Blade & Soulis no longer exclusive to Asia. As of January 19, the game will be available for PC in North America and Europe. NCSoft plans to include both regions in the upcoming 2016 Blade & Soul World Championship tournament as well. Those who purchase Disciple and Master Packs after January 11 will be able to participate in Name Reservation. The Head Start period for those who purchase Founder's Packs will begin January 15.
“This is a big day for us, as we’re able to share the official launch date of Blade & Soul for all Western players,” said NCSoft West senior director of Marketing Tim Granich. “We’ve already had tens of thousands of players in our first two closed beta weekends, and look forward to welcoming many more beginning with the next beta weekend on November 24th and all the way through launch.”
The MMO is free-to-play, unlike Black Desert Online, which while free-to-play in Asia charged customers in North America and Europe upon its expansion. Although B&S just completed a closed beta, there will be another one on November 24 that lasts until November 30. To sign up for future closed betas, players can check out the B&S website.