Manjuu Games' open-world RPG 'Azur Promilia' participated in Bilibili World, China's premier subculture festival held from July 10 to 12 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The booth brought to life an exciting fantasy world featuring Kibos and charming anime girls, while the studio also announced an upcoming 3rd CBT in China to coincide with the event.
Published in Korea by Nexon, 'Azur Promilia' received high praise during its domestic CBT last May for combining the studio's character design expertise—honed since Azur Lane—with fantasy-infused open-world gameplay, rich content, and fast-paced combat. With growing local interest, Inven visited Manjuu Games during Bilibili World to speak with co-CEOs Lin Shuyin and Chen He.
Q. The studio celebrated its 10th anniversary this past January. What is Manjuu Games' vision for the next decade and beyond?
Chen He = I am glad our company has been able to build up this level of experience so far. All of this is thanks to the support from our players. I want to express my deepest gratitude to them. Our goal is to make fun anime subculture games that bring happiness and satisfaction to all players. To achieve this, we will dedicate ourselves even further to game and IP development. Once again, I would like to thank our players.
Q. The genre and style are completely different from Azur Lane. What do you consider to be the key strengths and advantages of Azur Promilia?
Chen He = Just like with Azur Lane, our art quality in Azur Promilia is recognized by players worldwide. I believe that art quality and design are our primary strengths. With 3D becoming the trend, we wanted to evolve further on a 3D foundation, and Azur Promilia is the culmination of our efforts to bring that quality and design to life in 3D.
Because Azur Promilia features a vast world, rich story, and deep lore, we are focusing on showcasing our character design, world, and the continent of Promilia to give players a deeper sense of immersion. Delivering fun while maintaining our signature high-quality design is always our top priority. Moving forward, we also plan to dedicate broad efforts toward optimization and expanding content.
Q. You chose Nexon as your Korean publisher. Was there a specific reason?
Chen He = I've been playing Nexon games—especially Dungeon Fighter Online—for a very long time. While that was one reason, working with Nexon made us realize how impressive their professionalism and sincerity are. Plus, Nexon is a company with a long history, right? They have built up extensive live-service operations expertise, and we trusted that they understand Korean players better and could handle localization and marketing far more effectively. Indeed, their localization work has been great. Our collaboration with Nexon has been very satisfying, and we plan to continue working closely with them to provide a satisfying experience for Korean players.
Q. Azur Promilia held a CBT in Korea back in May. What feedback stood out to you the most?
Chen He = First, we are glad that the CBT went smoothly. We received a lot of player feedback through the test, and receiving high praise for our art quality was truly the biggest achievement for our development team.
Another valuable insight was seeing how character preferences vary from country to country. We believe this feedback will help us design stories, cutscenes, and characters that players around the world can enjoy going forward.
Q. The 3D modeling faithfully bringing the art to life and the intricate details—like dormitory costumes and fabric textures—were particularly impressive. When designing characters, what aspects do you pay special attention to when checking or rendering them?
Lin Shuyin = Our team elevates character quality through a multi-step process. We already had a strong foundation in character design with Azur Lane, and for outfits, we meticulously inspect everything from fabric texture and thickness to transparency. Posture, motion, center of gravity, and similar details are all finely tuned individually.
In particular, Metsa's dormitory skin was extremely popular, so we plan to put similar effort into dorm skins for other characters moving forward. Our goal is to capture the essence of characters that players have bonded with for a long time, making their charm immediately captivating at a single glance.
Chen He = Whenever we design a character, we believe they should feel like a living, breathing presence inside the game. That is why we poured effort into nuanced daily animations and facial expressions. Studying details like clothing textures stems from that exact philosophy, which we have been researching and refining for a long time.
Q. Though perhaps unintentional, monster-catching games are becoming more common in the market. What are your thoughts on this trend, and what is your strategy for highlighting Azur Promilia's unique strengths?
Chen He = First of all, we don't view Azur Promilia as a simple monster-catching game. From a gameplay perspective, alongside creatures, there are appealing characters, and we wanted to build a world where both can coexist peacefully. We poured immense effort into that worldbuilding, fully utilizing our anime character design expertise at 100% to leverage our strengths and create a colorful world—that is the core of Azur Promilia.
Q. On the other hand, monsters that cannot be Starlinked and a hostile faction called the 'Evolution Church' appeared in this CBT. Who are they, and how do you plan to tell their story in Azur Promilia moving forward?
Chen He = From the development team's perspective, we are truly touched that players have delved so deeply into the game's lore. On the continent of Promilia, Starlink originates from the concept of a 'link' built on mutual understanding and recognition. We chose this term because we wanted to depict it as a process of understanding each other, forming bonds, and connecting, rather than mere collection.
As such, not every Kibo can link with a Star-bearer. The reasons why a Star-bearer can form bonds and link with certain Kibos—and why they cannot with specific individuals—will be unfolded through the story. The narrative surrounding the Evolution Church will also gradually be revealed through main quests, boss fights, and character storylines.
Q. Details like characters making eye contact with the player during dialogue were impressive. It's said that more attention is being paid to storytelling and direction compared to your previous work. How are you approaching this?
Chen He = As mentioned earlier, when we create characters, we do not view them merely as digital data. Our philosophy is that characters should be perceived by players as living beings. Beyond eye contact, we continuously research ways to deliver immersion through fine details in various aspects. These subtle elements are fundamentally what make characters feel intuitively alive.
For instance, the scene where Luluca first meets the player and hands over medicine was crafted with meticulously refined details. Rather than expressing a character through dialogue alone, we studied every detail of how they would act upon meeting the player for the first time, taking their personality and circumstances into account. We believed that without such details—going beyond just a brief conversation—we couldn't truly breathe life into a character. We plan to keep refining those details moving forward.
