Positive news from Korea. The new action MMORPG Project TL is on schedule. The action MMORPG plans to have a closed beta in 2018 and a release in 2019. Fans are hoping for a port of Project TL to Europe and for the PlayStation 4.
Project TL is essentially Lineage 3. Project TL is what became of “Lineage Eternal” after NCSoft made a significant course correction. Originally, the game was to be developed as “Lineage Eternal” for mobile and PC. That went wrong. There were constant issues and delays. Therefore, NCSoft changed the engine, the direction, and the development team. Project TL is now an action MMORPG exclusively for PC. It is unofficially “Lineage 3” and thus the successor to the most successful MMORPGs in Korea.
Project TL: Release and Closed Beta
On schedule: According to the latest information from South Korea (via MMOCulture), everything is now on track for this problematic MMORPG. NCSoft stated during their earnings call that the internal assessment is “very positive.” The new team is working very well. The game is expected to have a closed beta in South Korea by the end of 2018. The release is definitely planned for 2019.
NCSoft is not interested in Battle Royale. The company is not influenced by any Battle Royale trends and is determined to continue focusing on MMORPG titles.
Will Project TL also come to Europe? There is no announcement on this yet. It is also not clear if it will come to the PlayStation 4. However, there are hints for both:
- NCSoft focused on consoles recently: Blade and Soul is planned for the PlayStation 4.
- And NCSoft is a worldwide publisher, so a release for North America and Europe is likely. Even Master X Master was released here and quickly flopped. Originally, Lineage Eternal was supposed to be released in the same window as Master X Master.
Project TL: Together with Lost Ark, the interesting new MMORPG
Why is this interesting? Project TL and Lost Ark are considered the two most interesting new AAA MMORPGs currently in development – otherwise, there are almost only indie MMORPGs:
- Both come from South Korea,
- both are action MMORPGs that utilize an isometric perspective.
- However, both will focus more on MMORPG elements than just pure hack and slash.
Since the isometric perspective is known here from Diablo 3, these games are often referred to as “Diablo MMOs.” This is not entirely accurate.
