[Photo] Meeting 'Maltese' and 'Poring' at the XD Shanghai Headquarters

[포토] 상하이 XD 본사에서 '몰티즈'와 '포링'을 만나다

gamemeca Ⅰ Lee Woo-min 게임메카 이우민 기자 2025.07.15 10:00 UTC+9

AI Summary

We toured the Shanghai headquarters of XD Inc. to see their hybrid development and publishing operation. The office is a sprawling campus filled with game-themed decor and specialized production studios. Despite security restrictions, it is clear the team is heavily invested in diverse, non-formulaic gaming projects.

XD Inc. is best known as the publisher behind the likes of Azur Lane and Girls' Frontline. However, this Shanghai-based outfit is putting a serious shift into development too, with titles like Torchlight: Infinite and Sword of Convallaria under their belt. They’re avoiding the trap of churning out mindless clones, opting instead to dabble in RPGs, strategy, and action titles—most recently announcing their new project, 'Etheria'. We took a trip to their Shanghai headquarters to see how they’re juggling both publishing and development. Just bear in mind, security was tight, so we couldn't snap every corner of the office.

▲ The XD headquarters in Shanghai, where a cluster of seven company buildings sit together like a campus (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Tucked away beside the towering blocks (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 'Poring', the iconic character from the XD-developed Ragnarok M, greets visitors (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Right by the entrance, you'll find the 'Maltese' characters from a recent collaboration with XD's 'Go! Go! Muffin!'. According to the staff, they deck out the building whenever a new collab kicks off (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Stepping inside (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ You’re welcomed by a sprawling lounge area (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Complete with a cafe serving up refreshments (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ And a set of sofas and tables tucked right opposite (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Behind that, there’s a spot for photo ops, complete with adorable plushies (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Moving over to the adjacent building (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Where the XD logo stands proud (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ And a dedicated production studio is located (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ This is the engine room where a mountain of XD's video content is churned out (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Tucked in a corner of the studio is a humanoid robot for video production. The staff mentioned it costs a pretty penny (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Heading up to the second floor (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ We find a spacious development studio (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ With a chill-out zone tucked to one side (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The walls are plastered with posters from games XD has either developed or published (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A life-sized standee of 'Gloria' from Sword of Convallaria (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Right across is the gaming area. It looks a bit chaotic, but they’ve got everything from joysticks to a Nintendo Switch 2 (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Just across from the break area, a hive of developers were hard at work (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

XD Inc.(이하 XD)는 벽람항로, 소녀전선 등 각종 모바일게임 퍼블리셔로 널리 알려져 있지만, 토치라이트: 인피니트, 소드 오브 콘발라리아 등 개발에도 집중하고 있는 중국 게임사다. 양산형 게임이 아닌 RPG, 전략, 액션 등 다양한 장르에 도전하고 있으며, 최근까지도 신작 '에테리아'를 발표하는 등 꾸준한 신작을 선보이는 중이다. 퍼블리싱과 게임 개발 두 마리 토끼를 모두 잡기 위해 노력 중인 중국 상하이에 위치한 XD 본사를 카메라에 담았다. 보안 상 본사 내 모든 곳을 촬영하지 못했다는 점은 양해바란다.