NCSoft headquarters (Image courtesy of NCSoft)
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – NCsoft, the South Korean gaming giant, has initiated development of a new casual game based on its Lineage intellectual property, following the recent release of Journey of Monarch, according to gaming industry sources.
The company posted job listings on December 2 for content planners for what it describes as a “new casual” project. The development team revealed that the project will utilize Unreal Engine 5 to create a mobile casual game based on the Lineage IP, and is seeking staff members to join from the early stages of development.
This new project, which is reportedly being developed under Chief Business Officer Lee Sung-gu, is separate from Journey of Monarch, the company’s recently launched idle massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
An industry insider familiar with NCsoft’s operations disclosed that while Journey of Monarch heavily utilized assets from Lineage W, the new project will incorporate assets from Lineage M. The source indicated that the game is currently being planned as an idle game, though this could change during development.
NCsoft’s Journey of Monarch (Image courtesy of NCSoft)
Idle games, which allow characters to automatically complete tasks and gather resources without direct player interaction, are designed for casual gameplay with simple controls and frequent rewards to maintain player engagement.
While traditionally dominated by smaller developers due to lower development barriers, the genre has attracted major companies following the success of games like the Chinese hit Mushroom Garden.
NCsoft’s venture into idle gaming with Journey of Monarch is seen as a response to profitability concerns.
The company has undergone significant restructuring this year amid declining performance, including large-scale voluntary retirement programs and reorganizations. During this process, NCsoft spun off several divisions into subsidiaries, including QA, SI, AI, and development teams for Throne and Liberty, TACTAN, and LLL.
The company has also disbanded development teams for upcoming projects such as the interactive movie game Project M, action game Project E, and casual game Doguri Adventure. However, the core Lineage development team remains at headquarters, avoiding the restructuring measures and maintaining its strategic importance.
Hong Won-jun, NCsoft’s chief financial officer, mentioned during the third-quarter earnings call last month that the company is “actively pursuing a diversified portfolio of new titles” and plans to “release a new genre game targeting the global market based on existing IP.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
