It appears that servers aren’t the only things constricting in ArcheAge: The game’s sequel is also going to be shrinking its general focus, as Kakao Games confirmed in its quarterly financial report that ArcheAge 2 is removing its factional large-scale PvP, trading it out instead for a focus on solo and small group PvE and guild vs. guild PvP that’s centered around trade runs.
Kakao says that this shift from developer XLGAMES is built around western player tastes, as it tries to cater to “the western market’s familiarity with action-packed, single-player-based console games.” As such, the title will have a greater single-player focus with the promise of changes to the major factions and characters of the story, the ability for small parties and guilds to take on dungeons or engage in trade, and a campaign mode that “combines the conflicts and battles between guilds that trade and those that seek to sabotage and plunder.”
The report also states that ArcheAge 2 is facing another delay, with Kakao projecting a playable demo on the show floor of Gamescom 2024 and a closed beta test starting at the end of 2024. Readers will remember that the studios were first angling to fully release the game to PC and console sometime in 2024, then shifted the launch projection to the second half of 2024.
