Lost Ark, the Korean MMORPG from Smilegate, was brought to the west by Amazon Games a little over a year ago, two years after the game’s initial release in Korea. It quickly became one of the most-played MMOs in the world, setting records on Steam and getting rave reviews from critics.
The game reached 1.3 million concurrent players on Steam in its first 24 hours after launch, and ultimately became the second-highest played game of all time on the platform, something that surprised the team at Amazon Games too.
Amazon Games Franchise Leader Soomin Park told GLHF that the game’s success comes down to its high levels of polish, as well as a strong gameplay loop and different content types for every type of player.
“We had a strong starting point as we localized the game for the west, thanks to Smilegate pouring over three years into maturing the game in live service,” Park said, “On top of that, the amount of polish and iteration poured into Lost Ark from global player feedback can’t be overstated.”
Park says that the team had high hopes for Lost Ark at launch, but the response from players was far beyond what anybody expected. The game has attracted a passionate and dedicated fan base, who aren’t afraid to speak their minds about what works and what doesn’t. That might sound like a downside on its face, but Park says that the feedback Amazon gets from players is what helps keep the game moving forward.
He also says that the community for the game has gone above and beyond in sharing their passion for it, with incredible cosplay, artwork, and more being shared constantly by fans. Players have even taken to building up in-depth guides and systems explanations to help new players have an easier time, a testament to the dedication some players have to the game.
“We’ve seen so much great content produced by our fans since launch,” Park said, “We’re truly humbled to be a part of something so many players around the world love so much, and we’re grateful for their passion and dedication to the game.”
Far from a straight port of the Korean version of the game, Amazon Games has put a lot of work into making sure that Lost Ark is the perfect fit for western players. One big change that has undoubtedly helped keep players retained is a change to the game’s monetization structure, which Park says was altered to “be more in line with what western players are used to”.
In addition, the team at Amazon added more diversity to character creation options, and created all-new events specifically for the western version of the game, like Arktoberfest. The team also worked to improve the new player experience, but Park admits that there’s still a way to go on that front.
“We are always gathering feedback from players and working with Smilegate on ways to improve the player experience, and this includes the early game,” Park said, “It is true that as the game enters its second year of live service, new users are feeling the pressure to catch up with the vast amount of existing and high-level content.”
Park says that the game has “unique mechanisms”, like Power Pass and Hyper Express, which can help players who are new to the game quickly catch up and experience new content, but that improvements to the onboarding experience will continue to be made.
As the game moves into its second year, Amazon Games hopes to expand the content available even further, bringing it closer to the Korean version of the game. There’s new classes, raids, story updates, and even new continents on the way for players to explore. Park also says that there’s a whole new chapter coming to the game’s story, too, with the previous story tying up its narrative thread and opening up a new one.
Amazon Games has “nothing to share” on whether or not console players might get to experience Lost Ark sometime soon, but Park stressed that the company is always listening to customer feedback, and tries its hardest to deliver on what players want.
As Lost Ark enters its second year, the game is bound to get bigger and better than it ever has been, building on a solid foundation and pulling new players in with exciting new updates and features.
To celebrate the one-year anniversary, the game is hosting special events throughout the month, with valuable rewards on offer and plenty of birthday gifts given to players just for logging in. There’s also a special Fever-Time event, as well as a one-year anniversary Twitch drop, and so much more.
Lost Ark is available to play on Steam for free right now, and players can opt to purchase three different tiers of starter packs to help their journey along.
Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.
