ArcheAge Chronicles Dev Diary Reveals Design, Setting, and Why the New Name Fits Their Vision

ArcheAge Chronicles is moving ahead in development, and XLGames and Kakao Games have a new dev diary with the game’s executive producer, Yongjin Ham, on development, blending single-player action-RPG combat and MMORPG social mechanics, and how that recently-announced title change came about.

In the new video, Ham talks about the challenges the XL team faced when deciding to meld these two experiences. And they're not aiming small, since they're looking to create MMORPG combat that rivals single player action RPG combat possibilities. In particular, building action RPG combat on an MMO server is subject to potential network issues and other obstacles. 

“If we solve these,” he says, “ we might really create something incredible”. He mentions a wide expectation of competitive content and  large scale battles in MMORPGs, but also Cooperative content and story that makes you feel like the protagonist are also important and, importantly, could be the key to a wider audience. ArcheAge Chronicles will release on both PC and console. (The original ArcheAge shut down in the West, in large part due to unsustainable audience numbers.)

The dev diary also gives us a few details on the story and setting. Creative Director Jaehwang Lee says the game is “set against the backdrop of conflicts centered around Auroria”, with the autonomists and independents that have settled across the land on one side and on the other, the Alliance of Nations, which seeks to maintain Auroria’s colony status. This is no small conflict and we'll see how all of this plays out in the game's narrative. 

Ultimately, they want to create a compelling open world that not only encourages exploration, but collaboration among players to explore together and work together. In this, they are emphasizing PvE content.

Now, at this point of development, Ham says the game is  looking more like what they envisioned for the project. That also explains the title. ArcheAge Chronicles is not just an ArcheAge sequel. They drew inspiration from many of the elements in ArcheAge, especially those popular ones beloved by players, and blended those with more modern mechanics, and the updated action combat. We can expect robust trading, housing systems, farming, and more in improved form. While it was referred to as “ArcheAge 2” for a while, the new title reflects their vision.