The new isometric MMORPG Lost Ark from developer Smilegate was previously only available in Korea. But now Smilegate has made a deal with the Russian publisher mail.ru to bring the game to Russia.
What has happened? Following the announcement that Smilegate is working on bringing Lost Ark to the West, the first steps are now being initiated. The Korean developer has signed a contract with the Russian publishing giant Mail.ru.
Mail.ru will be responsible for operating Lost Ark in Russia in the future. There is already a Russian website where players can register for the MMORPG.
However, to register there, you must have an email address at Mail.ru or be logged into one of their social networks.
What is Mail.ru? It is one of the largest game developers and publishers in Russia. They also own the Russian social networks like “V Kontakte,” as well as part of Facebook.
The Russian publisher Mail.ru is also the owner of My.com, which has a mixed reputation among MMORPG gamers. Part of the community believes that My.com monetizes their games too heavily, such as Revelation Online.
What does it mean for Europe? My.com, the subsidiary of Mail.ru, has previously published several MMO games in Europe and the USA. Therefore, there is a likelihood that they could also be responsible for the publishing of Lost Ark in the West.
It is not known how extensive the deal between Smilegate and Mail.ru is.
Their subsidiary My.com has not yet published any games from Smilegate. Therefore, it cannot be said at this time whether they will actually take over the distribution of the MMORPG for us and how this will affect the cash shop of Lost Ark.
