Victory: Nikke Game Director discusses third anniversary event and the future of gaming

Victory: Nickelodeon's third anniversary arrives in November, and today it launches its largest in-game event yet, including the culmination of the main “Queen of Rapture” storyline and the biggest battle in the game.

If you don't know about Nikke, it's a free-to-play third-person placement shooter from Korean developer Shift Up that's available on Android, iOS, and PC. The game, which has been downloaded more than 45 million times since its launch in November 2022, features more than 160 “Nikke” robot soldiers who you will lead into battle in an effort to take back the overworld from an evil alien race called the Raptures, who have forced humanity to flee underground.

This conflict comes to a head in this new story event, where players face off against the evil Queen of Rapture in a final battle. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Anniversary Update. Another great addition is the new Surface Beta mode, which features large-scale simulation-style combat where you can assemble Nikke's squad to battle Raptures, collect resources, and capture strongholds.

Of course, this wouldn't be a major update without new recruitable characters. The new SSR characters Nayuta and Liberalio will be recruited through the normal gacha system, while the SSR Chime will be a free anniversary event character. Nayuta and Liberario will take center stage in new storyline content, as Nayuta rallies her vanguard squad against the Queen of Ecstasy, whom Liberario looks up to as a mother figure.

The anniversary event adds new gacha costumes for Red Hood and pass costumes for Crown and Siren. Additionally, it re-introduces the powerful Pilgrim character, allowing you to choose one of Modernia, Dorothy, or Red Hood as your own event handler. There will also be limited-time challenges such as new boss fights, new alliance raids, solo raids, and multiple mini-games and activities.

As the third anniversary approaches, we spoke with game director Ryu Hyung-seok. He is a 15-year veteran of the Korean gaming industry who began his career as a battle planner for MMORPGs. His previous work also includes serving as director/director of programming on games such as Overhit and Lost Ark. He joined Shift Up in 2020, when he was named game director for Nikke. We spoke with him about the game's successful three-year run, how the development team is approaching new anniversary content, their plans for the future, and more.

According to your stream, the new anniversary story content will bring about a “final battle.” Can you explain why you're launching a storyline like this at this time?

Ryu Hyung Suk: Since its launch, “Nikke” has had quite a few stories spread in all directions. We realized we needed to slowly bring together the stories that had branched out over the past three years into one storyline, and the third anniversary was the starting point for that plan.

Nayuta is a featured character in the third anniversary update, and is unique compared to the previous Nikke character. Can you talk a little bit about the concept behind the development of this character and the different abilities they have?

Ryu Hyung Suk: All members of Vanguard are based on classic JRPG teams. Snow White is a heavily armored knight and tanker. Scarlett is an agile swordswoman and DPS. Rapunzel is the priest of healing. This is how it works.

Nayuta is the fourth member, so she is designated as the support monk. We didn't want her to be stronger in combat than the other three members, so we raised her to be practical, which resulted in the abilities she has now. Her main ability is to use her clones to learn vast amounts of information. As a former DEEP member, she is also familiar with excessive technology.

You'll also get a new gaming mode called Surface Beta, which will launch in conjunction with the third anniversary. Can you tell us more about it?

Ryu Hyung Suk: As the name suggests, Surface Beta content allows players to explore the largest world in Nikke. In order to make the experience more immersive, we decided to use a simulation-style combat system to replace the existing shooting combat format. We've incorporated fun elements into the vast area, such as discovering hidden areas and solving puzzles. The main reason is to hope that players can experience the ecstatic battle of lord level. Since Rapture has a basic surface-based gimmick mode, it's important to choose your squad's placement wisely. We will launch more powerful bosses in the future, so stay tuned!

During Nikke's three-year run, your development team continued to create new mini-games. What factors are typically considered when deciding what type of mini-game to develop?

Ryu Hyung Suk: At a major event like this anniversary, mini-games aren't mini-games. Given the importance of this update, we've put even more effort into a game mode that features never-before-seen genres, unique visuals, and impressive scale. This is a management simulation style game where you restore the Garden of Eden that was destroyed for mysterious reasons.

