Krafton is presenting three titles at Gamescom 2024: Dark and Darker Mobile, inZOI, and PUBG. Among these, PUBG stands out in a unique way. While Dark and Darker Mobile and inZOI are being promoted ahead of their releases, PUBG is here to create a fun and engaging space for its long-time players to celebrate and enjoy the game together.

However, the atmosphere surrounding PUBG as a shooter isn’t entirely positive. Despite holding the crown in the battle royale genre and maintaining a dominant position, PUBG is facing increasing competition as new titles in the shooting genre emerge, challenging its stronghold.

As we enter an era of fierce competition in the shooting genre—with team-based shooters, tactical FPS, hero shooters, and extraction shooters all making their mark—we took the opportunity at Gamescom 2024 to explore PUBG's vision in its seventh year of service.

Alongside your two new titles, inZOI and Dark and Darker Mobile, you also showcased PUBG, now in its seventh year. Given that the newer games might naturally draw more attention,what was the purpose of bringing PUBG to Gamescom this year?

While we’re here representing one of Krafton's flagship IPs, our main goal is to connect with PUBG fans in the Western market, particularly in Europe. We've set up a presence at Gamescom and are also hosting PUBG HOT DROP Cologne 2024 during the event. This gives us an opportunity to engage directly with our community and partner influencers. We're here to increase player touchpoints across regions and strengthen our communication.

I noticed that you’re running events like shooting challenge and PUBG Steam playtime verification. Could you briefly introduce some of the programs you have prepared?

Our booth, modeled after PUBG’s shooting range, lets visitors participate in challenges to earn exclusive merchandise based on their performance. Additionally, players who verify their playtime in PUBG can receive in-game item coupons, with long-time players having the opportunity to earn rewards of up to 50,000 G-Coins.

In Korea, events and programs are usually centered around influencers. However, Gamescom seems to be a bit different, with a stronger focus on individual players. What could be the reasoning behind this approach?

Since it's been a while since we last participated in Gamescom, we really wanted to give back to our PUBG players in the European region. That's why we've designed our programs to be as accessible as possible, ensuring that anyone who loves PUBG can easily participate and walk away with exclusive merch and in-game items.

Recently, you’ve had major collaborations, including one with Lamborghini. Are there any other collaboration plans specifically targeting the European market?

Vehicle collaborations are a fan-favorite across all regions, so we plan to continue rolling out these partnerships regularly. Looking ahead to next year, we're not just focusing on vehicle collabs; we're also exploring ways to expand collaboration content that can be enjoyed by PUBG players worldwide. We're actively gathering feedback through surveys to understand what our community wants, and we're committed to making one of those collaborations a reality.

On a related note, I understand that you're developing Project Black Budget using the PUBG IP. Apart from that, are there any plans to introduce an extraction mode in PUBG?

PUBG continues to deliver fun and engaging updates without compromising the core essence of the battle royale experience, and we plan to maintain this approach moving forward. Over the past seven years, we've accumulated extensive expertise in the battle royale genre, and we firmly believe that battle royale-focused gameplay offers the most thrilling and immersive experience for our players.

While we can't ignore market trends, our goal is to build on the content that our players already enjoy, refining and confidently delivering the kind of fun that only PUBG can offer.

Many of our introduced modes are more accessible than the intensity of battle royale. We plan to continue this direction, developing modes that not only capture the high-stakes immersion of battle royale but also offer more relaxed, stress-free experiences that players can enjoy with friends. We invite everyone to stay tuned for the new modes we'll be launching in Arcade in the future.

Not too long ago, the battle royale genre was the dominant force in shooter games, with PUBG leading the charge. However, that’s no longer the case. We’re now seeing a surge in various genres, from team-based shooters to tactical FPS, hero shooters, and even extraction shooters. How do you view this increasing competition, and what is PUBG's strategy to stay ahead?

The diversification of genres is an inevitable trend as the gaming market evolves. From the perspective of player retention, PUBG continues to maintain a strong position and steady traffic.

As new genres emerge, the challenge for PUBG is to consistently reinforce the perception that “PUBG is still the go-to game.” While numerical success is important, I believe it's even more crucial to preserve the value and originality of PUBG and to strengthen our relationship with the community. Although some players may already feel this, we are committed to reaching out to those who haven’t yet recognized it.

Just as in the past, we want to continue hearing players say, “When it comes to gameplay, it’s got to be PUBG.” While we still have some time before reaching the ten-year mark, we dream of making PUBG a household name—a game that people of all ages can enjoy. As a gamer myself, I know how challenging it is to stay dedicated to a single game for decades. However, just as every gamer has their favorite game, we hope PUBG will be on that list, and we will keep striving to make that happen.

The world’s first official PUBG offline tournament, the Invitational, was held at Gamescom in 2017. Seven years have passed since then. As PUBG looks toward the future, could you share your vision for what’s next?

Even though we've been serving the community for over seven years, it's difficult to predict exactly what the future holds. As a globally serviced game, PUBG has continuously strived to satisfy a diverse player base. While we will undoubtedly face new challenges in the future, our focus will remain on prioritizing our fans and working even harder to meet their needs.

We're preparing a lot to ensure that PUBG continues to be beloved for many years to come. As we mentioned in our 2024 development roadmap, we've initiated a project to transition PUBG to the latest game development engine, Unreal Engine 5. This move will allow us to introduce new content, enhance service quality, and expand our communication channels, all with the goal of making the game even more enjoyable. We plan to reveal more details as we progress.

Our hope is that PUBG will still be a game we build together with our players seven years from now. We are committed to providing better services and elevating PUBG's stature in the gaming world.As a player, I hope to still be enjoying PUBG seven years from now and look forward to welcoming even more players.

Lastly, could you share your thoughts on attending Gamescom this year?

It's a nostalgic experience for us to be back at Gamescom for the second time since 2017! This year, our main goal at Gamescom is to connect more closely with our PUBG players and engage in meaningful conversations. We hope many of you will join us in making this event special.