While the proper launch of Lost Ark is scheduled for this Friday, February 11, those who don’t mind shelling out a few bucks are already clogging up Steam’s servers. The South Korean MMOARPG has already peaked at 532,476 concurrent players on Steam, despite not yet being free-to-play.
Waiting until Friday means players won’t need to spend a dime, but for those who can’t wait another minute, early access is available to those buying any of the four founder’s packs, which start at $15 and go up to $100. Depending on the pack purchased, players can also enjoy some extra goodies, including minions, mounts, titles, skins, and useful items.
In 2014, a Lost Ark Online gameplay trailer was released, with an open beta releasing in South Korea in November 2018. The full game was released in Korea in December 2019 and won six game awards at the Korea Game Awards 2019, including Most Popular Game and the grand Presidential Prize. Smilegate spent over $85 million to develop the game, and it is being published in North America and Europe by Amazon Games.
Lost Ark blends aspects of the MMO genre with action RPG elements in the vein of Diablo, primarily focused on PvE and exploration. Although the 2.5D isometric action RPG does feature some PvP elements, players will spend most of their time questing, crafting, earning achievements, and collectible hunting. Reaching level 50 unlocks access to tiered endgame dungeons and raids. Players can choose from five classes: Warrior, Gunner, Martial Artist, Mage, or Assassin.
The game sees players searching for the Ark, an artifact that once helped save the land of Arkesia. Kazeros, Lord of the Abyss, threatens to destroy the realm’s peace, and it’s up to the player character to stop him.
Lost Ark will be officially released in its free-to-play format on February 11, 2022. For those interested in what’s coming, check out the launch notes here.
