My Lovely Empress: How Xbox helped a fascinating game find its audience

When you think of games from Asia, you probably think of games from Japan or, more recently, China. Asia is a large While the continent is full of talent waiting for their big chance, small developers from developing regions struggle to get the attention that is often focused on their larger neighbors.

That’s why the Xbox Global Expansion Team exists to help developers from countries like Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and Latin America reach audiences around the world. That’s how the Xbox Global Expansion Team put a small Indonesian team and its new title in the spotlight. My beautiful empress.

My beautiful empress is a dark fantasy empire management game inspired by Asian mythology and developed by Jakarta-based developer GameChanger Studio. You play as the most powerful man on the continent of Ashuwa, Emperor Hong of the Crimson Empire, and your life is torn to pieces after your beloved Empress Xiang succumbs to a mysterious illness.

Unwilling to accept that even an emperor has limits, you turn to black magic and begin to call upon the supernatural Yaoguai, who will help you lead your empire and eventually resurrect your empress.

With a game so clearly based on the myths and legends of East and Southeast Asia, it can be quite a challenge for indie game developers to get the word out, especially to audiences unfamiliar with the original stories. That’s where the Global Expansion Team came in.

In April 2023, GameChanger CEO Riris Marpaung met with the Global Expansion Team to discuss strategies for the best release My beautiful empress on Xbox and share the game’s development progress from the use of 2D art to 3D models.

The discussions culminated in My beautiful empress was featured on the Xbox Digital Broadcast at Tokyo Game Show 2023, helping GameChanger and its publisher Neon Doctrine set the stage for the game’s world premiere. This was an incredible opportunity for GameChanger to introduce the game to players outside of their own region, and for its founder and CEO Riris Marpaung to appear on camera and speak directly to the global audience. The response was overwhelming, with people from all over the world reaching out to express their interest in My beautiful empress

The support of the Global Expansion team not only enabled GameChanger Studio to sell copies of the game, but also provided a platform from which a small team could make meaningful connections and foster further opportunities. And through the work of the Global Expansion team, more and more such games are being discovered, traveling to events in the region and through initiatives like Game Camp Asia – Xbox’s educational program to support developers in regions like Southeast Asia and India – and the Developer Acceleration Program, which provides funding and support to underrepresented developers to share their games and stories with the world.

GameChanger hopes that gamers around the world enjoy My Lovely Empress’s interpretation of East and Southeast Asian culture and that many more games from around the world will be supported by these invaluable initiatives.

My beautiful empress will be released on Xbox on August 21, 2024. If you would like to support the growth of the wonderful Southeast Asian indie scene, donate My beautiful empress

My beautiful empress

Neon Doctrine

☆☆☆☆☆
7

★★★★★

19,99 $

You have an empire under your control and the world is at your feet. In your hands you hold the happiness, hopes and lives of an entire nation and those you call its ruler. You have everything, and yet in your heart you have nothing. You are Emperor Hong, the cherished emperor of the Crimson Empire, and you have suffered a deep loss. After the death of your mother, the former ruler, you have tragically lost your beloved empress as well. Left with no other options, you are forced to seek aid from the Yaoguai, forbidden but powerful creatures of the north with a penchant for human souls, to help you resolve imperial challenges, enforce your will, and support the well-being of your citizens. You are far from the only ruler in the world, and balancing the needs of your people with the dealings you conduct with other rulers will be a difficult necessity on the road to growing the Crimson Empire. However, when your country reaches the peak of its prosperity, you are faced with a choice: live with all you have created, or command the Yaoguai to bring about a catastrophe that will consume your empire and sacrifice your people to resurrect your beloved Empress.