An interview with KRAFTON Publishing Group Product Management Div.
At KRAFTON, there are people who strive to help players from all over the world to enjoy the company’s games without issues. Meet KRAFTON’s product managers (PMs). Their hard work is infused into the various processes required for a game to launch into live service. We met with Seunghwan Choi and Sangeun Lee from the Product Management Div., which passionately leads game services in collaboration with various departments. What are the responsibilities of PMs at a video game company? What aspects of their work do they find rewarding? Let’s take a closer look at the world of product management!
Hi there, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Could you introduce yourselves to our readers briefly?
Seunghwan Choi (Seunghwan): Hello, I’m Seunghwan Choi and I’m working on businesses for PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and NEW STATE MOBILE at the Product Management Div.
Sangeun Lee (Sangeun Lee): My name is Sangeun Lee and I’m a member of the PUBGM HQ Team at Product Management 2 Dept.
Is everyone who works at the Product Management Div. a PM?
Seunghwan: Within the division, there are groups that solely consist of project PMs, as well as the Service Quality Dept. and the PM Translator Team of English, Chinese, and Japanese translators and interpreters. The division has more than 60 members, which makes it a relatively large organization. Since it’s the main PM organization for globally-serviced games, it has to be larger than the PM organizations for games that are only serviced domestically.
Could you tell us more about the position of PM at KRAFTON?
Seunghwan: Each PM takes on a slightly different role, but I’ll try to generalize a little bit. PMs establish the overall service strategy for a game and serve as the communication hub for collaborating with various regions and related departments for game services. KRAFTON can be divided into HQ organizations that take charge of each product and establish its project roadmap, and local project organizations that communicate with local fans for various products and place the roadmaps into action. The Product Management Div. is a HQ organization.
Sangeun: I’ve worked on establishing and implementing service directions for games and recently I’ve been working on planning and analyzing purchasable in-game items.
Do you have any specific examples of your work?
Sangeun: In terms of PUBG MOBILE, you could say that my job is to consider and place into practice different ways to service the developed content. The main user base for PUBG MOBILE in the Korean market consists of teenagers. In order to identify their characteristics, we conduct qualitative surveys such as focus group interviews (FGIs) as well as quantitative analysis based on in-game indicators to reflect the resulting insight on our services.
For example, PUBG MOBILE users in the early stages of service preferred green camouflage costumes that allowed them to conceal themselves more easily. These days, however, as users are becoming more skilled and enjoy flaunting their unique styles more, more vibrant colors and unique skins with a clear identity are more popular. They want people to know that they dress how they like and play well, even with costumes that stand out. We produce items that reflect such trends.
If there’s a team dedicated to translation and interpretation in the Product Management Div., I imagine that means there’s a high volume of global communication.
Sangeun: There are around 11 members in the translation and interpretation team right now. Other than English and Japanese, we need Chinese translators/interpreters to communicate with PUBG MOBILE developers based in China. Since it’s crucial to communicate in Chinese, Japanese, and English, we’re always working alongside our translators and interpreters.
It sounds like the ability to communicate is vital in product management.
Sangeun: We constantly communicate with numerous partners within and outside of the company. In particular, PMs are involved in every stage of the process from content development to post-launch updates. When we’re developing new content, we communicate with developers, and when we’ve set a service direction and start implementing it, we continuously communicate with the marketing team. In order to live launch each service, we talk a lot to the QA organization and keep working with the various collaborating departments after each update. Like I said earlier, our translators and interpreters are with us every step of the way. Since we communicate with so many departments depending on the operational phase, the capacity to communicate is extremely important.
Tell us about some positions that the Product Management Div. is currently recruiting for.
Seunghwan: Every position is essentially the same, since we’re all PMs. We’re usually assigned roles depending on our individual strengths as well as seniority. I’ll explain it in terms of junior PMs and senior PMs. Senior PMs focus more on setting the overall direction, communicating with relevant organizations, and resolving issues since they have a better overall understanding of PM work and the ability to make well-rounded decisions. Meanwhile, junior PMs can take turns experiencing the various roles within the Product Management Div. It’s important to experience various tasks and make them yours, so it’s good to build skills while taking on various experiences. That’s not to say that seniority is everything. Those who learn quickly can take on roles that are best suited to them.
