Case Study

Wild Hearts: designing a global launch ecosystem for a new AAA IP

This design case is from my experience at Electronic Arts

RoleExperience Designer

IndustryGaming

Date2023

OutcomeGlobal launch ecosystem, 15+ locales

https://www.ea.com/games/wild-hearts/wild-hearts

~3mo

Zero to launch

Announce, Pre-Order, and Launch phases shipped in sequence.

Markets supported

Localization-ready templates built for text expansion from day one.

Campaign phases

Announce → Pre-Order → Launch, without re-architecting between them.

Design → code

Self-implemented

Production HTML/CSS/JS built directly in AEM, no dev handoff.

The 30-Second Version

A quick note before you keep scrolling

Wild Hearts had zero built in audience and needed to earn trust quickly, drive pre orders across 15 plus markets, and absorb weekly content drops without slowing down. I designed the information architecture and reusable component system, then hand coded the production front end directly in AEM. This modular foundation successfully scaled through Announce, Pre-Order, and Launch without requiring a single page rebuild.

I Owned

UX strategy & narrative structure
Hub-and-spoke information architecture
Component & template system design
Production front end - HTML/CSS/JS in AEM

Built Alongside

Producers & Brand - Kemono & Karakuri accuracy
Marketing & Community: campaign sequencing

From teaser to player hub

A brand-new IP with no built-in audience.

Wild Hearts is an EA Originals title set in a world shaped by Japanese mythology, built around Kemono battles and the Karakuri crafting system. With no franchise recognition to lean on, the website carried unusual weight: it was where players would form a first impression, decide whether to pre-order, and keep returning across the campaign. It had to introduce an unfamiliar world, prove the game was worth trusting against established competitors, and scale across regions and languages, all inside a three-month window.

The challenge & strategic choices

Every constraint on this project pulled priorities in opposite directions. Here is how design strategy balanced speed, scale, and immersion:

Trade-offDESIGN RESPONSEResult

Trade-offImmersion vs. speed

DESIGN RESPONSEReserved heavy video loops for core hero moments and pillar features

ResultKept conversion paths lightweight for fast mobile performance

Trade-offSystems Depth vs Approachability

DESIGN RESPONSEImplemented progressive disclosure across core feature pages

ResultHooked casual visitors quickly while offering deep mechanics breakdowns for action RPG fans

Trade-offStructure vs. velocity

DESIGN RESPONSEDesigned a flexible hub and spoke information architecture

ResultAllowed new lore, monsters, and media features to slot in seamlessly without touching parent layouts

Designing for three audiences

Every navigation and content decision had to serve people with different goals on the same page.

Core Player

Kenji

Wants systems depth and proof this game is different from what he's already played. Drove the feature pathways and deeper content hubs.

Casual Explorer

Lila

Needs to understand the game fast, without prior genre knowledge. Drove the simplified navigation and a scannable page hierarchy.

Press & Creators

Media Writer

Needs fast access to assets and facts on a deadline. Drove the modular layouts and a dedicated News & Media section.

From concept to comprehensive hub

Research, exploration, and delivery didn't happen once. They repeated with every new campaign beat.

Triangulating without formal player interviews

With limited runway, there was no time for a formal research phase. I leaned on competitive analysis of hunting and ARPG sites, stakeholder and studio insight, and player sentiment patterns from comparable titles to anticipate what visitors would look for first.

Competitive analysis · Stakeholder synthesis · Persona mapping

Triangulating without formal player interviews

From wireframe to high fidelity

Layout and hierarchy were locked in low fidelity before any color, image, or typography decision, so early critique stayed focused on structure, not polish. Drag the divider to see the same hero layout move from wireframe to shippable design.

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Low fidelityHigh fidelity

Phased evolution

Countdown → reveal → pre-order hub → full launch ecosystem. The same IA scaled up without a rebuild between phases.

IA & navigation system

A hub-and-spoke architecture routes players into Karakuri, Kemono, and Lore pathways, with News & Media built as a content engine that could absorb weekly updates without a redesign.

Conversion flows & feature storytelling

A buy hub spanning five platforms, built with progressive-disclosure modules so new feature assets could slot in as they arrived, without touching the surrounding layout.

Outcomes & business impact

A measurable summary of execution velocity, scalability, and technical performance.

Scaled across 15 plus global locales and 5 platform purchase flows with zero IA re-architecture between campaign beats.
Eliminated engineering handoff friction by self-implementing production HTML, CSS, and JS directly in AEM, cutting deployment turnarounds from weeks to hours.
Maintained sub-second core content load times by isolating heavy cinematic assets to hero moments and keeping conversion funnels lightweight.
Delivered a 100% modular publishing engine that absorbed weekly media drops and news updates seamlessly throughout the entire launch window.

Reflection

Instead of building for a single static launch, I designed a production foundation built for continuous change. Delivering a self-contained publishing pipeline early gave our marketing team a reliable launchpad, while the progressive disclosure structure helped distinct player types find what they needed instantly. It reinforced an instinct I bring to every product: knowing exactly where visual immersion should lead, and where clean, uncompromised utility must take over.