The two Korean MMORPG classics Lineage II and Aion will be coming to Steam in the West.
According to 2p.com, NCSoft plans to offer two of its somewhat aged games to a larger audience in the West via Steam. Lineage II is over 10 years old and is expected to shine on Steam once again. Aion is also quite old, and is also set to release on Steam this fall.
Both are free-to-play games that continue to receive new content. They still generate good revenue for NCSoft, as indicated by the financial figures.
According to NCSoft, both titles are blessed with a strong and loyal fanbase. They want to introduce them to a larger audience through Steam. A Steam presence is the next logical step.
Fits into NCSoft’s strategy to expand its presence in the West
Recently, NCSoft has shifted its focus to the West, wanting to expand its presence after having been scarce for many years – the new president has a Western affinity. The upcoming release of Blade and Soul also supports this, and they’ve brought in a key employee for community work from rival Blizzard.
In the competing game Tera, the Steam launch caused a significant boom. However, they had to scale back shortly after and block Steam access for players in Europe. The EU publisher of Tera had issues with this so-called “new global version.”
Interestingly, the EU publisher of Tera, who raised an objection against the Steam version of Tera, is Gameforge. They are also releasing Aion.
