Lineage W to be Series' Magnum Opus; Release This Year
Magnum opus and playground for players from all over the world - this is what the freshly-revealed Lineage W is supposed to be for the well-known MMORPG series. The game will be released later this year on PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices.
NCsoft presented Lineage W (Word), the next installment of the well-known MMORPG series. The creators have published not only short trailers, but also an extensive, over half an hour long material discussing the game.
New Lineage is not just a simple spin-off or even a "normal" sequel. Taekjin Kim, NCSoft's commercial director, described the title as the culmination of nearly a quarter-century of the brand's history and its magnum opus, having been in development for over four years as "if it was going to be the last Lineage ever". This is already evident from the target platforms - Lineage W is coming not only to PC, but also mobile devices and even consoles, which so far have seen no instalments of the series (specifically: PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch). A cross-platform feature is also provided for.
What's more, the creators have created an AI system responsible for translating the game in real time and processing players' statements into text messages, so that the title could reach the largest possible audience. Finally, 2.5D graphics were abandoned in favour of fully 3D visuals, so that - as stated by Choi-Honh-Young (lead designer of Lineage W), the technology did not limit the scope and "story background". (as an example, the giant dragon Antaras was shown). The whole thing is being created on the Unreal Engine, and the decision was made to use the isometric view known from the first installment of the series.
As for details, so far four character classes have been mentioned: mage, prince, knight and elf. The game world is to be maintained in dark fantasy vibes, much more serious and heavy than before. The devs promise an engaging and varied narrative, as well as improvements in alliances and guilds. Lineage W is to be released later this year. Unfortunately, nothing was mentioned about Lineage: Twilight Resistance (also known as Project TL) - it was only confirmed that it is a separate production.
