NCSoft, the company behind Lineage, Aion and Blade & Soul, is reportedly working on a new MMORPG. This is said to be developed in collaboration with Sony and set in the world of the Horizon series.
Update November 13: During a Q&A session regarding the quarterly report, NCSoft was also asked about the Horizon MMORPG. The response indicates that due to their long-standing MMORPG experience, there are many cooperation offers. They cannot comment on it yet, but an announcement of a new project is expected soon.
This project is intended to excite shareholders and appeal to the global market (via bbs.ruliweb).
What kind of game will this be? Not many details about the MMORPG are available yet. The report comes from the Korean website MTN, which claims to have heard this information from insiders around Sony and NCSoft.
It is said that NCSoft and Sony have teamed up to develop a new online game based on the Horizon IP. Development is reportedly already underway, and both companies are said to be in close contact. Internally, the game is codenamed “Project H”.
According to the report, Sony is actively involved in the development. This suggests that the Horizon MMORPG will also be released for PlayStation and will not be a purely mobile game like some of NCSoft’s recent titles.
Does the concept of Horizon fit into an MMORPG? Absolutely. Especially the structure of the open world, the many secrets to discover, the different modes of transportation, and the weak points principle would make a Horizon MMORPG really interesting. We found that already with the first part:
Sony has probably wanted a multiplayer for Horizon for a long time
What supports this information? As reported by the website VGC, Guerrilla Games – the developers of Horizon – and Sony wanted to incorporate co-op into the first game, Zero Dawn. However, this was discarded to focus on the remaining game content.
Sony was reportedly very interested in getting a co-op mode for Forbidden West, but Guerrilla decided against it again and only wanted to develop a separate online spin-off later, if at all.
Now it seems that Sony has decided to develop an online game with NCSoft.
What has NCSoft created so far? NCSoft is one of the largest MMORPG companies out there. They had great success with the Lineage series. Lineage 1 was released on September 3, 1998, and still ranks among the top 20 online games in Korea today. The sequel, Lineage 2, also makes it into the current top 20.
In Korea, the Lineage series has a similar status to WoW here. Only that there are now many more games and mobile spin-offs. These mobile games are a gold mine for NCSoft. In just three months, the latest title Lineage W generated about 280 million euros in revenue.
Otherwise, NCSoft made a name for itself with the games Aion and Blade & Soul. They are also the publisher and owner of Guild Wars 2, even though it is being developed in America. As a publisher, they also worked on Wildstar, Tabula Rasa, and City of Heroes, all of which have now been discontinued.
Currently, they are working on Throne and Liberty, a new MMORPG that is set to be released for PC and consoles and looks really good. With one exception, NCSoft has only developed MMORPGs so far.
When could we learn more? The G-Star takes place from November 17 to 20. This is the largest gaming expo in Korea. New titles are usually presented here. It is quite possible that Sony and NCSoft will reveal more about the Horizon MMORPG there.
Does the idea of an MMORPG in the world of Horizon appeal to you? Or should it remain a purely single-player franchise? What should the MMORPG definitely have to be interesting for you? Let us know in the comments.
An MMORPG from NCSoft is Guild Wars 1. Many players are now wishing for a remake that moves away from Guild Wars 2:
Despite a strong successor, many miss Guild Wars 1 – What made that MMORPG so good?
