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Throne and Liberty

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Throne and Liberty
Developer(s)NC Studio X (TL Heroes)
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Benjamin Wallfisch
SeriesLineage
Novcrea Universe
EngineUnreal Engine 4[2]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X/S
Release
  • KR: December 7, 2023
  • AS/SEA: July 24, 2024
  • NA/EU/JP: October 1, 2024
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Throne and Liberty is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by NCSoft. It was published in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan by Amazon Games.

The game was originally part of the Lineage series and a sequel to the first Lineage, but was repurposed and restructured well into development. The game was first announced as Lineage Eternal in November 2011 but suffered numerous delays in its release schedule. The first South Korea closed beta took place in 2016. NCSoft renamed the game Project TL in 2017 and Throne and Liberty in 2022.

Development and release

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The game has suffered from numerous delays during development.[3] NCSoft officially announced Lineage Eternal as the sequel to the first Lineage, released in 1998, in November 2011.[4] The first gameplay videos debuted at the G-Star 2011 gaming convention in South Korea on November 9.[5] In August 2013, NCSoft was preparing to roll out the beta schedule of Lineage Eternal by the end of that year.[6] The developers planned to initiate beta testing in Korea towards the end of year of 2015,[3] but during a conference call in November, they confirmed that closed beta testing would be delayed until 2016.[7] A closed beta in Korea was scheduled for November 2016.[8]

By March 2017, the development team's leadership for Lineage Eternal was changed due to the results of the closed beta, according to NCSoft.[9][10] The game was delayed by August when NCSoft moved from a proprietary game engine that was used in Guild Wars to Unreal Engine 4.[11] By November, the game was called Project TL.[12]

By February 2022, Project TL was expected to launch in the second half of the year.[13] The game was officially rebranded as Throne and Liberty the following month.[14]

Amazon acquired the publishing rights in 2023 and planned to release Throne and Liberty in Americas, Europe, and Japan, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S with full cross-platform support. An open beta started in July 2024, and was scheduled to be released on September 17.[15][16] The beta attracted nearly 60,000 players at launch and leveled off to around 38,000 by the next day.[17]

In July 2024, the Korean version of the game received the Leap Update, which added a multi-level challenge dungeon, new life skills, a boost server, and a skill system that lets players customize weapon abilities. The updates were carried over to the global version when it launched in September.[18] NCSoft expanded service to 19 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.[19]

After early access started on September 26, the game was released on October 1.[20] Within its first week, the game attracted over 3 million players worldwide, with over 24 million hours of gameplay recorded.[21]

Reception

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Throne and Liberty received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[22]

Earlier, Throne and Liberty experienced a strong launch, particularly on Steam, when it was released on October 1, 2024, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game climbed to become the No. 4 most-played game on Steam, reaching a peak concurrent player count of over 300,000 within its first few days. This performance placed it ahead of major titles like PUBG: Battlegrounds and Grand Theft Auto V, and behind only Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. Despite releasing midweek, the game was expected to see a further rise in player numbers over the weekend.[23]

Throne and Liberty's early success was attributed to its free-to-play model, its MMORPG elements that encourage guild-based gameplay, and its appeal to both PvP and PvE players. Set in the new world of Solisium, the game offers large-scale PvP battles, quests, and typical MMORPG features such as crafting and fishing. Its narrative-driven approach, emphasized by developers NCSOFT and publisher Amazon Games, helped distinguish it from other genre titles. Although its peak numbers have yet to match those of other Amazon-published MMORPGs like New World and Lost Ark, the early reviews positioned Throne and Liberty as one of the better games of the genre.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Project TL Official Site". NCSOFT. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  2. ^ "Lineage Eternal Engine Will Be Upgraded to Unreal Engine 4". 2P.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Priestman, Chris (August 6, 2015). "NCSoft Has Started Beta Testing Lineage Eternal: Twilight Resistance At Last". Siliconera. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Schuster, Shawn (November 8, 2011). "G-Star 2011: NCsoft announces Lineage Eternal". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "Lineage Eternal G-star 2011 Official Video". YouTube. NCSoft Corporation. November 9, 2011. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  6. ^ Olivetti, Justin (August 15, 2013). "NCsoft looking ahead to Lineage Eternal beta, WildStar launch". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  7. ^ "Lineage Eternal - NCsoft delays Closed Beta phase until next year". MMO Culture. November 4, 2015.
  8. ^ Olivetti, Justin (November 10, 2016). "Lineage Eternal schedules Korean closed beta for November 30". Massively Overpowered. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  9. ^ Royce, Bree (May 11, 2017). "NCsoft Q1 2017: Tumbles for Lineage, Guild Wars 2, plus new leadership for Lineage Eternal". Massively Overpowered. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "Lineage Eternal Development Team Got a Big Change". 2P.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  11. ^ Royce, Bree (August 8, 2017). "Lineage Eternal delayed again, Guild Wars 2 mobile game teased". Massively Overpowered. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  12. ^ Royce, Bree (November 7, 2017). "NCsoft has rebooted Lineage Eternal as Project TL in Unreal 4". Massively Overpowered. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  13. ^ Marasigan, Marc (February 15, 2022). "NCSoft Announces Five New Games Including Project TL And A Brand New Game". MMOs.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  14. ^ Marasigan, Marc (March 18, 2022). "NCSoft Rebrands Project TL As A New IP Called Throne And Liberty". MMOs.com. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  15. ^ Holt, Kris (June 19, 2024). "Amazon's Throne and Liberty MMO is coming to the west in September". Engadget. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "Amazon Games and NCSOFT announce agreement to publish 'THRONE AND LIBERTY' in the West and Japan". Amazon Games. February 22, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Carpenter, Lincoln (July 19, 2024). "The open beta for Throne and Liberty, Amazon's latest MMO import, is available now". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Neal, Chris (July 21, 2024). "Throne & Liberty KR's upcoming new skill system update is reportedly headed for global release". Massively Overpowered. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  19. ^ Lefebvre, Eliot (July 24, 2024). "NCsoft expands Throne & Liberty publishing to several additional regions in Asia and beyond". Massively Overpowered. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  20. ^ Royce, Bree (August 16, 2024). "Amazon and NCsoft delay Throne and Liberty to October 1 for more progression retooling | Massively Overpowered". Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (October 8, 2024). "Amazon Hails Success of MMO Throne and Liberty After 3 Million Players in a Week". IGN. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Throne and Liberty (PC Critic Reviews)". Metacritic. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Throne and Liberty Is Already One of Steam's Most Popular Games Right After Release". Gaming. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
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