Netmarble claims it’s got one of the fastest-growing mobile games in the world, and today, it’s showing the numbers to back up the boasting for Lineage 2: Revolution. The South Korean publisher and developer said that it has more than 5 million registered players for its online blend of Diablo and multiplayer games like World of Warcraft.
Lineage 2 debuted in 54 countries in November, so bagging 5 million players is impressive, even for a major mobile publisher with an established, successful IP. And to keep those players engaged, as any proper developer of free-to-play online games does, Netmarble is introducing new events for January — and giving away free loot: Five Enhance Scroll items to all players.
This has been a hit already for Netmarble, confirming it’s the first game to hit 5 million registered players in two months in the West in the company’s history. And tracking firm Sensor Tower reports that Lineage 2: Revolution ranked 148 in the iOS and Android app stores in terms of first-time downloads last month. It’s most popular in Russia, the firm said.
The events focus on several aspects of Lineage 2, which features the fun of killing and looting enemies you’d find in games like Diablo with the big raids you get from PC MMOs (like 50-on-50 battles). Combine Equipment event runs now through January 17 and rewards players who for turning Grade-R Varnish boxes into Grade-S gear (I thought only Japanese games had S grades. Who knew?) The Aymel’s School — Growth Mentor event runs from now until January 16 and gives players automatic leveling after finishing five quests. You can get scroll bundles, too, and Adena (one of Lineage 2’s currencies) for finishing the quests.
And those logging into Lineage 2 before January 20 receive a special New Year’s gift: various letters and in-game items each day. According to Netmarble, these are “letters (‘2,’ ‘0,’ ‘1” or ‘8’) and various items (Blessed Scroll Selection Box, Auto-clear Bundle X3, Grade-A Quest Scroll Box, Grade-A Weapon Varnish, Grade-A Armor Varnish, Grade-B Accessory Varnish, 30,000 Adenas, and Enhance Scroll Selection Box) depend on the date of log-in.” It caps off with a new event that you can use these letters for rewards:
- 5,000 Adena box
- 500 Soulshots
- 1 Recovery Consumable Box
- 1 Herb Random Box
- 2 Grade-S Question Scroll Box
- 1 Grade-SR Equipment Random Box
Netmarble is also expanding the Tower of Insolence by 10 floors, giving it a total of 70. Players take this on to level up, gaining more loot, and more.
Update, 2:30 p.m. January 10 with player numbers and rankings from Netmarble and Sensor Tower.