Krafton Begins Development of New Extraction RPG 'Project D&E'

On the 14th, Krafton's subsidiary, Bluehole Studio, began recruiting talent for the development of its new PC game, 'Project D&E.'

크래프톤, 익스트랙션 RPG 신작 '프로젝트 D&E' 개발 시동 — © Krafton

According to Krafton, the project is in its early stages. It is unrelated to the mobile game 'Abyss of Dungeon,' which has since ended service. The team plans to leverage its accumulated expertise to implement an extraction-genre game focused on Player vs. Environment (PvE) gameplay. A director has not yet been appointed.

Bluehole Studio is currently hiring a dungeon level designer via its recruitment website. 'Project D&E' is a third-person action-based RPG currently being developed with the goal of an Early Access release on Steam. The game will utilize Unreal Engine 5 to build its dungeon exploration environment.

The new hire will be responsible for designing the spatial structures, movement paths, and gimmicks for act dungeons and special dungeons. Responsibilities also include using AI to place encounters and designing spaces for story-based quests, as well as balancing rewards in line with player progression.

Bluehole Studio requires at least five years of experience in level design, proficiency with the Unreal Engine 5 level editor, and experience working on PC RPG projects. Preference is given to candidates with a passion for the extraction genre and experience launching services on Steam.

The studio appears to be shifting its direction toward a cooperative PvE-focused model, moving away from the PvP-centric extraction genre it previously explored on mobile platforms. By pouring its proven development capabilities into this new IP, the company aims to capture the core gaming audience in the global PC market.

In its job posting, Bluehole Studio stated, "We are not looking for someone who just builds dungeons, but someone who will take full responsibility for a world that gives players a reason to explore. We intend to build a core fan base for the project by applying AI content and creating exploration structures that fit the paradigm of single-player and cooperative multiplayer gameplay."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated with the help of NC AI. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. [Read Original]