Pearl Abyss

Japan is known as one of the world’s gaming capitals, and amidst this large market teeming with other famous IPs, a small team works tirelessly to promote Pearl Abyss’ games.   

In this third interview concerning Pearl Abyss’ overseas offices, we would like to introduce you to the fine people that make up the Tokyo Office (TKO).   

Tell us something about TKO! 

TKO was founded in 2018 to prepare for the launch of Black Desert Mobile in Japan. We currently have a little over 40 members of staff in an office located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.   

Shinjuku is a downtown area everyone should visit at least once when they visit Tokyo. There is a large park only a 5-minute walk away from the office, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building is also nearby. The downtown area itself is also not far, being only a 10-minute walk from the office. This area, famously known as Kabukicho, is also the primary setting for a well-known video game series. 

We’ve been working from home lately due to the global Covid pandemic, so it’s been some time since we all worked together in the office. However, we do try to meet up when we can to enjoy meals and play games together! 😆   

 < A glimpse into TKO – TKO staff can be found playing games together during lunch. >

Japan is famous for its video games, especially console video games. It must be quite the new challenge to service our game in Japan.

The Japanese gaming market is home to famous titles such as Dragon Quest and Super Mario, as well as numerous game companies that have created well-known IPs loved all over the world. Even still, our ability to push for updates quickly seems to have been well received by Japanese users and may explain our games' popularity among Japanese console gamers.   

As such, we work hard to communicate content of the game and improvements that have been made to our users. Currently, we’ve been sharing weekly content updates through our YouTube channel and even hosted a live fashion show to showcase simple content that can be easily overlooked. We're continuing to look for other ways to communicate with our users.     

< TKO Live Studio >

<TKO is always on the lookout to capture everyone’s birthday moments, especially the silly ones! ٩( ᐛ )و    

In Japan, it is a cultural tradition to bring back a local specialty (Omiyage) when we come back from a trip.    

Here’s just some of the amazingly delicious omiyage we’ve had!    

Are there any interesting stories of how an employee joined TKO?

One of our team members used to work in the public sector in Hokkaido, but his real passion was for video games. So, he decided to quit his job, move himself over to Tokyo, and pursue his interests working part-time at TKO. He is such a passionate person, and his love of video games soon led him to develop his career in the industry. He now works full-time performing a variety of roles at TKO.     

(Psst, you can find him on the Black Desert (黒い砂漠) YouTube channel managed by TKO!)

<TKO's Passionate CM Treant Spirit / Yamashita>

Do you communicate with other offices other than AYO? 

When we’re working on the same project, we communicate to share ideas and refer to the activities of other offices. If we see another way of approaching something that is to the benefit of our users, we’ll proactively make changes accordingly.   

The aspect we most refer to is the formation of user communities in each area.    

Whether it be collecting and analyzing user trends through Reddit and Discord, as they do in North America/Europe, or implementing user care that caters to the impassioned cultural aspects of Taiwan, we are constantly considering how we can best apply those practices to Japan as well. 

What is TKO most proud of? 

We pride ourselves on having the most #1 fans of Black Desert in any team! We’re all passionate about Black Desert, and even new employees quickly become fans of the game!   

Ultimately, our biggest goal is to share more of our own experiences of the game with other users in Japan.   

And if we’re talking about the perks of working at TKO, the biggest has to be working in Shinjuku: there’s just so many great restaurants to visit for lunch and dinners! It’s also a great shopping district and many of our employees like to go shopping after work. However, due to the Covid pandemic, many of us now go straight home after work, but we hope it won’t be long until we can get back to doing more of the activities we love.      

< Looking forward to having a corporate dinner soon~ >