An interview with KRAFTON Publishing Group Esports Dept.
This year, PUBG Esports celebrates its fifth anniversary since its launch in 2018. PUBG Nations Cup (PNC), an international competition, was held last June, for the first time in three years, firing up PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS fans all over the world. Esports Dept. in KRAFTON has been taking on challenges across various fields from planning to operation stages in order to build the new Esports genre of battle royale. In essence, KRAFTON has pioneered a new global Esports from scratch. We interviewed Haein Jeong and Suyoung Park of Esports Dept., who continue to work quietly to develop PUBG Esports, in order to hear about the journey from behind the scenes.
Nice to meet you! Could you introduce yourselves to our readers?
Haein Jeong (Haein): I’m Haein Jeong, and I work for Esports Creative&Marketing Team and Esports Strategy Team under Esports Dept.
Suyong Park (Suyong): I’m Suyong Park, and I’m in charge of competition management at KR Esports Team under Esports Dept.
I’ve heard that there are a number of teams under Esports Dept. What are they specifically?
Haein: There are six teams in total under Esports Dept.; Esports Strategy Team, Esports Creative&Marketing Team, Esports Dev Team, Esports Biz Dev Team, Global Esports Management Team, Esports Event Production Team and KR Esports Team. Since Esports Dept. oversees KRAFTON’s entire global e-sports business, it is rather large in scale.
In that case, what kind of work do you do in your respective teams?
Suyong: My job is to plan and support the stable running of Esports competitions as a competition manager. I oversee competition schedules, rules, communication between teams, support for pro teams, and operation of competition venues.
Haein: I belong to two organizations simultaneously. At Esports Creative&Marketing Team, I help establish and operate our global Esports marketing strategy, while at Esports Strategy Team, I oversee strategic affairs to establish the mid-to-long-term direction of PUBG Esports.
It’s been five years since PUBG Esports was first launched. I’d like to know more about its history.
Suyong: The first PUBG: BATTLEGROUNS pro tournament took place in 2018, while I joined KRAFTON in early 2019. At first, the goal was to ensure the smooth running of competitions. It was a time when we were figuring out the basic frame of tournaments since it was the world’s first battle royale Esports. I worked hard with my colleagues to nail down the basics such as competition formats and rules. These days, the basic framework has been set with regard to competition management, so we’re now focusing on various projects, marketing, and additional businesses as the next stage of PUBG Esports.
Could you tell us more about your ongoing Esports business projects?
Haein: We’re advancing various projects to allow Esports to grow into a full-scale industry. For example, we’re planning various contents and services to allow fans to enjoy the competitions even more. Key efforts to this end include the “Fantasy League,” where the users can predict the performance of pro players and place bets, and the “Power Rankings,” which presents a comparison of performance statistics for players.
Among Korean video game companies, KRAFTON’s Esports Dept. is the only organization dedicated to an Esports business in the international scale. It must be difficult to establish an overall strategy for the business.
Haein: We don’t limit our definition of PUBG Esports as simply “gaming competitions.” Instead, we see it as its own genre of content business. PUBG Esports must serve to raise interest and encourage participation in PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS. To this end, we’re referencing countless cases from not only the video game industry, but also the sports and entertainment industries in order to gain insights.
Suyong: We look through any reference material that we can get our hands on, from the traditional sports industry to the entertainment business. The members of Esports Dept. all come from different industries, including the game industry, broadcasting companies, and the orthodox sports industry, so there’s always a diverse exchange of opinions. Through these daily discussions, we think together about ways to shape this new PUBG Esports ecosystem.
What’s the most distinct aspect of working on PUBG Esports?
Haein: First and foremost, I think that KRAFTON’s Esports Dept. is the only organization in Korea where you can properly experience working on a global Esports. Of course, there are various e-sports in Korea other than PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, but their developers are mostly based overseas, which makes the opportunity to directly organize a global mega-event quite rare. However, KRAFTON’s global headquarters for PUBG Esports is based in Korea, which allows us to directly plan and implement large-scale global competitions on the world stage. No one at Esports Dept. is solely in charge of domestic leagues. All of our work takes place at the global scale.
Could you explain in depth what working in global Esports entails?
Suyong: The work of Esports Dept. can be largely divided into five tasks; tournament operations, creative and broadcast contents, marketing, business management, and community management. Think of our job as performing these tasks at the global level. We conduct marketing activities targeting our global fans through broadcasts transmitted all over the world. Our job is to deliver fun and enjoyment to fans worldwide in places like China, Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America, as opposed to limiting our attention to Korean fans. As such, we continuously communicate and collaborate with local offices, which consist of experts on each region.
I imagine English proficiency is essential for communicating with local offices.
