Interview: Major9 and VAGAMES discuss how OUTERPLANE is preparing for the next stage of its evolution

2025 proved to be a momentous year for OUTERPLANE, as the epic, turn-based, mobile-RPG transitioned to the publishing services of Major9, in a major strategic effort to redefine the game and re-engage with its fans.

Since the official switch over last September, the change has brought resoundingly positive results, with a host of quality-of-life and new content updates - the most recent of which saw the introduction of Mystic Sage Ame to its roster of heroes - and all signs are pointing to a pivotal 2026 for the RPG as it enters its third year.

To find out exactly what lies in store for its fans, we spoke with VAGAMES’ Development Producer, Moonsoo Hyun, and Major9’s Head of Publishing, Doahm Lee, about the future of OUTERPLANE.

First off, can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your personal experiences in the gaming industry?

Moonsoo Hyun: Hello, I’m Moonsoo Hyun, the Development Producer for OUTERPLANE.

I’ve been involved in game development for nearly 20 years, from the early days of Korea’s PC online game era through to the current mobile game landscape. I’ve worked on a range of projects, gaining experience in both game production and live service operations. The game most players are likely to recognise me for is Closers.

Overall, I wouldn’t describe my career as particularly glamorous. However, I developed a core philosophy of “user-focused game development.” 

For five years now, I’ve been involved with OUTERPLANE from its early development stages through live service, and my focus remains on creating a game that players can easily enjoy for a long time.

Doahm Lee: Hello, I’m Doahm Lee, Head of the Publishing Division at Major9. I began my career around 2009 in advertising and marketing. Over the past decade, I’ve built my experience working on a range of game marketing projects.

How was the experience of working with VAGAMES and transitioning OUTERPLANE to Major’s service? Do you have any memorable moments during this stressful process?

MSH: The transition of OUTERPLANE from the previous publisher to Major9 was not just a simple contractual change. This marked a turning point in redefining the game’s service direction and operational structure. Major9 is a company with strong expertise in branding and marketing within the broader entertainment industry, and we saw them as a fresh and compelling partner entering the game publishing space with a unique perspective.

Given OUTERPLANE’s strong global user base and its character-driven anime style, it was important to form a marketing partnership that could communicate the game’s appeal, while also maintaining consistent and meaningful engagement with newly acquired users.

Major9 ran numerous marketing campaigns, directly engaging with communities on platforms such as Reddit, X, Discord, and ArcaLive.

By listening to player feedback and sharing those insights with the development team, they steadily built trust with the community. Seeing how they approached trust-building with players—and how that trust translated into stronger confidence in both the publisher and the development team, reinforced our belief that we were aligned in the same direction: creating a user-focused game and service together.

DL: Many decisions had to be made urgently, so there were moments where preparation felt less than ideal. Looking back, I wonder whether taking a bit more time to prepare might have been worth considering. That said, the transition led to improved overall performance metrics, and we were grateful to see many players return to the game.

In that sense, I believe the service transition was successful. What stood out to me was how detailed Director Hyun is when it comes to game balance. The care and rigor applied to balancing each update was beyond my expectations. It was clear that he designs the game with great pride and detail, and that level of dedication left a strong impression on me.

OUTERPLANE has now surpassed 2.5 years of service and is approaching its third anniversary. Could you share your vision for the future of the game, including your plans for long-term live operations and global publishing strategy?

MSH: As we approach our third anniversary, OUTERPLANE is moving beyond adding new content. Our focus is on improving user experience, refining our business model, and strengthening real-time communication with the community. Listening to feedback not only from Korean but also global communities and reflecting that feedback in our service will be a key pillar of our global operations strategy going forward.

With the game nearing three years of service, we recognise that new players may struggle jumping on due to early-character gaps in quality, accumulated content volume, or outdated UI/UX issues—feedback we continuously receive. While delivering fresh content for existing players remains important, it is critical to improve this foundation so that new players can settle in and transition into long-term play.

