The Korean company NCSoft, known for games like Lineage, Blade and Soul, and Guild Wars 2, has released its release plans for the year 2021. Several new games are planned, including 3 MMORPGs. However, only one of them will be released for PC.
What has NCSoft announced? As part of the NCruiting Days, the company has been recruiting new employees to expand the current team of 4,000 people. During this, they also discussed their future plans and showed a graphic that gives us a glimpse of upcoming games.
The releases planned are:
- Fuser – A rhythm game for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch
- Project TL – The only MMORPG on the list that will be released for PC and consoles
- AION 2 – A new mobile MMORPG
- Blade and Soul 2 – Also a mobile MMORPG
- Blade and Soul S – A collectible game based on Blade & Soul
Except for Fuser, which is set to be released in 2020, the remaining games are scheduled for 2021. But what exactly is behind the titles? And who are they interesting for?
Project TL as a successor to Lineage
What is Project TL? Originally, Project TL was developed as Lineage Eternal and was supposed to be the successor to the successful series. In 2016, it was already ready for initial tests. However, the feedback was negative and thus a major overhaul was announced, including the switch to Unreal Engine 4.
Since then, there have been few new updates about the game aside from its renaming to Project TL, which was originally “definitely supposed to be released in 2019” and later promised a beta for the end of 2019. A small highlight this year was merely 10 new images that were released at the beginning of 2020.
In the meantime, the game has undergone internal testing and is expected to start “soon” in a beta. However, when exactly, is not known.
Who is the game interesting for? Project TL will be an MMORPG with an isometric perspective, similar to Lost Ark. Anyone wanting to experience a proper MMO akin to Diablo 4 should keep an eye on this game.
It is among the most promising MMORPGs in development. The Lineage brand has significantly built up NCSoft, with several PC and mobile titles. Therefore, they are interested in ensuring that the successor performs well.
Project TL is expected to launch globally and definitely here.
Blade and Soul 2 and Aion 2
What is behind the titles? Blade and Soul 2 and Aion 2 are both to become mobile MMORPGs and were already first mentioned during G-Star 2018.
Blade and Soul 2 takes place in the future of the current MMORPG. The combat system is expected to continue featuring combos prominently, and smarter NPCs are also planned.
The story of AION 2, on the other hand, is supposed to take place 900 years before the actual story. The focus will be on gliding through the air and the combat system, which is to be significantly different from the original MMORPG. Additionally, PvP battles between servers are planned.
First trailers for both games are already available on YouTube. Blade and Soul 2 starts at minute 2:50, AION 2 from minute 9:00:
Who are the games suitable for? The two MMORPGs are suitable for players who have already had experiences with Blade and Soul or Aion, as well as fans of mobile MMORPGs.
NCSoft has already shown with Lineage 2M that they can create good mobile games, which also directly come with an emulator for PC via NC Purple. Integration of both games into the launcher is likely. However, the launcher is not yet available in English or German officially.
What is behind Blade and Soul S
The last new game also has Blade and Soul in the name, but will differ somewhat from the two MMORPGs. The game is set 3 years before the PC title and revolves around collecting various heroes from the universe.
While there is an open world, you do not travel through it with your character, but with one of many heroes. These are also heavily focused on “cuteness”.
Who is the game interesting for? Anyone who already enjoys playing Blade and Soul and is interested in experiencing a fun hero-collecting game on their smartphone could find Blade and Soul S an interesting game.
However, it is not yet known whether the game will even come to the West.
Focus on mobile is not surprising
The strong focus on mobile is likely not surprising for NCSoft. The company has been very successful with this branch and is now investing a lot of money into the future. Unlike MMO companies in the West, it seems to be going well in Korea. They could even afford to postpone games like Project TL for a longer period.
Additionally, NCSoft is working on another MMORPG called Project LW. Here, too, the Lineage license is expected to be used. The release is supposed to take place “globally” and “on multiple platforms”. However, the title seems to be several years away from release.