The fact that we're celebrating our third anniversary here speaks to the success of this game and how it remains relevant to the community. What do you think is the reason for your success?

Ryu Hyung Suk: We think our commanders appreciate unique content and stories that are different from other games. In this age of content overload, offering similar gameplay, visuals, and story to other games is absolutely boring.

Fans of our games have a deep understanding of our content and stories. Since we have to constantly deliver great content and narrative without letting them down, we really try to emphasize to the entire development team that they should truly love the game and not just work on it. We will continue to keep this in mind and work harder to make our game better, so stay tuned.

What has been the biggest difficulty you've faced since Nikke was first launched? How did you overcome these difficulties?

Ryu Hyung Suk: Over the past three years, our biggest question has been how to adapt to this rapidly changing era and decide what content and stories we should provide to bring the most fun to players. This problem has been going on for three years and will continue into the future. We are game developers, and fun is the core value of any game, so it is only natural that we face this challenge and continue to bring more fun and new content to players. So it’s been a joyful and difficult journey.

This is an interesting point. Do you think the need to adapt to this change helps keep development teams engaged? I think sometimes it can be difficult to deal with complacency or burnout when working on the same game even years after release. But do you think overcoming these ongoing challenges will help do that?

Ryu Hyung Suk: Yes, it’s true that when we set endless goals, we can run into issues like burnout. We are like boxers, we need to constantly compete, prove our abilities, and have strong mental endurance.

That’s why we emphasized to the development team from the beginning that it’s not about aiming for zero errors, it’s more about learning and growing from your mistakes. After adopting this mindset, we noticed that constantly setting goals actually helped improve team focus.

You've been able to work with some huge franchises, from Neon Genesis Evangelion to Starblade to NieR: Automata and most recently Resident Evil. What was the process of deciding who to work with?

Ryu Hyung Suk: Collaborations are decided through various discussions, but lately, we've focused on finding IP that players who like Nikke will enjoy, even if they're not familiar with it. We designed the Resident Evil mini-games with this in mind, and we want players to have fun playing them.

Nikke has also appeared at some surprising real-life events, such as San Diego Padres baseball games and the Hudson River in New York. Will we see Nikke at other real-world events in the future?

Ryu Hyung Suk: certainly! We’re excited to bring our commanders multi-faceted enjoyment beyond the game. In particular, seeing Rapi throw out the first pitch at Petco Park in San Diego was an honor for us. We will continue to work hard, please continue to pay attention to us.

Speaking of the future, what are Shift Up’s plans for Nikke in 2026?

Ryu Hyung Suk: In 2026, we will continue to work hard to provide you with fun experiences both in and out of the game. We are preparing various activities and updates to surprise you, and are preparing to bring more special surprises on the 3.5th and 4th anniversaries. I'm already excited now. In 2026, we also plan to improve the quality of operations and provide a more stable experience. Hope you all like this game.

Since the third anniversary story is centered around the theme of the “Final Battle,” can you give us a hint of what's going to happen next?

Ryu Hyung Suk: We hope that in 2026 our story will enter the next phase. We plan to collect the countless stories told so far, bring them together into a climax, and then move forward.

Over the past three years, Nikke has developed a passionate following of fans around the world. As we celebrate our anniversary, is there anything you would like to say to the players who have been on this journey with you?

Ryu Hyung Suk: This year, we attended the Los Angeles Comic Expo with Cosmograph and had the opportunity to talk face-to-face with American gamers. Many of them expressed their gratitude, and some even shed tears of excitement when they saw us. This left a lasting memory in my heart.

For those of us who spend all day in an office, this opportunity to connect face-to-face with players is invaluable. It’s really a blessing to be able to feel the love of fans in person. Although developing games and providing live broadcast services is sometimes hard and tiring, the support of players has allowed us to overcome difficulties time and time again, bounce back, and launch more exciting and fun activities.

“Victory: Nick” can be downloaded for free in the game Official websiteor on the App Store or Google Play. You can also join the gaming community Disharmonious, twitter, Facebookor Youtube.