Haein: It helps a lot that there’s a dedicated translation and interpreting team of experts within KRAFTON. However, it’s difficult to rely on interpreters the entire time when it comes to working-level matters. So, we need a basic communication skill in English at least. But it’s not like we need to speak English at a native level. I think it’s perfectly manageable for those without a fear of communicating in English.
Other than foreign languages, what other skills do you need to work on global Esports?
Suyong: We collaborate with external partners as well as internal departments through real-time communication, which makes the capacity for communication crucial. I think this kind of work is a good fit for those with experience in projects targeting global consumers and not only those in the Esports sector.
Haein: It’s a field that requires proactive communication with stakeholders, so the capacity for empathy is deeply important. When we make decisions, we need to be able to consider the subsequent impact on our fans, pro players, and teams. But, more than anything else, it’s necessary to have a sense of affection and ownership towards PUBG Esports. Other than that, I think it’s beneficial to have a go-getter attitude that seeks to proactively develop the PUBG Esports ecosystem.
What was your most rewarding experience in working on PUBG Esports?
Suyong: Whenever there’s a PUBG Esports competition, we’re always in a back office on site, quietly working away. So, we don’t often get to meet our fans personally, but we feel an immense sense of joy when we watch the real-time reactions of fans through their cheers in the audience seats and through online livestreams. I feel so proud when I hear people say that the competitions are so much fun and make them want to play PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.
Haein: It wasn’t easy to plan PNC 2022 this year. Because it was the first in-person competition in a long time, we weren’t sure how many fans would actually attend the event in Bangkok. That made it such an emotional experience when I saw that all the seats were sold out for all four days of the competition after it began.
Are there any stories you’d like to tell us from the competition venue?
Haein: I was involved in producing players’ uniforms as the merchandise for PNC 2022. As a matter of fact, we didn’t prepare sufficient stock since we didn’t expect the uniforms for national teams other than the Thai home team to sell very much. But, when sales began, the uniforms for every single team were sold out before long. We rushed to supplement the stock by placing an additional order for Thai national team uniforms with a local manufacturer, but we weren’t able to produce additional stock for all the other teams. So, we decided to accept extra orders for uniforms to be sent through international delivery. The uniforms are still being manufactured as we speak and will be sent to places all over the world once they’re ready. I was impressed that the fans were so keenly interested in the uniforms.
What was the most memorable aspect of PUBG Esports competitions to date?
Haein: I think my most unforgettable memory is watching “PUBG GLOBAL INVITATIONAL.S 2021” as a fan, before I joined KRAFTON. It’s actually one of the reasons why I applied to work for KRAFTON. I was impressed that a video game company was communicating with its fans in such a creative and trendy way. I loved the elegant audiovisuals and felt that KRAFTON must be serious about Esports. As a marketer myself, I could see at a glance how much they’ve invested into the competition. That’s when I became sure that, if I could work on PUBG Esports at KRAFTON, I’d receive full support to achieve my goals. And now that belief has become reality.
Suyong: Countless competitions have been held across the world to date, but I think what sticks in my mind more are the smaller amateur events. In 2019, when PUBG Esports was just getting started, a regular club competition was held as a regional amateur event. There was a regional qualifier that took place on some rented seats in an Internet café, which was a great opportunity to meet so many amateurs who love PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and aspire to become pro players. I felt so many emotions as I watched them cheer and show pure passion like their life depends on each round. It made me realize that we need to take this seriously, since people play our game with their future at stake. I promised to myself that I’ll lead PUBG Esports with a sense of responsibility.
As a PUBG Esports manager, what would you like to achieve in the future?
Suyong: I would like to keep showcasing competitions where we can communicate and interact together, while meeting more and more new fans each year. I’d like to keep making improvements so that our fans can enjoy the event even more.
Haein: I’d like to organize events that people would like to go and see in person. Before I joined KRAFTON, I was involved in the World Cup. I remember everyone being envious, thinking that I’ll be able to watch the soccer matches in person. I’d like to create a culture where people would show the same kind of envy that I’d get to see the games in person, when I tell them that I work on “PUBG GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP,” the premier global event in PUBG Esports. I want to contribute to making sure that PUBG Esports reaches that stage.
Finally, what would you like to tell readers who are interested in working on PUBG Esports?
Suyong: I think it’s worth knocking on the door for anyone who enjoyed video games and sports growing up. I can confidently say that it’s a great opportunity for people like that.
Haein: It’s an opportunity to contribute to a global-level entertainment business while working at a video game company. You get to take on global tasks with high career satisfaction, have fun in the entertainment business, and enjoy steady work with competent coworkers at a video game company. Only KRAFTON’s Esports Dept. offers such a perfect combination of all three. I’m excited to meet our new coworkers who will accompany us on this journey.
