#Japan #Tokyo #OUTERPLANE #VAGAMES #Major9

A New Chapter for Outerplane

The turn-based RPG, Outerplane, has captured the attention of fans of two-dimensional culture with its unique world and strategic battle system. After concluding a two-year partnership with its previous publisher, Outerplane is setting its sights on a new beginning by joining forces with Major9 to make strides in the global market. Interestingly, Major9 is new to publishing, prompting questions about this strategic decision.

Publisher Transition: A New Vision

Founded in 2008 with a focus on music and entertainment, Major9 has recently diversified its operations to include advertising, marketing, and game publishing as of 2023. The company emphasizes the need for dialogue with users as a core component of its strategy, particularly in the competitive subculture game market. Lee Do-am, head of Major9, emphasized, "The competition in the subculture gaming sector is intensifying. For mid-sized titles like ours, sincere content and communication with users is our competitive advantage."

Lee aims to preserve and enhance the game world and characters in partnership with the community of users.

Short-Term Updates: Eliminating Obstacles to Core Enjoyment

Hyun Moon-suk, CEO of VAGAMES, the development studio behind Outerplane, stated, "We will boldly improve elements that hinder the core enjoyment of the game." A significant change is being made to the character acquisition system, which previously depended heavily on in-game purchases for essential characters. Instead, players will now have increased entry opportunities for the 'Doppelganger Dungeon', allowing them to collect fragments to obtain characters they don’t already possess. As a result, the speed of character transcendence is expected to be halved, with players able to acquire two characters through approximately nine days of fragment collection.

Updated battle passes will allow paying users to acquire one permanent character upon purchase, while resource consumption in the headquarters' Synchronization Room will be reduced. The introduction of a skill book synthesis and decomposition system will enable users to focus more on growth and collection. The user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) improvements are also set to be substantial. Hyun noted, "We have been accumulating content without proper organization. Many users may feel inconvenience due to an overload of shops and event currencies."

Long-Term Roadmap: Content Expansion and Character Balancing

VAGAMES is committed to qualitative improvements and expansions of existing content for long-term users. The standalone content 'Elemental Tower' will expand to 100 floors, with plans to increase the difficulty of 'Sky Tower'. There are also considerations for adding new challenge contents and expanding growth caps within the year. Gradually improving new character dependencies and unreasonable gameplay structures is also on the agenda, with 2-3 characters to be continually rebalanced each month, providing varied team compositions for players.

Strengthening Communication with Users

Both Major9 and VAGAMES have repeatedly emphasized the importance of user dialogue. Lee stated, "In collaboration with VAGAMES, we plan to initiate regular interactions between developers and users, starting with the developer letter. We aim to conduct these interactions as frequently as possible through letters, live streams, and user meetings."

Additionally, they plan to increase offline event opportunities, kicking off with the Tokyo Game Show, to expand direct engagement with global users through merchandise distributions. Hyun added, "As we continue to serve users, we are examining each aspect that became standard over time from the perspective of new users, ensuring long-time users have new goals and motivations."

Major9 and VAGAMES are already in close discussions regarding UI/UX improvements, IP-related contents such as cell animation, and all areas related to PVE, PVP, and business models (BM), clearly sorting out what can be addressed currently and what needs long-term improvements. Decisions made will be shared with users through regular communication.

Update Roadmap Release for Late 2025

Aligned with its renewed launch, Major9 has also unveiled an update roadmap for the latter half of 2025. The long-awaited summer character 'Aoshi of the Clear Skies - Ember' will be implemented, along with the revival of the popular event 'Merusha Festival', offering players the chance to acquire a favorite demi-character. Events like the onsen and Halloween will reappear in October, with the 'Au Fest' event marking the 2.5 anniversary in November, introducing the limited character 'Gnosis - Viella' and a new 'Awakening System' targeted at the distribution character Veronica.

The first chapter of Story Season 4 will kick off in December, ushering in new narratives, and the beloved Christmas event will return, along with the revival of 'Holy Night Blessing - Diane' and the addition of new limited versions of popular characters.

Focusing on User Benefits with Realistic Business Models

Outerplane prioritizes a beneficial business model over sales targets, aiming to target users with an advantageous BM design and a rich distribution of event rewards compared to other large subculture titles. Lee remarked, "We aim to reduce costume prices and introduce low-cost daily packages, while we are currently in discussions to lower the prices and caps of transcendence packages."

The goal is to create an experience that light users can enjoy at the cost of a daily coffee, while also providing a reasonable BM for heavy users.

Aiming to Grow Together with Users

Hyun promised, "Though it may take time, we will listen to the diverse feedback of users to ensure they can enjoy Outerplane for a long time in a fun manner, improving upon each point step by step."

The collaboration between Outerplane and Major9 is more than just a change in publisher; it represents a model of new game services emphasizing growth alongside its users. With the expertise of the development company, the global reach of the publisher, and above all, genuine dialogue with users, attention is keenly focused on the new success story Outerplane aims to forge.