Lost Ark is the biggest surprise in the MMORPG sector for about 10 years. On Steam, the free-to-play MMORPG has reached several hundred thousand players: The head behind the game is Global Director Keum ‘Gold River’ Kang-sun. He has now surprisingly announced his withdrawal in Korea. The news hits many players in Korea, where chief developers like Gold River are almost worshipped.
This is the announcement:
- Gold River regularly hosts a broadcast where he informs players about what is planned for the MMORPG in the future (via youtube). Lost Ark is considered the online RPG that has developed best since its release in South Korea in 2019. New classes come into the game regularly.
- A few hours ago, Gold River made his last broadcast, where he announced a ban on ‘DPS meters’. Those who start using them will be banned; this has also been communicated to Amazon. Gold River also said that he has been invited to 7 weddings between ‘Lost Ark’ players lately.
- The Elgacia update is the last patch for which Gold River is responsible as Director. His health has deteriorated, and it continues to decline.
Lost Ark was much more successful at release on Steam than anyone expected:
‘The Yoshi-P of Lost Ark’
What was Gold River known for? The Global Director was held in high esteem by many fans. Unlike in the West, where we view many MMORPG heads critically and rarely have anything good to say about Ion Hazzikostas (WoW) and barely know the names of other Game Directors, such leaders like Gold River are revered in Asia.
Fans say he is incredibly charismatic and spoke with great passion for his game.
One user calls him the ‘Yoshi-P’ of Lost Ark. This refers to Naoki Yoshida, the Game Director of Final Fantasy XIV, who has been revered since he rescued the game from damnation and led it to new heights.
Gold River was known for his statement that he promises to make Lost Ark better every day: Today better than yesterday, tomorrow better than today.
On the reddit forum, it is said: Gold River was as popular with Korean players as Yoshi-P in Final Fantasy XIV. Here in the West, this did not come across because we do not have the connection to him. But South Korean players are truly desperate about the news.
Even in the English-speaking Lost Ark forum, many fans express how much they cherish Gold River and express their condolences.
It is said that Gold River really cared about the game and the players. It is suspected that an enormous workload may have caused so much stress that it is now taking a toll on his health. There are recurring mentions of a gigantic workload he had to bear in trying to shape Lost Ark according to his vision.
In South Korea, there is a culture of literally “working oneself to death” – it even has its own name: Kwarosa.
Gold River himself speaks of depressive phases saved only by the enthusiasm of the players and how much they love his game. Ultimately, Lost Ark fulfilled his dream.
In the English-speaking world, Gold River was primarily known for an interview that Twitch streamer Asmongold commented on with delight:
What’s next? The Director says he trusts his team and leaves Lost Ark in very good hands. According to him, the game will continue to run for many years.
This is what it’s about: This cult of personality around developers is foreign to us in Europe, where MMORPGs are more often sold as team projects, with the chief being merely the ‘first among equals’ who coordinates and holds everything together. Game Directors rarely appear; most communication is handled by Community Managers.
In Lost Ark and Final Fantasy XIV, however, the heads hold significantly more central positions: They have a greater influence on their games. They also speak much more frequently in ‘I’ than in ‘we’, as we are used to in Europe.
More on the success of Lost Ark:
Lost Ark is finally an MMORPG that runs successfully after 5 weeks – But why?
