Civilization Online to be launched on Dec. 2
XLGames CEO Jake Song, center, and 2K Games senior game producer Garrett Bittner, second from left, speak during a press conference at the JW Marriot Hotel Seoul in Seocho, southern Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of XLGames
By Yoon Sung-won
Korean online game company XLGames will launch much-hyped new title “Civilization Online” in Korea on Dec. 2.
The new online strategy massively multiplayer online game (MMO), which is the second title for XLGames, has been jointly developed by California-based game company 2K Games. XLGames pledged a high-quality gaming experience, because “Civilization Online” will make up for the domestic market performance of its first title, “ArcheAge”, which fell short of expectations.
“It is a pleasure to announce the launch of Civilization Online after five years since development began in 2010,” said XLGames CEO Jake Song during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. “We are confident that we have developed a very entertaining game based on the renowned strategy game series. We will continue to develop extra content for the game and provide updates in future.”
The new game is based on the intellectual property of the strategy game series “Civilization”, developed by star game developer Sid Meier.
XLGames said about 50 billion won has been invested in the development of “Civilization Online” over the past five years. The copyright is held by 2K Games.
As the game is scheduled to be launched through an open beta test next month, users do not need to pay to play and can buy some items, the company said.
“We did not develop Civilization Online simply to make money,” Song said. “We have designed the game to allow users to enjoy it even when they do not pay for it.”
Song is one of Korea’s first-generation game developers. He participated in the development of the world’s oldest online RPG, “Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds” at Nexon and “Lineage” at NCSOFT.
He founded XLGames in 2003 and rolled out the online RPG “ArcheAge” in 2013 after six years of development. “ArcheAge” clinched the nation’s top game award in 2013; but has been more successful in overseas markets than domestically.
The company said “Civilization Online” will also be released in the global market.
“We have already signed a contract to roll out the game in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao,” said 2K Games senior game producer Garrett Bittner. “But for now, we plan to focus on the successful launch of the game in Korea first.”