Introduction: The arena of MMORPG has always been one of the most challenging spaces in the global gaming market. The fact that the genre combines massive multiplayer online games with role-playing mechanics shows just how demanding these games are for development, even in those cases when they fail to win over a big audience. That is the main reason why in the last decade or even longer, this gaming space continues to be dominated by old and established titles. Recently, however, a new game stepped into this ring and it is already a serious contender for the top tier. This game is called Throne and Liberty, and it brings the combination of a massive open world, the thrill of exploration, and an in-depth RPG system. So far, the audience’s reaction to it has been exceedingly good, which could make it one of the future’s biggest new MMORPGs.
Article: The development cycles of big role-playing games are rarely quick or easy. However, some games overcome even these negative expectations and spend years upon years in development. Throne and Liberty is one such game. NCSoft, the main developer of the title, first announced it in 2011. Back then, it was planned to be the first sequel of Lineage, a popular game NCSoft created in the late 1990s. After several years of development and testing, as well as changes in the top management, the company decided to switch the game engines, moving from a proprietary tool to Unreal Engine 4. The same year, 2017, the development was also renamed to Project TL. It had to wait until 2022 to be branded as Throne and Liberty, as well as get its launch milestones. These changes included Amazon Games which entered the project and got the publishing rights for North America, South America, Europe, and Japan.
After a start to the open beta in July 2024, the game was finally released globally on October 1. After 13 years in production and a number of complete rebranding waves, many were highly skeptical about the potential of Throne and Liberty. However, they were proven wrong very quickly after the full launch, even though the open beta also showcased a huge potential. The full release saw a massive influx of gamers into the world of this MMORPG. In a matter of days, the game attracted over three million players. Social media and streaming services became flooded with content related to the game and even seasoned players of other MMORPGs began trying out this new title. The appeal and the long-term potential of Throne and Liberty are multi-layered, but for now, it seems like the game has what it takes to reshape the modern massively multiplayer online RPG market.
Free-to-Play Title for All
The key surface appeal of Throne and Liberty is the fact that the game is a free-to-play title, but also one that is outside of the constraints of the F2P model of monetization. The game heavily favors gameplay that revolves around player-based guilds, allowing players to start their own and enter into others. This collective play, however, works just as well for both PvP and PvE setups. This means that MMORPG players are willing to take on each other in PvP, but those who enjoy co-op play against the game itself in PvE also found a home in Throne and Liberty. At the same time, microtransactions are by no means forced upon the players and nothing from the game’s real money shops is there to make paying players more powerful than those who do not spend anything in the game. This showed immediately that NCSoft was ready to invest time and effort into attracting players who would commit to the game without needing to spend their money on it. At the same time, the game is sold with special packs, including Bronze, Silver, and Gold, which allows the company to generate funds but not impede non-paying players.
Open World to Explore
Another big appeal of Throne and Liberty is its huge and gorgeous open world of Solisium, where players are able to roam, explore, and engage in solo and collective adventures. Here, another element helps the game stick out – in it, players can morph into a range of creatures. These beings from the land, sky, and sea can help players quickly traverse huge distances in their morphed form. The number of these creatures is exceedingly big and very imaginative, covering classic fantasy tropes, steampunk beings, and much more. The morphs are not just allowing the same gameplay element to enforce the open-world exploration mechanic – they also add another in-game element that the players can get and shape their playstyle around.
Complex RPG Systems
Lastly, the big appeal for the hardcore MMORPG audience comes from the fact that Throne and Liberty is simply a great role-playing game system. It was made in the tradition of the classic RPGs and offers numerous sub-systems for primary and secondary weapons, but also gear, skills, experience distribution, leveling, as well as almost any imaginable staple of this genre. These systems are also huge and incredibly intricate, which is again something that serious MMORPG players appreciate very much. On the other hand, they can be learned in their basic form quickly. Either way, the systems allow for a prolonged investment in the game. Because of this, the three or so million players in early October also generated over 11 million hours of gameplay, meaning that on average, Throne and Liberty early adopters invested nearly four hours in a brand-new game. That is a great feat for a free-to-play game and another showcase of the root-level appeal that the game has for its audience.
New Global MMORPG
No one can predict what kind of future awaits Throne and Liberty. In the near term, the game is clearly building an impressive and dedicated player base, ready for the peak gaming season at the end of the year. With it, the title could enter 2025 with an even bigger player base, as well as a promise of a lot of new content to come from NCSoft developers. That scenario would place it close to other popular MMORPGs. Presently, World of Warcraft has around eight million active players. If Throne and Liberty could reach a figure of five or six million in the near term, that would make it a huge competitor to Blizzard’s 20-year-old classic. But, whatever happens, there is no doubt that the MMORPG space is benefiting from a high-quality, in-depth title that Throne and Liberty clearly is.
Author: Ivica Milaric, game designer and assistant professor of game design at the Novi Sada Academy of Arts, Republic of Serbia