With its Age of Exploration-themed MMONew Worldstill struggling to stay afloat less than two years after launch, Amazon Games is giving the genre another go with its upcoming game,Throne and Liberty. Created by Korean developer NCSoft, well-regarded among MMORPG fans for its work on games likeCity of HeroesandGuild Wars,Throne and Liberty is a fantasy MMORPGwith a heavy emphasis on fast-paced action. But even as the action-packed trailer forThrone and Libertythat debuted at the Summer Game Fest delighted viewers, the NCSoft title still faces an uphill battle to succeed where Amazon’s previous MMO efforts failed.
LaunchingThrone and Libertyat a time whenNew Worldcontinues to hemorrhage players is a risky proposition and, if not executed correctly, could leave Amazon with two titles destined to end up on the scrap heap ofdead MMO games. In order forThrone and Libertyto avoid going down the same path as Amazon’s first ill-fated attempt at MMO success, it will have to take lessons fromNew World’s numerous missteps while also delivering gameplay that is engaging enough to allow it to compete against other titans of the genre.
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Throne and Liberty Can’t Follow New World’s Early Missteps
Amazon Games’ inaugural MMO faced numerous problems evenbefore the launch ofNew Worldas the developers struggled to decide whether it should be a hardcore PvP title or something more casual. Eventually settling on a more traditional MMO model designed largely around PvE gameplay,New World’s early identity crisis set it off to a rough start from which it never fully recovered.Throne and Libertycould avoid this problem by ensuring that the game has a clear focus, freeing players from worrying that the core gameplay could change wildly with the next patch.
In addition to its often-unfocused gameplay,New Worldalso suffered from numerous technical and balance issues that further soured players’ perceptions of the game. Issues experienced by players have ranged from in-game Companies using exploits to manipulate control of territory to an unbalancedammo economy inNew Worldthat made crafting and purchasing weapons prohibitively expensive. To avoid these same sorts of problems withThrone and Liberty,NCSoft will need to ensure that the game’s subsystems, from its economy to its intra-guild combat, are just as polished as the game’s gorgeous graphics.
Throne and Liberty Needs More Than Great Visuals to Compete in Today’s MMO Market
Much likeNew Worldbefore it, one of the most noticeable things aboutThrone and Libertyis the quality of its graphics compared to other MMO competitors. But, as Amazon learned withNew World, it takes more than impressive art design and high-poly character models to compete in an MMO landscape already crowded with titles competing for gamers’ attention. Not only willThrone and Libertyhave to compete against Blizzard’s steady stream of updates andimprovements toWorld of Warcraft, but also smaller but still highly-regarded titles likeFinal Fantasy 14andLord of the Rings Online.
One thing working inThrone and Liberty’s favor is the game’s free-to-play business model, which may entice players looking to try something new without opening their wallets. This could helpThrone and Libertycompete against titles likeWorld of Warcraft, but NCSoft still needs to ensure that the content on offer is compelling enough for players to justify the download. It remains to be seen ifThrone and Libertywill implement something along the lines ofNew World’s Season Passes, but a similar system with high-quality unlocks could help NCSoft ensure that gamers always have new reasons to keep playing.
The fast-paced combat and unique traversal options on display in the reveal trailer show that NCSoft hopes to deliver a new sort of MMORPG experience withThrone and Liberty. If it can learn fromNew World’s mistakes and deliver a game with a clear focus and solid gameplay to match its gorgeous graphics, thenThrone and Libertycould become the foothold into the MMO market that Amazon has been so desperately seeking.
Throne and Libertyis in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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