Moving forward, we plan to carefully balance both aspects as we prepare for the next stage of OUTERPLANE’s evolution.

DL: As OUTERPLANE approaches its third year of service, this is the right time to expand the IP through more global campaigns and new projects. With Season 4 planned to release in increments, we will be bringing key arcs of the main storyline to a close. This allows us to reinforce areas we feel need strengthening—such as character narratives, presentation, and storytelling. Beyond in-game content, we plan to explore a variety of new content formats. For animation-style games, the most important factor is that players grow attached to the world and characters. Rather than offering content that is just consumed and forgotten, our strategy is to expand the universe itself—so that it feels like a living, breathing world that players can truly care about.

OUTERPLANE has released its latest hero (Mystic Sage, Ame) and a new hero is teased to be released soon. What is the typical process for determining new characters, story chapters, and events and what do you prioritise in new patches?

MSH: When creating new characters, the most important factor we consider is the preferences of players currently enjoying OUTERPLANE. We analyze community feedback, character usage data, and gameplay patterns to establish our core direction. Then, we examine whether the character conceptually fits naturally within the collectible gacha genre and whether it integrates seamlessly into OUTERPLANE’s world and lore. 

We also research recent character design trends across games and anime, with the scenario team taking a central role in this process. Story chapters are designed with readability in mind; consisting of around 30 to 50 sentences per chapter, allowing players to enjoy the narrative without feeling overwhelmed. Event stories are intentionally lighter and more playful in tone than the main storyline, with a focus on  providing players a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

Were there any specific accomplishments from last year that you were most proud of?

MSH: The most meaningful achievement this year was successfully completing a stable service transition with minimal disruption. Shifting publishers and moving toward a developer-led service model naturally came with concerns about potential performance drops and player loss.  Actually, the transition turned out with less trouble than expected, and many players returned to the game. That experience reminded us again of the value of player trust and the responsibility that comes with it.

Through this process, we gained renewed confidence that when developers and publishers work together to deliver better service and content, players will respond with continued trust and support. While there is room for improvement, we remain committed to ongoing refinement of the game and hope players will continue to look forward to what OUTERPLANE has in store.

DL: For me, the most meaningful achievement this year was regaining the trust of our players and taking the first steps toward rebuilding that relationship. While I recognise that expectations—especially among players in regions like North America—may not yet be fully met. 

I want to continue demonstrating that Major9 is not servicing the game solely to meet short-term business goals. Instead, we are committed to the long-term vision, growth, and real improvement of the game; we will keep working to communicate that commitment to our players.

Can you give us any hints for what Western or Global fans can look forward to this year?

MSH: For 2026, we plan to enhance localisation efforts to further improve the quality of our global service. We are currently working on English character voice-over support, which had previously been suspended. We hope to deliver a more immersive experience for players in English-speaking regions and apologise for the lack of support since the service transfer. Players can expect the English voice-over support to be back soon. In January, Season 4 updates have gone live with more to come, bringing new stories and content that we hope players will find exciting. Development for various improvements and new gameplay experiences is already underway.

In addition, we are actively discussing with Major9, regarding content improvements and a potential relaunch of real-time PVP content. This would allow us to better meet the needs of both PVE-focused players and those who enjoy competitive PVP gameplay.

We will continue to gather and review feedback from our North American and global communities; we’re confident that players will see improvements in OUTERPLANE moving forward.

DL: We are currently planning to add Brazilian Portuguese, Thai, and Spanish language support as the next step, and we will continue expanding language options to better serve our global audience.

Alongside these language launches, we are also exploring the possibility of attending offline events in regions where new languages are introduced. I look forward to meeting fans at the Taipei Game Show in January, soon.

We have a lot of content and projects planned for this year, including an OST album, spin-off  manga shorts, and new promotional videos planned to be released or in the works.

With Major9 and VAGAMES aligned on a shared vision, the game is entering its next chapter with renewed momentum. As the OUTERPLANE universe plans to expand in new and creative ways, this year is shaping up to be an exciting year for both long-time fans and newcomers alike.