Live OPs - マフィアコネクト
Mafia Connect
Year: 2022 (Adjust as needed)
Platform: iOS / Android
Role: Live Operations
Responsibilities: Publishing Operations · Cross-functional Coordination · Go-to-Market Support · Visual Content Planning · Event Planning · QA Support
Collaboration: Taiwan Publisher/Operations Team · Shanghai Development Studio · Japanese Marketing Partners · malaysia Art team
Overview
Mafia Connect was one of the few projects directly invested in by our company. Unlike a traditional publishing project, our team worked closely with the Shanghai-based development studio throughout production and played an active role in evaluating the game's readiness for launch.
I joined the project during its early development stage, supporting visual production, launch marketing, event planning, and cross-functional communication between the publisher and development team. In addition to producing player-facing assets, I was responsible for coordinating information across teams to help keep the project aligned throughout development.
Key Achievements
- Supported the successful launch of a publisher invested title after multiple production delays.
- Helped improve communication between the publisher and the development studio during a critical stage of production.
- Supported pre-registration campaigns that attracted 100,000+ users before launch.
- Coordinated launch marketing materials, App Store assets, promotional animations, influencer campaigns, and event planning.
Background
Unlike previous publishing projects, Mafia Connect was directly funded by our company, giving the publishing team greater involvement in development decisions.
Before I joined the project, the game had already been delayed twice. Internal playtests consistently indicated that the game lacked sufficient gameplay variety and long-term content to retain players after launch.
Although delaying a release carries business risks, our publishing team believed that launching too early would result in rapid player churn and significantly shorten the product's lifespan. As both publisher and investor, we requested additional gameplay systems and content before approving release.
Challenge
The greatest challenge was aligning expectations between the publisher and the development team.
The development studio believed the game was ready for launch, while our publishing team remained concerned about long-term player retention based on internal playtests and product evaluations.
Discussions had already led to multiple release delays, and internally there were concerns that additional postponements might become unavoidable if both teams could not reach a shared understanding of the project's goals.
My Responsibilities
I was responsible for planning and coordinating player-facing visual content throughout development, including promotional advertisements, App Store assets, store page layouts, pre-registration campaigns, marketing animations, and launch materials.
I also supported promotional planning by coordinating community campaigns and influencer collaborations for the Japanese market, helping prepare marketing activities leading up to launch.
Because I was one of the few team members with hands-on game development experience, I was asked to participate directly in discussions with the development studio regarding the project's launch readiness.
Rather than approaching these discussions solely from the publisher's perspective, I explained the team's concerns through the lens of player experience, gameplay progression, and long term retention. At the same time, I acknowledged the development team's production challenges and worked to establish a shared understanding between both sides.
My development background helped bridge communication between the publisher and the development studio, making subsequent collaboration more productive and allowing production to move forward more efficiently.
Impact
Following these discussions, communication between both teams became noticeably smoother, enabling development to progress with clearer alignment toward launch objectives.
Although the project required additional development time, it ultimately launched without the further delays that had been anticipated internally.
The pre-registration campaign attracted over 100,000 users, while the launch marketing campaign successfully supported the product's release.
More importantly, this project strengthened my understanding of how publishers and developers evaluate launch readiness from different perspectives. It reinforced the importance of balancing business objectives, player experience, and production realities while maintaining constructive communication across cross functional teams.