What are some unique benefits of working as a PM at KRAFTON?
Seunghwan: We’re able to build global capabilities. Instead of relying solely on information that we have available to us in Korea, we can use the information and opinions that we gather by communicating with our colleagues at our overseas branches as they work on on-site service, thereby making comprehensive decisions that aren’t limited to a specific region. I feel that it’s a rare opportunity to service a game globally as a HQ organization in charge of all regions.
Sangeun: To be honest, there aren’t many products quite like PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and PUBG MOBILE. Unlike so many other games that are in the top echelon of sales in the market, our game isn’t “pay to win.” That’s why it’s important for us to discover selling points that can appeal to our users. I think we probably release more clothes through PUBG MOBILE each year than the average SPA brand. (Laughs) We release hundreds of item sets with each update, based on user needs. I don’t think that’s a very common experience at all. We’re free to attempt so many different things.
What are some capabilities that you need as a PM at KRAFTON?
Seunghwan: Like most generalists, we need a wide range of skills, but I think the first thing that comes to mind is the ability to communicate. Sometimes PMs plan and implement their own tasks, but we’re more often asking for help from other organizations. If we want to work well alongside our coworkers, communication skills are absolutely essential.
It also helps to be analytical. We collect real-time qualitative responses and quantitative indicators for each product, which we comprehensively analyze to monitor the product status and set an overall direction. We need to be able to analyze things rationally, since we communicate with relevant organizations using data. At a basic level, I think those who are proactive and driven will find themselves well-suited to PM work.
Having said that, you don’t have to be perfect in every regard. In fact, some of the PMs at the Product Management Div. are much more skilled in some areas than others. Some people are better at problem-solving, some are better at planning, while others are great communicators. Since we assign work based on individual strengths, it’s still a worthwhile line of work to pursue for someone with an outstanding specialty in one area.
I’d like to know more about the organizational culture within the Product Management Div.
Sangeun: PMs have to react quickly to market changes, so we like to experience new trends together as soon as they emerge. Our team once had a LAN party in “Gather.town,” which is a metaverse-based virtual conferencing platform. We created a separate Gather.town room for the party and had a staff dinner there. We shared drinks and streamed our screens to play games together as well. It was fun slaughtering our team leader in-game. (Laughs) We have this culture of sharing new knowledge and trends unreservedly.
Were there any moments when you felt a sense of pride as a KRAFTON PM?
Sangeun: I feel proud every time each update is installed and launched. (Laughs) It still feels incredible to me. Whenever the things I dedicated my blood, sweat, and tears towards are reflected in the game without a hitch, I look back at the communication that it took to get there and feel proud of myself.
Seunghwan: I think I feel that way when users respond positively to updates or outside actions, because it makes me think about all the preparation that it took. (Laughs) I think I’m at my happiest when the things I worked hard on with my coworkers finally come to fruition through positive user reactions.
Sangeun: That’s true. Our work generates real-time indicators. We can see in real time whether the contents we’re introducing are being used by the players. As such, I feel such a sense of achievement when I can see the results of our output with my own eyes.
Do you have any goals you’d like to achieve at KRAFTON?
Sangeun: I’d like to achieve personal growth through more diverse experiences. To that end, I recently changed my role at the Product Management Div. a little. KRAFTON is a place that offers myriad opportunities, which I’d like to make good use of in order to keep working as an effective PM.
Seunghwan: As the head of the organization, I feel the most sense of achievement to see our current and would-be colleagues grow. I’m happy that they learn so much as they work here and take on greater challenges successfully. My goal is to continue helping our members to grow.
Finally, I’d like a word of advice for our readers who are interested in working at the Product Management Div., which is currently recruiting.
Seunghwan: We’re an organization that creates opportunities if there are things that you want to try. Instead of assigning set, micro-managed roles to our members, we place greater emphasis on individual capacity and preference. We’ll keep building upon our organization in that direction, so I’d like anyone with their own strengths and drive to apply to work with us.
Sangeun: I chose to work at KRAFTON because I love video games. I love the games themselves, but I also love coming up with new ideas. That’s why I chose KRAFTON and I feel fulfilled in my work. I really believe that anyone who loves games will be able to have fun working with us. We’ll be waiting!
