NC, Counterattack with Major Update to 'Lineage M'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] NCSoft, facing a crisis after losing the top spot in app market revenue to Kakao Games' "Odin: Valhalla Rising," is launching a counterattack with a large-scale update for "Lineage M."

On the 7th, NCSoft announced that to commemorate the 4th anniversary of Lineage M's service, a large-scale update including new content will be implemented on the same day. They also unveiled the slogan "Step 4ward," symbolizing a new leap forward through this update.

The most eye-catching feature of the update is the new class "Sashin" (Reaper). The Sashin uses four main skills based on the concepts of "Massacre" and "Judgment." Specifically, it can use "Side Grab," which blocks the target's movement and ignores collisions with surrounding characters to charge forward, and "Death Stun," which stuns the target and summons the Sashin probabilistically to inflict additional damage proportional to the lost health.

Players can also use "Execution," which automatically detects and targets enemies with low health within a certain range and attacks them, and "Genocide," which attacks up to five NPCs (Non-Player Characters) within a wide area. Additionally, after the update, users can enjoy the newly revealed territory "Elmore," the first new territory unveiled in the Lineage intellectual property (IP). Elmore features new boss monsters such as "Duperion," "Yobnir," and "Gradium."

To celebrate the 4th anniversary of Lineage M, NCSoft will provide users with five types of TJ coupons (Transformation & Doll Synthesis Retry, General Equipment Recovery, Special Shop Equipment Recovery, Rune Recovery, Dragon's Diamond Jar). An image hinting at additional TJ coupon giveaways was also released on the official website. They plan to introduce a new growth support program that allows faster character development using items like "Experience Accumulation Tickets."

The most anticipated aspect after the update is whether Lineage M can rebound in the rankings. Currently, Kakao Games' new title "Odin" has surpassed Lineage to lead revenue rankings on both major app markets, Google Play and Apple App Store. Lineage M ranks second, followed by Lineage 2M in third place.

Especially on Google Play, Odin has maintained the number one position since it took the lead on the 2nd. This is the first time since Lineage M's launch in June 2017 that NCSoft has lost the top spot for such a long period.

A game industry insider said, "Usually, an update of this scale can attract new users, so an increase in revenue is expected," adding, "There is a high possibility that the revenue rankings will be reversed again."