Why Lineage Classic is winning over exhausted gamers

[Special Feature] Salmon Escaping the Trap, Catching the Big Lineage Catch (3)

Lineage Classic / Data = NC

| NBNTV = Joo Hyeon-ung |

For gamers who have abandoned titles due to exhaustion from endless microtransactions and repetitive daily tasks, a soulless "return package" is not the solution.

Even without cutting-edge technology or star-studded marketing, new titles that provide players with a clear reason to return have broken the market's cold silence and proven to generate massive revenue.

NCSoft's recent Lineage Classic is a compelling case study in providing a justification for why users should start a new game or return to an old one.

While it did not pioneer a completely new IP or genre, it faithfully implemented the atmosphere of Lineage from the early 2000s, offering past gamers a clear reason to return: the chance to re-experience the tension and tactile satisfaction of that era.

The billing system also introduced a monthly subscription model of 29,700 won starting February 11. This was an attempt at a reasonable and honest approach to consumption, breaking away from the framework of existing P2W (Pay to Win) centered MMORPGs that forced excessive high-amount payments on individual users.

Ava Rebirth / Data = Valofe-NEXON Games Co., Ltd.

With Lineage Classic, NC has essentially proven that even without a completely new game, presenting a clear reason to play and pivoting the monetization approach can generate massive results.

A game industry official analyzed, "The success of Lineage Classic is not simply a result of leaning on nostalgia. It is because it provided a justification to gamers suffering from extreme P2W fatigue, suggesting they would be willing to invest their time if it meant a monthly subscription at the 30,000 won level. It is an event that clearly showed domestic game companies, which have stubbornly clung to old success formulas, where the true value and rationality of billing lie for the user."

This case does not imply that all game companies must focus on reboots, remakes, or remasters of past titles.

The reasons users choose and immerse themselves in a specific game are diverse. For some, it may be nostalgia; for others, it could be the joy of manual control, immersive stories and characters, or the experience of building a new community with friends.

Lineage / Data = NC

The key is that game companies must be able to convince users: "Why should you spend your precious time and money on this game?"

This applies equally to the retention process of bringing back existing users. When users leave, game companies often respond with large-scale updates, return events, and growth support items.

They may also try to draw attention by opening new servers or collaborating with famous streamers and major animation franchises. While this might boost concurrent user numbers in the short term, it fails to address the fundamental reason why users left in the first place.

Handing a few extra items to a user who left due to repetitive daily tasks does not eliminate the exhausting loop of the game's structure. Similarly, inducing the purchase of a return package for a user who felt betrayed by continuous billing pressure is not a way to restore trust.

Getting a user to log in for a moment and making them love the game again are two entirely different challenges.

A game industry official pointed out, "When user churn begins, marketing teams often obsess over the means of getting users to log in again by distributing growth items and holding events. However, if they do not identify the fundamental reason why users actually quit and fix the underlying system, it will only result in a vicious cycle where users delete the app again just a few days later, no matter how many free items are given away."

Freestyle Reboot / Data = JoyCity

Massive amounts of capital move through the domestic game market. It is never a case of a lack of money or a lack of players. Ultimately, what the industry must urgently address is not increasing the volume of new titles, but providing a clear reason why users should put down their current games to choose a new one.

The fact that a development period was long, that hundreds of personnel were mobilized, or that tens of billions of won were spent in production does not provide an intuitive reason for gamers to start a new game. What gamers want is an essential answer to why they should log in every day, grow their characters, and willingly open their wallets.

Replicating proven success formulas to avoid risk is no longer a safe strategy. Repeatedly producing games that users have already lost expectations for is itself a fatal risk that threatens a company's survival.

For too long, game companies have been preoccupied with supplier-centric questions: "How can we keep users longer?" and "How can we extract more revenue?" Now, they must ask a more fundamental question:

"Why should users play our game?"

If they cannot answer this question with confidence, the Korean game market will remain in a state of "poverty amidst plenty," where countless new titles are released every year, yet players feel there is nothing truly worth playing.

More than ever, the industry needs to move beyond the desire to simply preserve memories and instead provide the genuine value that gamers are searching for.