WeMade's Night Crows pivots from 'loot box' to P&E model

Night Crows, WeMade's first new major game franchise in five years, won't make players pay to get ahead of others, the company said Thursday. It's a move away from the "loot box," the much-criticized model on which Korean game companies have...

Game developer Madngine's producer Lee Seon-ho introduces Wemade's latest massively multiplayer online roleplaying game Night Crows at a press event in Yeoksam-dong, southern Seoul, on Thursday. [WEMADE]

Night Crows, WeMade's first new major game franchise in five years, won't make players pay to get ahead of others, the company said Thursday.

It's a move away from the "loot box," the much-criticized model on which Korean game companies have relied. Loot boxes are in-game lucky draws in which players may or may not attain valuable items to upgrade the abilities of their characters.

Night Crows is reworking the model to go from loot box toward play and earn (P&E), where players can up character capabilities without spending cash.

“We are still in talks with the developer about the business model,” said Wemade Executive Director Lee Jang-hyun. “But we do not have any plans to charge players in terms of developing their characters’ strength. We are only planning to input the business model in the vehicles characters use for transportation.”

The massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG), expected to be domestically released in April, is a fusion of fantasy and actual history set in 13th century Europe where magic exists. The Night Crows, as a secret guild of righteous soldiers, ultimately seeks to bring forward their vision to integrate religious and sovereign power to bring true unification of their worlds.

“The strength of Night Crows lies in beautiful and realistic graphics based on the universe of the Middle Ages,” said producer Lee Seon-ho of game developer Madngine.

Madngine, established in 2020, developed the game engine for Night Crows.

“The game is essentially about user choices, from choosing their own character’s class to conquer and conquest eventually leading up to the epic battleground in which up to 1,000 players can fight,” said Lee Seon-ho, the producer.

The game will be available for cross-play on PC and mobile, meaning that players on either type of device can play together in real time.

Players can choose from a total of four classes — warrior, swordsman, hunter and witch — and eight professions and three steps of promotion.

“Although classes of the characters may determine its strengths and weaknesses in the battle, we have been testing thoroughly so that the class itself does not overly influence its action capabilities,” Lee said.

The game has a glider feature, in which characters can use their flying capabilities for travel and battle, as one of its highlights.

“We’ve developed Night Crows into a dimensional, strategic game battle fought both on the grounds and the sky,” Lee said.

The publisher hinted of a global release of the Night Crows.

Wemade has applied the P&E model to the releases of global version of some Mir MMORPG franchises, such as Mir 4 and Mir M: Vanguard and Vagabond.

“Nothing has been set in stone since domestic service is yet to begin, but Wemade has shown achievements in terms of P&E service and we have a roadmap to release the game service globally, including in China,” said Wemade’s general manager Kim Jung-hoon.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]