The action MMO Lineage Eternal is and is not finished. Allegedly, it is now supposed to receive a new engine. This takes time. Will the changed gaming market be the downfall of the PC/mobile hybrid?
Lineage Eternal has so far been a tale of sorrow. The hope bearer from NCSoft has proven to be a trouble child from the very beginning.
Actually, the action MMORPG, developed for PC and mobile, should be slowly finished by now:
- there were first “focus group tests” in 2015
- then a closed beta in 2016
- a worldwide closed beta was planned for 2017.
but that’s not really working out. It has been a long time since anything has been heard from Lineage Eternal. And what we are hearing now sounds dire.
NCSoft dissatisfied with Lineage Eternal – No word from the beta
The developer and publisher NCSoft is dissatisfied with how Lineage Eternal has developed so far. They have replaced the leadership of the development team. They were not satisfied with the closed beta – we reported on it in May. Allegedly, the beta of Lineage Eternal was too grindy and not innovative enough for the Koreans.
Now a Korean site reports that the changes to Lineage Eternal are even more profound. Allegedly, NCSoft has replaced the engine of Lineage Eternal.
Lineage Eternal – maybe only mobile?
NCSoft has switched from the “in-house engine,” which is also used in Guild Wars 2, to the Unreal Engine 4. But this is not official yet. The information comes from “industry sources,” a Korean site reports on it.
Allegedly, these sources said that the engine switch is primarily about a graphics upgrade. However, it is also necessary to consider publishing Lineage Eternal as a mobile game if the market or development course changes accordingly.
The Korean source also stated that allegedly a new “release plan” for Lineage Eternal was supposed to be announced during the investor call. However, nothing came of it. Lineage Eternal was not mentioned much during the investor call.
These are thus only “rumors” from sources who wish to remain anonymous. However, they do seem plausible. Should they prove true, it seems NCSoft still does not know where it wants to go with Lineage Eternal.
However, one can probably expect that the “worldwide beta” planned for 2017 is on hold for now. We in the West will likely have to wait longer for it. If NCSoft has really swapped the engine, the release is considerably delayed.
Lineage Eternal: The landscape has changed: Is the mobile boom causing problems?
Lineage Eternal was actually supposed to lead the illustrious Lineage franchise into the future. The game was supposed to be a action MMO that bridges PC and mobile. This is symbolic for NCSoft. The Korean giant has its roots in the PC MMORPGs Lineage, Aion, and Blade & Soul.
But NCSoft recognizes the signs of the times and increasingly relies on mobile: By now, they have a mobile game on the market or in development for each MMORPG franchise.
Lineage Eternal was supposed to be the compromise between PC and mobile, between old and new. That was the plan a few years ago when they conceived Lineage Eternal. But the times in Korea are changing faster than apparently planned.
By now, the Korean gaming culture has significantly shifted from PC to mobile. And there are new “mobile-only” titles in the Lineage franchise that are raking in a ton of money. Lineage 2 Revolution has been a hit for Netmarble since the beginning of 2017. NCSoft only receives royalties from that.
The second game “Lineage M” is the glimmer of hope in summer 2017 for NCSoft, after the PC games declined. It is a hit in Korea and has made 100 billion won in 12 days – about 74 million euros.
Lineage Eternal, which two years ago was seen as the game on which NCSoft’s future depends, seems to be less critical in this new climate.
More about Lineage Eternal can be found here:
