The next episodes of "Inside ZAGE Offices" now shift focus to highlight the ZAGE Campus, a sprawling and highly anticipated office complex located in Silicon Valley. Unlike the iconic ZAGE Tower in Japan, which boasts a staggering 52 floors reaching into the sky, the ZAGE Campus keeps a more horizontal footprint, consisting of only 15 floors. However, each floor is immensely wide and spacious—so much so that it can house multiple departments, creative studios, and hundreds of employees per level. The result is a facility that, despite being shorter, still feels massive and full of life.
The exterior of the ZAGE Campus is equally stunning. The front entrance features a beautifully landscaped park with well-manicured greenery, wide walking paths, and water features that create a serene atmosphere for both employees and visitors. The entire campus gives off the vibe of a luxurious shopping district or a high-end tech convention center. Surrounding the main building are four auxiliary structures that mirror those found near ZAGE Tower in Japan: the ZAGE Tavern, where staff can relax and enjoy affordable meals; the ZAGE Gym, fully equipped for fitness and wellness; the ZAGE Arcade, showcasing both classic and current ZAGE games; and the ZAGE Official Store, offering exclusive merchandise. Each of these facilities matches the high quality of their Japanese counterparts, ensuring that the employee experience in Silicon Valley is just as immersive and rewarding.
As usual, the ground floor of the ZAGE Campus welcomes visitors with a lively and visually captivating display of ZAGE IP characters. Statues, digital screens, and interactive installations showcase beloved heroes and mascots from ZAGE's many game franchises, creating an atmosphere that's both playful and iconic. In addition to this creative flair, the ground floor also houses the main security checkpoint and a professional reception area, where visitors and employees are greeted and guided efficiently.
Moving up to the first floor, this level is home to three essential departments that handle the administrative backbone of the company: the Department of Administration, the Finance Department, and the Marketing Department. These teams coordinate ZAGE's internal operations, manage budgeting and resource allocation, and handle global brand strategy. The offices here are expansive, with open workspaces, sleek glass meeting rooms, and a wall-length digital dashboard .
On the second floor, the focus shifts to governance and external relations. Here, you'll find the Legal Department, responsible for contracts, international regulations, and litigation; the Subsidiaries Management Department, which oversees ZAGE's investments and wholly owned studios across various regions; and the IP & Licensing Department, which handles everything from merchandise agreements to international content rights. This floor feels more corporate and data-driven, with archive walls filled with iconic licensing deals and memorabilia from global partnerships.
The third floor is split between the Human Resources Department and the Technical Infrastructure team. HR manages talent acquisition, staff training, benefits, and wellness programs—there's even a quiet room for meditation and one-on-one coaching pods. Sharing this floor is the Server Operations and Surveillance Division, which maintains the internal ZAGE Campus network and ensures uninterrupted connectivity to ZAGE Tower in Japan. They also oversee the building's extensive CCTV system and cybersecurity framework, ensuring all activity in the campus is monitored and protected around the clock. This floor reflects a strong balance between caring for people and powering the tech that enables ZAGE to run at full speed.
The 4th floor does not exist at all—it was intentionally skipped in the architectural design. This decision follows a cultural nuance observed in some building conventions, where the number 4 is often avoided due to its pronunciation similarity to the word for 'death' in several East Asian languages. At ZAGE, the absence of the 4th floor has also become an internal in-joke, with some employees jokingly referring to it as the 'phantom floor' or imagining it as a hidden developer testing realm. Officially, though, the floor simply doesn't exist in the elevator panels or floor plans, symbolizing a blank space in the otherwise meticulously structured campus. The 5th floor, by contrast, is a hub of activity—home to the Research and Hardware Development Department and the Motion Capture Studio. Engineers here are constantly prototyping new devices, exploring newest gaming tech, and testing advanced peripherals. The motion capture studio is also state-of-the-art, featuring high-speed tracking cameras, body rigs, and full green screen environments used across both game and animation pipelines.
The 6th floor serves as a massive gaming and relaxation zone, known affectionately by staff as "ZAGE Playground." This space is lined with dozens of arcade cabinets, high-spec gaming PCs, and console stations running every ZAGE release to date. There's also a zen-style napping area with soft lighting, modular sleeping pods, and calming ambient music where employees can decompress during long shifts or crunch periods. This floor is especially popular and often used as a filming location for internal events and promotional shows.
The 7th floor is dedicated to Team Enigma, one of ZAGE's elite development teams, known for their work on for PC titles. Sharing the space is the CTO's office—Gabe Newell's domain. Gabe oversees all technical operations and often collaborates directly with Team Enigma and other ZAGE team on breakthrough innovations. The 8th floor houses Team Tempest, famous for their fast-paced action games, and they work side-by-side with the USA-based Team Nexus, who specialize in Arcade like their counter part in Japan.
The 9th floor continues the creative energy with the newest ZAGE teams: Team BLAZE and Team FROST. Despite being new, both teams are stacked with promising talent from across the U.S..
Finally, the 10th floor is the campus's Town Hall zone—a grand open-space floor reserved for company-wide gatherings, keynote announcements, presentations, and developer summits. It's equipped with a full auditorium, retractable stage, and modular seating capable of hosting hundreds of attendees comfortably.
