The hugely successful mobile MMORPG Lineage M in South Korea will not simply be ported for the international market; a special version is coming – likely to Europe as well.
Lineage M is coming!
An enormously successful mobile MMO. The mobile MMORPG Lineage M has been available in South Korea for about a year, and its immense success resulted in a record revenue of $1.6 billion for the publisher NCSoft in 2017. Even in the first month after its release in summer 2017, the game brought NCSoft a revenue of $233 million. Lineage M essentially saved NCSoft’s last business year while the PC MMORPGs were all stagnating or losing.
Lineage M will be released internationally! To celebrate the first birthday of the MMO, NCSoft has now announced the release of an international version. However, this is not a 1:1 port of the original. The exact differences will be announced by the company at a later date.
Why is it such a hit? Lineage is basically the “WoW” of South Korea. It is a fantasy MMORPG that has been running there since 1998 and is incredibly successful – even today. The mobile version, “Lineage M,” was the MMORPG blockbuster of 2017 in South Korea. Lineage M shows the shift of the MMORPG genre in South Korea: from PC to mobile. Since Lineage M was so successful, mobile versions of almost all MMORPGs from NCSoft have been announced.
Where will Lineage M be released? It is a “global” version that will be released in several markets. Specifically mentioned were China, Japan, and also the USA. A release in Europe is also likely.
The Korean version will receive updates. NCSoft is currently taking care not only of the upcoming international version of Lineage M, but also of the expansion of the Korean version. A new class, the Gunman, and unique content are planned to differentiate Lineage M from the PC version “Lineage.”
However, the Dragon Raid, one of the most iconic features of the PC version, will soon make its way into the mobile version. And the PC version will receive a refresh with an HD package.
As a mobile MMORPG, Lineage 2 Revolution is already playable.
