In June 2024, the official announcement of the Russian version of the cross-platform MMORPG Gran Saga, previously released in South Korea, Japan and some other Asian countries, took place. We decided to contact the Innova company, a publisher in Russia and the CIS countries, to find out more about the project. During the interview, we asked about content, voice acting, monetization, events and other aspects. Gran Saga brand manager Vitaly Zinkovetsky answered questions.
For those who were not interested in the Korean version, tell us briefly what Gran Saga is?
Gran Saga is a new cross-platform MMORPG for PC and mobile devices with an exciting storyline, attractive anime-style characters and colorful graphics. Users can play through the story, explore a large fantasy world, and develop and customize their characters alone or with other players.
What aspects of the game do you think are the strongest?
Everyone will be able to find something for themselves in the new project. Fans of a vivid narrative – an exciting plot with cinematic cutscenes in anime style, dramatic character stories, leveling up loyalty with party characters and NPCs. The text localization of the game into Russian allows for complete immersion.
For those who prefer dynamic gameplay, dozens of different PVE activities will be available, including the Arena, where you can get unique items. A deep leveling system and a variety of unit combinations will provide the player with the opportunity to choose his own unique battle style. For example, using certain types of weapons can radically change the hero’s gameplay. And bright customization will allow you to make your characters visually unique.
Most activities in the game can be completed alone. For those who still want to find new friends in the game, social elements have been implemented: activities with other players in the open world, guilds, chat and a friends list.
Another strength is the big names in the development and support of the game: Yoko Shimamura – famous JRPG composer, Yoshitaka Amano – legendary JRPG logo artist, and others.
Why was the decision made to publish Gran Saga in Russia and the CIS? How do you think the game will be able to “hook” our players?
Gran Saga is a long-awaited project, the release of which many gamers have been waiting for since its first announcement. In addition, taking into account the general trend towards the growing popularity of pop culture in Asian countries (Korea, Japan, China and others), as well as a slight “lull” in official releases on the local market in recent years, in our opinion, now is the best time to launch project.
How is Gran Saga doing in its homeland now? After all, we can recall cases of games that were closed in South Korea even before release in Russia.
Gran Saga topped downloads and revenue in launch regions, generating over 5 million downloads and approximately $200 million in gross profits in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia. The game’s developer, South Korea-based NPIXEL, has been recognized as the fastest-growing unicorn in the Korean gaming industry and is backed by several world-renowned investors. Now Gran Saga continues to delight all fans in the regions where the game is already available with regular content updates.
Many MMORPG fans dislike the auto-combat mechanics. Do you think this will harm the game and its popularity?
Gran Saga has content of completely different difficulty levels – for players who prefer to spend their time in a more relaxed way, and for the real hardcore ones. The auto-combat mechanics in Gran Saga are not an end in themselves, but only one way to adapt the game for more casual players, as well as optimize some aspects of leveling and farming.
What will players have to do once they reach the maximum level? What is endgame content?
The gameplay in Gran Saga is based on completing the plot and side quests, leveling up characters, weapons, artifacts, as well as leveling up relationships with characters (elements of a visual novel). At the same time, the maximum available character level increases with the release of updates.
At high levels, players are exposed to the most difficult bosses, group activities and opportunities, as in other games of the genre. For example, players will be able to go through story battles with enhanced enemies and gameplay modifiers, defeat world bosses and go into raids with other users.
Will there be Russian voice acting in the game?
Our primary focus right now is on full text localization of the game, as Gran Saga is a large project with a strong focus on plot and character history. In the future, we will consider options for dubbing individual elements of the game.
The developers of Gran Saga previously released an art book for the game in Korean. Are there any plans to publish it in Russia?
We are actively exploring our options for selling related items related to the game. As soon as such opportunities turn into something concrete, we will definitely share the details.
The game’s official Korean website has a ton of information about the game, including the world and characters. Should we expect something similar on a Russian-language site?
The official Russian-language website of Gran Saga on the 4game platform will gradually expand with content sections, details about characters, locations and equipment. The site already has a block about key playable characters and their biographies, as well as a beautiful cinematic trailer. At the same time, we are focused on implementing cool pre-registration activities, in which users will be able to receive a lot of gifts at the start of the game. Many of them are already available on the site.
Tell us about the monetization system in Gran Saga? What can you buy for real money and how comfortable is it to play without investing? Will it be possible to purchase Founder’s Packs that provide various in-game bonuses?
The composition of the in-game store in Gran Saga has not yet been determined. However, we can already say that in-game purchases are made using internal currency. It can be obtained through gameplay and purchased for real money. It can be used for “spinning” within the gacha system, purchasing in-game costumes (external character customization), resource packs, and more.
Note that all playable characters in Gran Saga are available to the player immediately after starting the game. Already at the start, you can freely use different heroes, upgrade them and combine them into squads of 3 characters, testing various synergies.
How far will the Russian version of Gran Saga lag behind the Korean version in terms of releasing updates?
Gran Saga on 4game will gradually receive all the content that is already available in the Korean version of the game. We will make every effort to implement regular content updates and maintain constant player interest. It is important to note that in Russia and the CIS the game is released simultaneously with the global release around the world – all the content that will be in the global version will be available at the start in the Russian version.
Are there any local events expected for players in Russia and the CIS that are not in the Korean version? Additionally, the Korean version of Gran Saga featured various collaborations with other franchises. For example, with the game Final Fantasy XV. Will they return to the Russian version and should we expect something similar in the future?
We are now actively working on creating and adapting the Gran Saga build for Russia and the CIS. After the launch, we will analyze whether it will be necessary to create unique content for Russian-speaking players, as well as the possibility of collaborations with other franchises.
Do you plan to conduct beta tests before release?
We will definitely announce all opportunities to test the game in advance on the official website and social media channels. Stay tuned.
When will Gran Saga be released?
The game is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter of 2024. Very soon!
Thank you very much for the interview! Would you like to say a few words to MMO13.ru users who are waiting for the release of Gran Saga?
We are very grateful to all the players who are waiting for the release of Gran Saga on 4game. We will make every effort to please you with the release of a high-quality and deep MMORPG on both PC and mobile platforms. Don’t forget to pre-register on the official website to receive valuable gifts at the start of the project. Stay in touch, wait for news!