Each of these game development floors is fully outfitted with cutting-edge equipment. This includes full music studios for soundtracks and voiceovers, versatile meeting rooms with dynamic scheduling, and shared collaborative lounges. Moreover, every single floor of the ZAGE Campus is equipped with employee-focused facilities: a well-stocked pantry, a dedicated prayer room, a nursing and baby care room, and an additional floor-specific gaming room for casual breaks. This consistency reflects ZAGE's commitment to fostering a balanced and inspiring work environment.
Then the 11th to 14th floors remain intentionally vacant, reserved for future expansion as ZAGE continues to grow its presence in Silicon Valley. These empty floors are designed with infrastructure in place for a seamless transition when new teams or departments are added in the years to come.
Meanwhile, the 15th floor stands out as Zaboru's personal space—essentially his private domain within the ZAGE Campus. This floor contains his official executive office, outfitted with cutting-edge tools and displays for both business and creative planning. Adjacent to his office is his personal workshop, where Zaboru can tinker with prototypes, test gadgets, or dive into hands-on development in peace. The space also includes a cozy, hotel-like living suite designed for overnight stays, complete with a bedroom, a minimalist living area, and even a small kitchen space. It's a perfect balance between function and comfort, allowing Zaboru to immerse himself in work without needing to leave the premises.
These episodes of Inside ZAGE Offices successfully showcase the sheer scale and modern brilliance of the ZAGE Campus, which, while different in structure and layout from the towering ZAGE Tower in Japan, maintains the same core values and benefits for employees. Staff still enjoy an impressive range of perks, including full gym access, generous food discounts at the ZAGE Tavern, highly flexible work schedules, and a unique paid leave policy where unused time off can be converted into bonus pay.
What's more, these episodes aired not just in Japan, but also broadcast across the United States, leading to a surge of interest among aspiring tech and game developers. People from across the country were captivated by the behind-the-scenes look at the vibrant, innovative workplace, and many expressed dreams of working at ZAGE someday. However, as the episodes made clear—joining ZAGE is no easy feat. The company maintains an exceptionally high standard for talent, creativity, and commitment, ensuring that only the best and most passionate individuals become part of the ZAGE family.
The Inside ZAGE Offices series is nearing its final stretch, with only one more episode remaining—the upcoming spotlight on the Korean branch, known as the ZAGE Hub. Although the Korean offices are not as grand or architecturally striking as the towering ZAGE Tower in Japan or the expansive Silicon Valley Campus, they still maintain an elite status within the company. Compact and efficient in structure, the Korean offices house a smaller workforce but remain a key part of ZAGE's global operations. Their lean size doesn't diminish their importance; in fact, their adaptability and speed have often set benchmarks for regional performance. The upcoming episode promises to offer a fascinating glimpse into how ZAGE functions in a more compact but still highly effective environment, making it a fitting conclusion to the series' global tour of ZAGE's most important locations.
And aside from that, there's finally good news from the London front—ZAGE's new London Office is officially completed. The recruitment process? It's going more smoothly than anyone had anticipated. In fact, the early response has already exceeded even Zaboru's high expectations, despite the recruitment phase not being fully finalized yet. This remarkable progress is a strong testament to the organizational prowess of Risa Miller, which also appointed as ZAGE Supervisor for the London branch. Her ability to coordinate, attract talent, and build a foundation even before the office is publicly active has earned widespread internal praise.
The London office itself is an impressive 26-floor high-rise. As has become tradition with ZAGE's major global offices, the 26th floor is reserved exclusively for Zaboru's personal use. The building underwent more than a year of extensive renovation and modernization, aligning it with ZAGE's global aesthetic and operational standards. This location is especially significant because it will become the home of ZAGE's newest development unit: Team OMNI. Recruitment for Team OMNI will continue until the end of next month, with the goal of assembling a powerful and diverse team capable of pushing new boundaries.
Due to the importance of this new branch and the strategic role Team OMNI is expected to play in future projects, Zaboru himself is preparing to temporarily relocate to London for a couple of months. His planned move will likely happen sometime after the birth of his second child, expected around April. This time, unlike his previous stay in Korea, returning to Japan frequently won't be easy—so Zaboru is seriously considering bringing his entire family along with him. It would make the transition smoother, allow him to maintain work-life balance, and let his family experience life in one of the world's most iconic cities during this important phase of expansion.
The reason Zaboru needs to stay in London is clear—he wants to personally guide and mentor Team OMNI during their critical formative phase. It's not just about onboarding; Zaboru intends to teach them how ZAGE operates from the inside out, instilling the company's values, culture, and creative philosophies directly. He also has a unique series of assignments planned specifically for Team OMNI, ones that require a deep understanding of ZAGE's identity and vision. With his powerful Aura of Influence—an ability that elevates the spirit and growth potential of those around him—and his exceptional teaching skills, Zaboru believes he can shape Team OMNI into an elite squad, much like what he accomplished with Team Dynasty in Korea the previous year.
Thanks to this hands-on leadership approach, Team Dynasty rapidly grew into one of the company's standout development groups. Zaboru hopes to replicate and even surpass that success in London. By being physically present during this crucial period, he ensures that Team OMNI receives not only practical knowledge but also the motivation and inspiration needed to become one of ZAGE's most innovative and productive teams.
And that brings us to the end of March 1999. Currently, Zaboru is back in Japan, engaged in high-level discussions with AKAI regarding one of ZAGE's latest and most exciting initiatives: the Z-POD project.
To be continued .
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