At NCSoft, the wheels are turning to launch the next million-dollar MMORPG hit in South Korea. Lineage 2M is supposed to be a blockbuster: The release will likely be in 2019. This time, the MMORPG will not only be released for mobile. Thanks to the new emulator, Purpur, PC players will also join in.
This is the next step: Two years after Lineage M, NCSoft has now introduced “Lineage 2M,” the successor to the mega hit. Lineage 2 originally launched as a PC MMORPG in 2003. Now, Lineage 2M is set to become the next mobile hit.
The site MMOCulture reports on the reveal at a media event:
- The game features “full 3D graphics” with 4K resolution
- There are said to be no loading screens
- The servers are expected to support over 10,000 players
- Lineage M is designed to adapt to any mobile device
- And there is “Purple,” a PC emulator that lets you play mobile games on your PC – Lineage 2 is set to become a “cross-platform” game, where everyone plays together
- Lineage 2M will offer over 100 class types, including “a dozen” world bosses. Guilds will fight against each other for these bosses
- The game uses “Lineage 2” as a design basis but will feature new characters and areas exclusive to Lineage 2M
The founder of NCSoft says: “In the coming years, there will be no game that can compete with Lineage 2.”
Release still in 2019 in South Korea
When will Lineage 2M be released? The game does not have a specific release date in South Korea yet. However, NCSoft aims for the 4th quarter of 2019. There is still no information about a port to Europe – if that happens, it will surely take quite a while.
Some even hope that the game could also be released for consoles (such as PS4, perhaps Xbox One or Nintendo Switch) – NCSoft wanted to be more active in this area. But that seems to be wishful thinking.
NCSoft stated that they want to develop all “non-mobile” titles for consoles in the future.
Lineage M pulled NCSoft out of the crisis
This is the situation with MMORPGs in South Korea: For years, two gaming companies were dominant in South Korea:
- It was NCSoft with MMORPGs like Lineage, Lineage 2, Blade & Soul, Aion – here in the West, they also distribute Guild Wars 2 and published the unsuccessful WildStar
- and Nexon, which distributes titles like MapleStory, Atlantica Online, Vindictus, and many more
The South Koreans played PC MMORPGs in Internet cafes: Nexon and NCSoft were the market leaders. They were in conflict, a merger was planned, but that didn’t happen – but actually, it went like this more or less for a long time. The companies focused on PC games and made good money from them.
Then, however, “Netmarble” appeared, another company that consistently focused on mobile and had great success here.
The Netmarble CEO was described as the “Korean Steve Jobs,” a man with a vision.
Netmarble even borrowed the license for the successful MMORPG, Lineage 2, from NCSoft and made “Lineage 2 Revolution” – their own hit.
NCSoft suddenly appeared “old” in early 2017: the PC MMORPGs were aging and earning less and less.
The times seemed to be running out for them. They relied on solutions with “PC/mobile” hybrids like Lineage Eternal, which flopped and took a lot of time. There was also a game like
