MMORPGs are making 2019 a big year for them as this Korean company did not hide their intention of heading West. Lost Ark and Ascent: Infinite Realm are already the pioneers and clear the way, and now Astellia is the next nominee. Last weekend at PAX South, the game was confirmed to be B2P in the West, together with the F2P domestic version.
For more information of the game, it sounds like the perfect combinations of all best features for an MMO that you can ever think of: different classes: Warrior, Ranger, Assassin, Scholar, Mage, dungeons, PvP, and PvE arenas, and open-world tri-faction PvPvE. The developers described the PVP as “accessible and griefless”, while the dungeons are said to be exactly what they are supposed to be. In general, the game is “a tribute to the original tenants [sic] of the MMORPG Phenomena combined with innovation and promise.” One innovative feature of Astellia is ‘Astel’, magical allies from above that own exceptional power, but sadly can only be used within a short period of time. Take a look at the Trailer of this game:
The answer for the question who is the crew behind the game is a little bit complicated and confusing. The official developer of Astellia is Studio 8, Barunson E&A’s subsidiary, and the shareholder who owns the major stock of BEA is NAT. Yet, last year, 48,3% stock of NAT was bought by Nexon. Nexon seems to not have been a part of the Astellia since its logo does not even appear on the website of the game.
The payment model is yet to be announced. However, according to Barunson’s statements: “No more Pay to Win with Astellia”, we can assume that the game might be free to play.
Astellia is scheduled to be launched this summer. Make sure you are up-to-date by frequently visit the official website of the game in this link.