As the one-month anniversary of Lost Ark approaches, the developers respond to massive launch and server issues
Midway through February, Lost Ark saw a historically impressive debut, shooting to the top of the rankings on Steam, Twitch, and a variety of other platforms. Although it has now leveled off, the initial rise was nevertheless noteworthy. As of this writing, it has 134k watchers on Twitch, with Grand Theft Auto 5 and the recently released Elden Ring in second and third place, respectively.
“It was a labor of love,” Amazon Games franchise chief Soomin Park said in an email to the press.
“The reception of Lost Ark since its introduction in the West” has “shocked and excited” the development teams at both Amazon Games and Smilegate RPG, Park stated. “It would be an understatement to say that both studios have been awed by the response!”
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As of this writing, the game has a strong following in South Korea thanks to its gorgeous visuals, engaging combat, and extensive content. Our review of Lost Ark stated that “Taking a strong effort at the isometric action RPG genre, Lost Ark is enhanced rather than detracted by its inclusion in a constantly online universe. A Diablo-style action RPG with plenty of other people to meet and team up with, this game is both large and deep.”
With 1.3 million concurrent players in less than 24 hours after its release in North America last month, Lost Ark became the second-highest played game in Steam history, a record that Park admits was “certainly surprising.”
With the influx of players, Smilegate and Amazon Games have been obliged to improve their server infrastructure and introduce a new area. There is still a lot of congestion in the Europe Central region, which has resulted in “player lines and some instability in the region,” says Park.
Furthermore, installing extra servers isn’t as simple as that.
We cannot just increase Europe Central’s server capacity since Lost Ark has a limit to the number of peak concurrent players it can support in any one universe or region,” Park said. Amazon Web Services’ capacity is theoretically unlimited in each’region,’ but the game may become unstable if it attempts to go beyond that capacity’s maximum in each area.
Maintaining the momentum of Lost Ark
Both ways, the Ark of the Covenant is moving forward. When asked about the future of the game, Park promised new continents, classes, and other features. These new features are being viewed as a remedy for the expected decline in interest that occurs after the debut of a service game.
According to Park, “it is true that interest in most live service games ebbs and flows as competitive landscapes change and player interests change,” but the best method to keep players involved is generally a clear, predictable live game roadmap in response to player feedback. The Lost Ark’s content is constantly expanding, with new classes, continents, events, and acti being added on a regular basis.
