Lost Ark has been oddly quiet over the last few weeks, in spite of posting founder packs and running a massive closed alpha back in June. MMO players will recall that the Smilegate MMOARPG was expected to launch this fall under the Amazon banner. Well, that isn’t happening, as the studios announced today that the western version of the game has been delayed to 2022.
“While delving into all of the great feedback and data generated by our Alpha and reviewing recent changes to the Korean version that we want to include in our release, we discovered a lot more work that will be needed to launch Lost Ark at the high quality bar our players deserve. As players have been waiting for so long, we want to take the time to do it right while also ensuring we look after the wellness of our hardworking Amazon Games and Smilegate teams. With that in mind, we’ve made the tough decision to push the launch of Lost Ark to early 2022.”
The closed beta test will now run in early November (4th through 9th) for those who’ve bought founder packs or get lucky with signups. Smilegate is also promising to “improve the quality and frequency of [its] communications” along the way, with forums and a Discord channel as well as a content creator program in the works.
Please read this letter regarding Lost Ark's Closed Beta and Official Launch. pic.twitter.com/jSSnrrxk6w
— Lost Ark (@playlostark) September 1, 2021