With Asta, a new MMORPG is set to be released in 2016, which is referred to as the “Asian World of Warcraft”. Publisher Webzen believes in the game’s success, even though the servers in Korea have been shut down.
Asta has had a turbulent past, even though the MMORPG has not yet been released in the western market. In South Korea, the servers were shut down in August 2015 and since 2013, there has been no new content for the game. These are not exactly good signs for a successful launch in the West.
However, publisher Webzen believes that Asta will succeed in the West. The development studio Polygon Games is still passionate about the project and is currently preparing new content to expand the game and support it in the future. The developers are still interested in making Asta a great MMORPG, and Webzen wants to support the team in this endeavor.
Asta is expected to succeed in the West
Webzen also states that the failure of a game in one country does not mean that it must also fail in another country. There is great potential for Asta, especially in the western market. They have also experienced cases where an online game that was immensely successful in the Asian market did not perform well in the West. They acknowledge that the Asian-influenced art style may not appeal to everyone, but in a game, it’s the gameplay that matters.
They are currently working on localizing the game to bring the background story closer to western players. They also do not want to rule out the idea of creating special content for western players.
Whether the MMORPG meets the tastes of western gamers can be determined by the players themselves since yesterday as a closed beta test for Asta has started, which in the West will carry the subtitle “The War of Tears and Winds.” An open beta will be offered by Webzen soon.
The first beta phase is set for 1 week and ends on Tuesday, November 10. A second beta phase is planned for the end of November. All players with an active WEBZEN account will be able to test the latest title, which will be released on the Webzen.com portal, without any further issues.
More about the game: Asta – The Asian World of Warcraft
