At UCI games, esports and gaming culture collided at ESC 2018 -- a cross campus event featuring multi-game tournaments, exhibition matches, in depth panels and, thanks to Destiny Child developed by LINE games, top-tier cosplay competition. With a prize pool of $5,000, professional cosplayers descended upon UCI Campus, each having brought a Destiny Child character to life with their unique crafting skills.

Related: Where craft and fantasy collide - the Destiny Child Cosplay Contest!

Related: Destiny Child Cosplay Interviews - Stella Chuu, Reagan Kathryn, Lara Lunardi and Jessie Blaufus

One look at the Destiny Child Universe makes it easy to see why Cosplayers are drawn to the game. The larger than life character design, beautiful anime aesthetic and fantasy setting create unique challenges for the Cosplayers, but the hard work is worth it. The resulting cosplays turned heads and introduced Western gamers at ESC 2018 to the eye-catching world of Destiny Child.

Ready to embrace new fans stood the Destiny Child booth. Armed with prizes, the booth staff gave away hundreds of dollars worth of iTunes and Google Play gift cards to the lucky students who spun a Destiny Child themed prize wheel after voting for their favorite Cosplayer. The in-person votes were a crucial deciding factor when Inven Global staff tallied each vote to declare a winner.

After voting, fans could spin the prize wheel after first tieing their destiny to a chosen character! It was an agonizing choice (How can you pick a favorite?) but, once decided, the wheel was spun!

Win or lose, fans could they take a photo with the cosplayers. With this photo, they could enter a Photo Raffle to win the grand prize -- an ASUS monitor! Throughout the day, Destiny Child Cosplay contest voters were brought up on stage, each having a chance to win a variety of prizes. The atmosphere was electric as dozens of winners walked away with headphones, keyboards and other gaming accessories.

Filled with cosplay talent, the booth was a celebration of anime aesthetic and the Gacha genre. Hardcore mobile gamers stopped by to chat with staff, many of them already avid fans of the genre and Destiny Child.

The Gacha game genre is growing in popularity within the US. As more games are localized and translated into English, more Western gamers are exposed to the vivid characters and flashy combat the genre provides. Destiny Child is slated for an English release this year and, if the popularity of the Destiny Child booth at ESC 2018 is any indicator of consumer interest, then expect to see more gamers greeted by LINE Games’ unforgettable characters whenever they turn on their phone.

After all, the life of a college student is filled with the stress of studying, student loans, and a workload that never seems to go away. Games like Destiny Child, with their rich fantasy setting and hard-to-resist Gacha system are proving a welcome distraction from campus life.

Interview with LINE Games Business Manager

After the event, we had the opportunity to talk to Business Manage Mi-Eun Kim about introducing Destiny Child to an American audience and the unique challenges that offers. It isn't every day that a Korean company travels overseas directly to a college campus, so her perspective is a unique one.

​Q. You were able to share Destiny Child with the NA gamers for the first time through the cosplay contest. How do you feel?

We were curious about how NA gamers would react to Destiny Child since their illustrations are unique and vivid, but since many participants at the event showed positive interest and support, it has helped us a lot for the global launch. We will be working harder on the global launch based on our experience from the event.

Q. The reaction around the cosplay contest was positive; it seemed many people were interested since it has visual impact.

It seemed that NA gamers also thought highly of the visual features Destiny Child has. Destiny Child not only has great visuals but also a great storyline with personality added to each character through their in-depth narratives. We hope you look forward to it.

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Q. What is the difference between the Korean version and the global version of Destiny Child?

We are currently working on the game based on our Korean and Japanese version while taking western gamer’s preferences into account so that they can have a better play experience. We will be changing the in-game currency fundamentally, adding more meaning to the game content from which players can obtain them
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Q. When will the global version of the game be launched?

We aim to launch it within this year and are working hard to make that a reality. We will do our best so that global fans can meet the Destiny Child characters as soon as possible.