NCSoft, the South Korean developer of the Lineage series and the Guild War games, has been busy this year, announcing the release of Aion 2 next year, in 2022, and also the release of Lineage W, the newest edition of the popular MMORPG series Lineage, which also happens to be one of the highest grossing mobile game franchises ever. Although details about the release of Lineage W have been kept under wraps, there are a few key details that have been released by the company so far, which will help us get a glimpse into what the latest iteration of the legendary series holds, and when we can expect to get our hands on it. 

Details We Know So Far

One major piece of information revealed about the game is that unlike the previous games in the series — Lineage and Lineage II — Lineage W will be released simultaneously for both mobile and PC users. This suggests that the company has something planned for mobile users, and one can probably expect some tweaks to the gameplay to suit mobile users better than the previous games did.

As mentioned, the Lineage series is one of the highest grossing mobile video game series of all time, with Lineage M, a mobile version of the original 1998 Lineage, grossing over $3.5 Billion in its lifetime. This massive level of popularity means that there is a group of dedicated fans coveting as many details about the new game as possible. Unfortunately, there isn’t much gameplay detail available on the game’s official website, only a few cinematic trailers to give fans a taste of what is to come, in terms of setting and plot. The website is available in multiple languages, however, including Korean, Japanese, English, and Traditional Chinese, suggesting that the game might be released outside of Korea as well, once it is eventually out in the market.

“NCSoft previously launched their games first in Korea and later in overseas markets. Lineage W is reported to be the company’s first game with the overseas users as primary targets,” said an industry official.

NCSoft Losing Its Grip?

The release of Lineage W is also being viewed by many as being a strategic release to maintain the stronghold that NCSoft has on the market with the success of games like Lineage M. But, with games such as Kakao Game Corps’ ODIN: Valhalla Rising climbing up the charts and new games such as Krafton Inc.’s PUBG: New State set to be released this year, NCSoft must figure out a way to maintain their dominance on the market, and perhaps the release of Lineage W is the way to do that.

More Information

For those hungry for more Lineage W information, NCSoft has announced that it will announce more details regarding the game on August 19th, 10:00 AM (Korean Standard Time), during the Lineage W Global Online Showcase.