April 24, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean game developer NCSoft officially released its new mobile role-playing game “Lineage Red Knights” in 12 countries on Dec. 8, aiming to capture longtime fans of the original “Lineage” online game as well as new mobile gamers.

The new mobile RPG is based on “Lineage,” a pioneering multiplayer online role-playing game introduced in 1998 that rocketed NCSoft to stardom and made the firm one of Korea’s biggest game developers.

 

Lineage Red Knights

“Lineage Red Knights” is the first ever mobile RPG introduced by NCSoft that utilizes the story line and gaming structure of “Lineage.” It stands as a more mobile-friendly, casual rendition of the original online game.

In developing “Lineage Red Knights,” NCSoft took great care to re-create the same gaming experience offered by the original game for a mobile setting, NCSoft’s Vice President of Publishing Shim Seung-bo said in a former media event.

“We have fully coated our original game with mobile elements,” Shim said. “We are confident that users will be able to enjoy the same contents offered by the original PC-based ‘Lineage’ on their mobile devices.”

In “Lineage Red Knights,”  flagship monsters from the original game appear as small and chubby animated characters to appeal to a broader audience. A user becomes a part of the “Red Knights” to save the world of Aden from destruction.

The game is now available in 12 countries, including Korea, Taiwan and parts of Southeast Asia. NCSoft plans to launch the game in additional markets including Japan in the near future.

In China, one of the world’s biggest mobile game markets, NCSoft’s Chinese partner Alpha Group will distribute “Lineage Red Knights” early next year, the firm said.

A number of other mobile multiplayer role-playing games utilizing the intellectual property of Lineage are slated for release in the near future.

Netmarble Games is scheduled to launch “Lineage II Revolution” globally on Dec. 14. The mobile game’s most touted feature is the massive multiplayer “Castle Seige” which can accommodate up to 1,600 players at once.

NCSoft also plans to unveil “Lineage M,” categorized as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or MMORPG, early next year. While “Lineage Red Knights” is a spin-off of the original game, “Lineage M” will fully transfer the original story line and gaming structure of “Lineage” to a mobile setting.

By Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald (jys@heraldcorp.com)