest news.
The second strategy we focused on was getting local media outlets and influencers involved. In August 2023, we invited American and European journalists and influencers to press conferences in San Francisco and London. We gave presentations, did interviews, and set up playable demos. This was also a chance for the developers to communicate directly with the media and introduce the games in their own words, thereby increasing our name recognition within the industry.
In addition, we held a second round of press conferences in December 2023 for Relink in Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo to foster a deeper understanding of the game. We were able to present a version of the game very close to the final product, and set aside over three hours for gameplay. For the Tokyo event, we invited media outlets from various regions including Mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.
These press conferences allowed the participants to get more in-depth knowledge of the game, and opened the door to more detailed, involved communications.
What difficulties did you encounter while promoting the game?
Masafumi: With regard to the aforementioned press conferences, one hurdle was winning over members of the press, especially those who had next to no knowledge of Granblue. In that sense, the development teams for both titles were a huge help—they created a game that was not only very easy to jump into, but supported multiple languages, so everyone could play and experience the games’ appeal directly.
And how did you work with the influencers?
Julia: We asked them to play the games and share their experience with their audience to help garner interest. Specifically, we got influencers in each region to record or live stream themselves while they played, so viewers could get unfiltered first impressions of the game.
Deciding who to partner with was also important; we made it a point to invite streamers and other content creators who are well-known in their respective regions. Relink especially is designed to be enjoyable for all types of gamers, from beginners to hardcore enthusiasts, with quests of increasing difficulty unlocking as you progress. We wanted as many people as possible to experience that, so we enlisted the help of a variety of content creators, ranging from casual to MMO streamers.
Sheau Ying: GBVSR’s mechanics allow fighting game novices to immerse themselves easily in the game, so we aimed to get the word out beyond only hardcore fighting game fans. To that end, we brought in not only esports figures, but streamers who don’t normally play fighting games. After playing the game for themselves, we got feedback saying that the game was easier to get the hang of than they initially thought.
What were the challenges involved in putting together such a large-scale influencer strategy?
Sheau Ying: GBVSR and Relink are both available in multiple languages, so we needed to partner with influencers from many regions. We started by doing our research—gaining an understanding of what sort of content the influencers were creating. Fortunately, we have many team members who speak a multitude of languages that we were able to bring on board.
Reactions to GBVSR and Relink and the Characteristics of Overseas Communities
Do you use a different approach when using social media to connect with overseas players?
Sheau Ying: We do. There are some differences in how social media accounts are managed for Japanese and overseas audiences. In English-speaking regions, the relationship users have with the developers is a closer one, with casual and friendly interactions being the norm. So, posts from the GBVSR account tend to be written in a way that bridges the gap between the developers and players.
What are some unique characteristics of the overseas player base?
Sheau Ying: Within the GBVSR community, I feel there’s a strong tendency to take on the mantle of ambassadors for the game by spreading the word. In the past, I’ve gone to events where I’ve seen fans speaking passionately about the game. When the officially recognized GBVSR Discord started, it gave players a way to more easily communicate with each other and plan tournaments of their own.
Julia: Granblue has always had fans from overseas, and they helped to grow the community through contributions like fanart and cosplays. With the announcement of GBVSR and Relink’s respective releases, I feel like recognition of the Granblue franchise has increased. When we went to Anime Expo in 2023, we interacted with many passionate fans in the playable demo area, but also met plenty of people outside of our core player base.
Who are some of the fan-favorite characters among overseas players?
Sheau Ying: Charlotta is popular in both GBVSR and Relink for being an adorable powerhouse. Katalina also has many fans.
Julia: Among the male characters, Lancelot is popular, along with Id from Relink. They’re especially popular with female players.
What are your impressions of GBVSR and Relink after having played them yourself?
Masafumi: Both games are really well designed. I felt this especially when I was playing Relink—there’s a stunning variety of mid-battle character interactions. I was amazed at how much detail they put into the game.
Julia: The animations in Relink are unique to each character, so you can feel the vibe of each individual, even in the midst of all the action. Also, the controls are easy to use and the visuals when you do team plays are flashy and fun to watch. I think even people who don’t normally play action games will have a great time.
Sheau Ying: There’s so much attention to detail in Relink, and seeing Granblue illustrations brought to life in 3D against that backdrop really leaves an impression. As for GBVSR, thanks to the newly added rollback netcode (3), gameplay has become even smoother than it was in the first game.
(3) Rollback netcode reduces lag between players whose connectivity is affected by great physical distances or varying qualities of internet connections by predicting what commands players will input ahead of time, allowing for a seamless online experience.
Could you give us examples of when you felt joy or a sense of accomplishment while working on GBVSR and Relink?
