After becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of its parent company Nexon, Dave the Diver studio Mintrocket is hard at work creating three games: one Dave the Diver-related release and two unannounced titles, one of which is for mobile devices. As much as Mintrocket CEO Jaeho Hwang would like to work on the newer titles, his role as Dave the Diver’s creator and director has him somewhat tethered to the game.
In an interview with 4Gamer, Hwang reveals that around 60 people are working at Mintrocket. Though progress is slow, he is happy that the company is keeping with its original indie-like structure. Hwang himself plays a part in game development, working as a CEO during the day and writing game scripts once he gets home. When asked about which part of the job he enjoys more, he says that he prefers game development to handling the business side of a company.
While Hwang is involved with the development of all ongoing Mintrocket projects, he admits he cannot avoid managing the Dave the Diver IP. Despite his responsibilities to Dave, he wants to see how far he can go as a game developer while overseeing his past creations.
“Dave the Diver was originally created by me, so I can’t avoid handling its management entirely, but at the same time, if I go too far, I’ll lose my freedom, so I’m always thinking about how far I should go.”
That said, Hwang is pleased that Dave the Diver is growing into a franchise. The IP is popular both in eastern and western countries, and there have been multiple collaborations between Dave the Diver and franchises such as Balatro and Yakuza: Like A Dragon. Given that Nexon IPs generally don’t cross over into other games, Hwang is hopeful that the Dave the Diver IP will continue to expand.
