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If there's one thing to take away from the last few years in the games industry, it's that making multiplayer games is really difficult, and PUBG's IP franchise director, Taeseok Jang, says that he feels sad when other multiplayer games don't succeed.
Speaking to GamesRadar+ during an exclusive Krafton press tour, the PUBG boss says he has friends that worked on Concord and Highguard. Concord launched in August 2024 and lasted just two weeks before Sony pulled the plug, while Highguard managed to keep going for just over six weeks after its January 2026 launch.
However, Jang tries to see these failures as learning opportunities. "When you think about making new games, it's really hard to succeed every time," he says. "So, I try to put myself in their positions and try to think, 'oh, what could I have done better in that situation?' That's how I try to think more."
He adds: "I try to kind of think of my putting myself in their shoes, try to have that perspective, and try to learn from it."
Jang also specifically mentions thinking about community messaging, which feels especially relevant in Highguard's case after Wildlight Entertainment's odd decision to debut their shooter at the 2026 Game Awards before going silent almost right up until launch over a month later – an incredibly bold strategy for a debut game.
However, Jang is also no stranger to short-lived games. PUBG: Blindspot – a top-down tactical shooter – was shut down permanently at the end of March following a stint in early access that lasted just under two months.
With Krafton broadly making use of early access as a way to validate its game ideas, Jang says that Blindspot's development "reinforced how important it is to rapidly prototype in small teams and incorporate player feedback into the development process". He's not the only supporter, either, as InZoi's boss strongly recommends early access to other developers, too.
