The MMORPG Lineage Eternal was supposed to be playable by now. Instead, it is dead – but we can look forward to its rebirth. The PC MMORPG Project TL shows as an unofficial Lineage 3 that the Korean giant NCSoft is addressing the transition that has been overdue for years.
Development on Lineage 3 is said to have begun in 2008
The Korean giant NCSoft has two problems: First, they excel in a market that is slowly declining: in PC MMORPGs.
Secondly: The MMORPG series that is performing well in South Korea has aged. A successor has been missing for 10 years.
- Lineage is from 1998
- Lineage 2 is from 2003
- Work on Lineage 3 reportedly began as early as 2008, but the game was never released – there was legal trouble surrounding it, TERA allegedly stole content from the game.
Top in a dying market – PC MMORPGs are struggling in Asia
The challenge with Lineage 3: While it was in development, the MMORPG market changed. PC MMORPGs are out in Asia. For a long time, Korea has been shifting to mobile MMORPGs. Everyone has a smartphone. Mobile is the future.
NCSoft is currently doing well with its PC MMORPGs like AION, Blade and Soul, or Lineage, but everyone knows: The games are aging, the shift to mobile must happen.
NCSoft is relatively late to the game, competitors like Netmarble recognized this trend earlier, having focused on mobile for decades and surpassed NCSoft.
NCSoft’s idea was: We try to balance this. We are strong on PC and do not want to give that up, but we need to prepare for the future. We need a PC successor for Lineage, but also want to establish ourselves in mobile. Let’s create a “hybrid game” for PC and mobile.
In 2015, NCSoft introduced “Lineage Eternal”, which was supposedly realigned Lineage 3. And the title blocked NCSoft for years.
Analysts were sure: The future of NCSoft hinged on Lineage Eternal. Lineage Eternal was supposed to have a global release, was announced for 2017, and was expected to be a mega hit, but: it simply wasn’t a good game.
Lineage Eternal never worked, NCSoft blocked for years
The problem: Lineage Eternal never really worked.
The development was slow and had to be postponed multiple times. Then the first public tests did not go well. Players simply did not like Lineage Eternal: They found it too outdated, too conservative, and grindy.
Additionally: Between 2014 and 2017, mobile development progressed much faster than NCSoft had anticipated.
Ironically, Netmarble brought the Mobile MMORPG Lineage 2 Revolution to market at the end of 2016 with the Lineage license, making a lot of money. NCSoft was in danger of completely losing touch.
Flood of new mobile games
NCSoft had to adapt and fully focus on mobile. The effects of this strategy are now evident in 2017:
- With Lineage M, a first mobile hit has succeeded in Korea.
- They are following it up with Blade & Soul 2, AION Tempest, AION Legion, and Lineage 2 M. Four “new” mobile MMORPGs based on well-known PC franchises are in the works.
- They are also continuing to work with Netmarble, allowing them to develop a further Blade&Soul mobile MMORPG – NCSoft is happy to take the royalties.
Project TL as the new PC flagship
Interesting is what happened to Lineage Eternal. The idea of the “PC/mobile hybrid” has apparently been abandoned by NCSoft, and now they want to develop a new “flagship” PC MMORPG.
Lineage Eternal is dead and has been rebooted as “Project TL”. With Unreal Engine 4 and a new concept, the game now resembles a response to “Lost Ark”.
Project TL could be the “Lineage 3” that players have been waiting for 10 years. And the game would also definitely be relevant for us MMORPG fans in the West, who still view the mobile MMORPG boom in South Korea with skepticism.
More about Project TL: Lineage 3? New PC MMORPG in the Lineage series announced!