Lin Shuyin = When designing characters, attention to detail goes beyond visual design to include what they say and how they move. We believe true immersion is experienced not just through dialogue and design, but through eye contact, gestures, and interactions. Only when supported by those elements can players feel a genuine sense of companionship.
Q. How are you dividing roles and collaborating with Nexon?
Chen He = Nexon is an industry veteran with long-standing experience running a company and operating games. Because of that, collaboration has gone very smoothly. In particular, they provided well-organized feedback on optimization and various other matters. Based on those data, we plan to adjust character lines, motion feedback, and vocal tone nuances.
Lin Shuyin = We are still a relatively small company with limited experience in the Korean market. That's why Nexon gives us extensive advice on UI, localization, promotional strategies, and how to navigate cultural nuances.
Q. Storytelling has become a crucial focus alongside characters in anime subculture games recently. What would you say is the core message of Azur Promilia's story?
Chen He = There are so many subculture games on the market right now, and establishing a narrative history is extremely important in this genre. To make a character feel alive, you must provide context through which players can understand their personality and backstory.
The key themes we want to convey to players in Azur Promilia are harmony and companionship. Through gameplay, we want to provide an experience where players travel alongside characters, growing together while coexisting with various beings. While the main and side quests will gradually unfold stories intertwined with the broader world, we hope players enjoy journeying with the characters and Kibos first while looking forward to the grander lore ahead.
Q. Combat improvements were mentioned as a focus for the CBT feedback. From the development team's perspective, what was the issue and how are you aiming to fix it?
Chen He = In the previous test, we received feedback that the barrier to entry was somewhat high. First, presenting too much information to players all at once made it hard to absorb. We also realized that due to the clutter of on-screen information, camera work, and other issues, the impact feedback (hit feel) during combat felt somewhat weak.
Lowering the barrier to entry is our top priority. We have also adjusted the combat rhythm, significantly improving numerical feedback, visual presentation, and camera work alongside combat pacing. We hope players will be able to enjoy Azur Promilia's combat more comfortably and have a great experience in the future.
Q. So when do you plan to release Azur Promilia?
Lin Shuyin = Currently, our primary goal is to make the best possible improvements based on CBT feedback. We began CBT recruitment yesterday, and we aim to complete refinements as quickly as possible after gathering further player feedback during this test. Our producer is working very hard on these preparations, and we will do our best to meet players as soon as possible.
Q. 'Kibos' are another essential part of Azur Promilia. How did you design them to balance cuteness with a believable ecosystem?
Chen He = Many members of the Promilia development team are huge fans of monster-catching games. Being so passionate about the genre, they thoroughly researched existing titles on the market.
People who love monster-catching games naturally dream of creating their own monsters—whether driven by personal taste or the desire to make creatures that a wide audience will love. Powered by that urge and passion, we generated a tremendous number of ideas. Of course, relying solely on personal desire wouldn't achieve balance, so proposed ideas undergo extensive discussion. The most crucial consideration during that process is: "Would everyone want to catch this Kibo?" After selecting designs through that lens, we gauge market feedback and player preferences to reconfirm our direction. Only through this process do final design proposals emerge and art production begins.
Lin Shuyin = Crucially, we view Kibos—not just characters—as living beings rather than mere digital data. That means every Kibo must have a defined personality, lore, and background story. We put immense effort into concept design, which allowed us to create Kibos that are cute while fitting seamlessly into the world's ecosystem.
Q. Beyond what's currently prepared, is there other content you plan to add to the dormitory system? Also, players anticipate that lower-rarity characters might not receive skins. How do you plan to address this?
Lin Shuyin = First, we will expand the variety of dormitory furniture, which we plan to reveal later. We also want to satisfy fans of lower-rarity characters by releasing skins for them as well, though details on skin releases will be shared at a later date. Beyond the dorms, we plan to reveal features such as custom Circle customization in the future.
Q. You take immense pride in your visuals and art. How would you summarize Azur Promilia's art philosophy in a word? Also, Azur Promilia's graphics seem to push cute characters to peak cuteness and sexy characters to the absolute limit, continuing the trend from Azur Lane. There also seems to be quite a dedication to barefoot designs—we'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Lin Shuyin = When creating characters, the most important consideration is that players view them through a screen. Our philosophy is that a character's personality and characteristics should be recognizable at a glance. We dedicate substantial effort to this, and character narrative history is equally important. We put immense care into assigning personalities and concepts.
Since the market changes rapidly, we actively research player preferences. In addition to surveys and research, we look closely at many other games to resonate with players from their perspective, understanding what makes a character appealing and popular. We believe that only when backed by exploration and hard work can a character truly be completed.
Q. Could you share your thoughts on participating in this year's Bilibili World and what you focused on when designing the booth?
Lin Shuyin = The enthusiasm at the venue was incredible. For Bilibili World, we had been preparing for a long time, from booth setup to the on-site advertisements. The core goal was to maximize our strengths so visitors could immediately recognize them. Event merch, display items, and booth activities were all designed with that goal in mind.
We have worked steadily to highlight what makes us unique, and we believe players felt our sincerity and dedication when seeing it. Thanks to that, we felt a wonderful response at our booth this time as well.
Q. Finally, a word for Korean players eagerly awaiting Azur Promilia?
Lin Shuyin = Thank you to all Korean players. We weren't as familiar with the Korean market before, but we will continue to refine and improve as we move forward together with you. Please give Azur Promilia your warm support.
