Launching a new title within three years of development is, to put it mildly, a Herculean task. Even with the most meticulous roadmaps, schedules slip, errors manifest, and playtesting becomes a chaotic mess. Yet, there is one title that not only hit these deadlines but also launched to massive fanfare: 'Blue Archive'. So, how did they pull off such a feat?

On the third day of the NEXON Developers Conference 2026 (NDC26), held on the 18th at the Gyeonggi Content Agency International Conference Hall, a session titled 'Blue Archive Post-Mortem - From a Game Director’s Perspective' took the stage. Cha Min-seo, Deputy Head of the IO Division at NEXON Games and PD of RX Studio, retraced the journey from the inception of development to live service stabilization, candidly discussing the highs and lows of the process. He opened up to developers and users alike with rare transparency.

Cha highlighted his key successes: 'establishing a clear vision build, adhering to the schedule, and drafting a foundation for long-term service.' When he joined the project, he focused the team on combat prototyping and cinematic sequences. The goal? A 'vision build' for the first five minutes of gameplay—the 'M3' milestone—covering the title screen, lobby, stage selection, team formation, and actual combat. This formed the unbreakable backbone of the game, ensuring the entire team shared a singular, coherent vision.

Once that vision was locked in, Cha embraced the art of 'bold delegation.' He granted the Art Director and Scenario Lead significant autonomy over the world-building and direction, while he focused on negotiating the 'guidelines'—such as play duration, account and character count, and asset volume. By respecting the creative freedom of his team while building a robust framework to house it, he laid the foundation for efficient production.

He was also a stickler for the schedule. Development began in April 2018, and the game launched in the Japanese market on February 4, 2021—roughly 34 months later. A resounding success. While staying on schedule is notoriously difficult, Cha understood the value of the 'first-mover advantage.' Had they delayed even slightly, they likely would have collided head-on with established titans like Uma Musume.

To combat the creeping dread of 'what if this fails?', Cha implemented a simple, relentless routine: 'Test, Play, Share Feedback.' This 'dogfooding' loop forced the team to document necessary fixes after every milestone and integrate them into the next version, steadily polishing the product through sheer grit.

Alongside the build’s polish, the system for long-term retention was carefully architected. To avoid the traps of standard collection games that focus solely on raw power, they introduced a complex, narrative-driven 'elemental synergy' and 'terrain effect' system that gave players meaningful strategic choices.

To lower the learning curve, they implemented visual cues—matching enemy types to health bar colours—and drew inspiration from titles like Girls' Frontline for strategy maps, as well as long-running gacha games like Princess Connect! Re: Dive to craft their own unique endgame content.

Of course, there were failures. Cha jokingly apologised to the audience for 'build instability, lack of daily content, and content droughts.' The instability was largely due to an unfamiliarity with external publishing workflows; when the game became a global hit, the DAU exceeded targets by 500%, leading to server meltdowns. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic meant the team couldn't have a single in-person meeting with their publisher until after the first anniversary, making remote coordination a nightmare.

He also noted the lack of 'daily content'—the core 'dating sim' elements essential to subculture games. While they tried to squeeze in Momotalk, cafes, and schedules, they were hampered by a lack of experience and talent. Talented writers and artists were already being snapped up by the web novel and illustration markets at premium prices. Additionally, the structural burden of having to add interaction content for every single new student proved to be an exhausting cycle for the team.

The final misstep was the long content drought prior to the 'Eden Treaty' update. Cha even brought a fan-made graph showing the 'no-update' periods to emphasize his point. 'I thought creating content for one to three months would be enough,' he admitted. 'In reality, I needed six months' worth. We had plans for the first three months, but ultimately, it fell short.' He noted that for his current project, RX, he is applying the lessons learned from these growing pains.

Looking beyond RX, Cha shared his thoughts on AI and the future of subculture. 'Yong-ha talks a lot about AI and technological advancement,' he noted. 'Once we push past these technological limits, we’ll see a world where creating games, videos, and animations becomes far more accessible. Much like how the number of Steam games grows every year. In such a world, one value becomes increasingly important: Taste.'

He continued, 'The ability to produce something you personally find excellent or cool is vital. While market trends matter, it's better to create what you love, providing an experience others can't replicate. Some say K-culture or idol culture in webtoons and films is peaking, but there's a cycle to everything. Only those who hold fast to their own core values will survive.'

Closing on a personal note, he said, 'I am, at my core, someone who loves games. I’ve often said that games have saved me. I make games because I want to offer that same salvation to others through the medium that changed my life.' It was a poignant reminder that genuine passion can transcend the cold logic of technology or passing trends.