Sheau Ying: I personally feel that sense of accomplishment daily when I see just how passionate the fans are on the officially recognized Discord or through other social media posts. For example, when a new character is added to the game and users enthusiastically share their fanart with us, I can feel the love they have for Granblue.
Masafumi: I feel like we achieved something big as a team by taking these steps into the overseas community. We brainstormed ways to market our titles, got the developers involved with doing interviews for overseas media outlets, and were able to reach our goal as one cohesive team. Truly, I feel blessed that we could experience all this.
Julia: I was happy to see so many people enjoying our games—whether they were waiting from the moment the titles were announced or whether they found out about them after their releases. It was also gratifying to see the positive reactions from many players about the fully voiced English version.
Our Goal: A Future where Granblue and Cygames
Become International Household Names
What did you learn during your involvement with GBVSR and Relink?
Sheau Ying: The mindset behind the company’s vision to create the “the best in entertainment.” I have nothing but respect for the development team and their dedication to even the most minor details of the game. It made us want to do our utmost so that we could share their love and commitment with the overseas players.
Masafumi: I came to understand just how important teamwork is when I joined Cygames. Whether it’s the events we held to announce the games or setting up playable demos in North America and Europe, we couldn’t have done any of it without the support of countless people. We have a mission statement to always remember that we’re all part of “Team Cygames,” and I felt that keenly in my interactions with colleagues from various divisions—their eagerness to contribute went a long way.
Julia: I learned the importance of having a deeper understanding of our products. Part of our job is looking at games from multiple perspectives and knowing what differentiates the games we’re assigned to from the others. In many instances, Cygames does its media relations and marketing in-house; since many of the departments have close ties, it makes it easy to collaborate. This is vital for us, as the deeper our understanding of our products is, the more effectively we can communicate with our users.
Is there something about Cygames’ culture that stands out for you?
Masafumi: The idea that we shouldn’t outright reject ideas stands out for me. There were many challenges that came with expanding overseas, but we were never told “Forget it. There’s too many risks involved.” Instead we had the support of the company, which told us to see what we could do.
Julia: You’re right—the company does encourage us to take on many challenges. It’s easy for us to work with other team members to start new ventures.
Sheau Ying: My impression is that the “Game Together” part of the mission statement is deeply rooted in the company’s culture. But it’s about more than just playing games—we put ourselves in the position of the players and ask ourselves what they want out of their gameplay experience. I think having this as part of our mission statement is good.
Could you tell us a little more about your colleagues?
Sheau Ying: Our global marketing team members come from all over the world. We all have our unique backgrounds to draw from and through our daily discussions, we get inspiration on how to create content that resonates with people from all walks of life, which really is exciting.
Julia: The diversity of our staff isn’t just in where they come from, but their ages as well. The games we like and the communities we’re a part of are different; it’s that very difference that makes communication both fun and informative. We also have many creative minds among us; I feel enriched just by talking with them.
Masafumi: There are a lot of people on the development team who take a diligent, serious approach to creating games. There have been many instances when their passion has helped and inspired me. Since I’m approaching my work from a marketing angle, there are times we’ll disagree, but that’s because we’re both dedicated to our jobs. For me, the ideal is being able to talk through our differences and find a common solution—and in practice, that’s what’s happened for us.
Could you tell us about further plans for overseas expansion or community development related to GBVSR and Relink?
Sheau Ying: Our priority is ensuring that the communities continue to be a safe place for all our users. The GBVSR community is a generous one, where many members take new players under their wing, and I’d like that to remain the same. Eventually, I’d like to start up a community management team in-house as well.
Julia: We’d love to grow the community and hold events on a similar scale as the ones in Japan. It’d be great to host events in more locations so that more people can get to know Cygames’ works.
Masafumi: Our goal of raising awareness of the Granblue franchise was mentioned at the start of our interview, and I feel like we’re just getting started. I hope that we can work with our players, and that in five to ten years, we can increase our name recognition so that Cygames and Granblue are household names. That’s the kind of future I want to work towards.
Finally, do you have any words for people interested in pursuing a career at Cygames?
Masafumi: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, but Cygames is a company that values teamwork. Cooperation across teams, like the development division’s work with the advertising and sales teams, is commonplace. If you’re someone who values those kind of connections between people, we’d love to work with you.
Sheau Ying: This is a company that regularly takes on new challenges, so the likelihood is high that even if something is not on the company’s radar now, it will be in a few short years. I think being forward-thinking and approaching matters with an open mind will go a long way here.
Julia: I think it’s especially important to have the drive to deliver entertaining content, and to work together to create the best possible brand. If you want to do that in the games industry, then Cygames is a great place to be. I look forward to hearing from people who are interested in taking their marketing skills to a global level.
That’s all for our interview with our international staff on GBVSR and Relink.
Thank you for reading! Keep an eye out for future overseas endeavors!
