The MMORPG Astellia closes its doors in its home country. This was announced by the publisher Nexon. But what does this mean for our version in the West?
What happened? As the company Nexon, which achieved true success with Dungeon Fighter Online, announced, the Korean version of Astellia will be discontinued.
Nexon was the publisher of the MMORPG in Korea, while it was developed by Barunson E&A and Studio 8.
The developers have also taken on publishing for the West and are still working intensively on our version.
Closure in Korea – will it also happen here?
What caused Astellia to fail in Korea? In the first months after release, Astellia made a very good impression. It stayed in the top 30 of online games until March.
However, it then fell off.
Nexon did not disclose exactly why the MMORPG failed in Korea. We only know that support was appreciated for over a year and that Astellia will be shut down on January 16, 2020.
As of today, no game or real-money purchases can be made anymore.
What does the failure mean for our version? The end of Astellia in Korea does not necessarily mean the end for our version. Already, we have received new content that hasn’t been released in Korea.
This was also confirmed to us by the CEO of Barunson E&A, Westley Connor, in a statement:
The fact that Nexon is ending their service is not negative for the western version. Recently, we released the new Miodan Mines, which have not been published in Korea.
We were able to do this because the English version is the primary game version. Studio 8 and Barunson E&A are making great strides in the West, and our content roadmap for 2020 is still 100% on track.
Westley Conner is referring to the large roadmap, which was published in November. There, plans for December, the first quarter of 2020, and the future were laid out.
New Areas, Astels, and an Exclusive Dungeon
What will happen in early 2020 in Astellia? The roadmap for the first quarter of 2020 is very long. Planned are among other things:
- Two new Astels, with one having already been released in 2019
- The introduction of an Astel equipment system
- New legendary dungeons
- Guild battlegrounds
- A Valentine’s event
- A new endgame area called “City of Lost Time”
- A new 12-player dungeon
Particularly the last two pieces of content are interesting. They are completely new and will be released exclusively for us in the West, while the other content was already present in the Korean version.
Astellia listens to the fans: The 12-player dungeon is the fulfillment of a wish expressed by the community back in early 2019. They wanted to see raids for larger groups.
In Korea, there have only been 4-player dungeons. We are getting a completely unique version for 12 players. How challenging the dungeon will be and whether it will provide long-term engagement will be revealed in the future.
Are there plans beyond the first quarter? The roadmap also includes a look ahead to further content in the future. Thus, there are:
- An increase in the level cap
- 3 new zones
- 2 new dungeons
- and further guild content planned.
What about Gender Lock? Currently, Astellia still has Gender Lock on some classes. However, the roadmap also mentions that minor gameplay adjustments, shop updates, balance, and Gender Lock are not mentioned, although work is still ongoing.
The Future of Astellia
Will Astellia last long-term? Of course, we cannot say with certainty how long Astellia will remain available to us in the West.
What is certain is that theme park MMORPGs are very popular here and initial feedback on Astellia has been positive. While it does not redefine the genre, it has a solid foundation and significantly fewer issues than Bless, with which it is often compared.
Barunson E&A seems to have confidence in the game. This is also demonstrated by the upcoming release in Russia. A closed beta started there on December 11.
In October, we took a closer look at Astellia and provided a conclusion:
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!