Jeonghee “JJ” Jin has spent her career helping Asian studios expand in the west. She became the CEO of NC America less than a year ago, and most recently added a new role to her resume: COO of NCSoft West, which is responsible for the company’s initiatives in the western market.

At GamesBeat Summit 2025 in Los Angeles, Jin spoke with Niko Partners CEO Lisa Cosmas Hanson about her new initiative and the challenges of bringing games from the East to West and vice-versa.

“NC West is the holding company of ArenaNet, and to NC West, ArenaNet and the Guild Wars franchise is the most important business — we really want to grow it further,” said Jin. “So recently, headquarters wanted to make it more official and gave me another hat to wear so that I can do more work officially for NC West and ArenaNet, working more across the board for all the Western subsidiaries.

“So with this new role, I believe I can work more strategically across the board and create more synergies and build up our brand power globally and also find more business opportunities for NCSoft in the West.”

Her experience working both in Korea and the U.S. has given her a unique perspective on localizing games for different markets. When asked what kind of advice she’d give to smaller studios who are trying to navigate those cross-border challenges, she said that above all, it’s important to find a publisher who believes in your game and will work hard to champion it.

She remembered that when she was in a similar position earlier in her career, she didn’t like how sometimes her team would talk to a publisher that sounded really passionate about their game, but then after signing a deal, they ended up working with “someone random” they’d never met before. She said it’s important to know who you’re working with and have a personal connection with that person or team.

“If you’re looking for a publisher, I want to advise you to find a partner who has a team that is really passionate about your game, who knows about [your] genre, who really just wants to have it,” said Jin. “Not just a business team or licensing team who has to get some deals done.”

In regards to the next era of gaming — such as new AI technologies and tapping into emerging markets — Jin said she likes to pay attention to what she called “soft side issues.” To her this means connection, emotion, community, and fandom.

She believes that since games are becoming more important as a hobby (not just through playing but also through more people watching streams and videos), connections among fans is something companies should focus on both with social features within games and outside of it. It’s also vital for companies to have a good relationship with its community, and that’s where emotion comes into play — she’s always telling her team to look carefully at what player sentiment is like.

“These days emotions are so important. You really want to understand how your players feel because I think there are so many good games out there that have great features, mechanics, and game modes that are almost perfect,” she said, highlighting how tough the competition is.

Listening to your players and actually talking to them can make a big difference in this market. She said companies must also spend time to understand the specific audience they’re targeting and how to cater to them, which can help them build a thriving community around their game.

“So I think all these components are really important when I see the recent trends and how, especially the younger generation, actually play their games,” said Jin.

Make sure to check out the full video for more insights from the GamesBeat Summit panel.