Lineage 2: Harb albakaa, region's first Arabic mobile MMORPG launches

We speak to Baris Ozistek, President of Netmarble EMEA on the launch of the arab dedicated update to the free to play mobile MMORPG Lineage 2.

Netmarble officially launched the Arabic edition of the hit MMORPG, Lineage 2: Revolution. The free-to-play mobile MMORPG based on the popular PC online game Lineage was launched globally in November 2017 and since then it has generated +32 million registered users, making it one of the most successful mobile MMOPRGs ever.

With the middle east being ripe for one of the biggest mobile gaming markets, Netmarble sees potential with gamers especially those from the arab regions as one of the largely contributing factors in their success with the free to play model.

We spoke to Baris Ozistek, President of Netmarble EMEA to learn more with what they did differently with Lineage 2: Harb albakaa


What are the drivers behind developing the Arabic edition of Lineage 2: Harb albakaa ?

Lineage 2: Harb albakaa is a top-of-the-line game that has brought high level success globally with over 32 million registered players all over the world and with 5 million active players per month and also it has recorded # 1 on App Store and Google Play in many countries it is launched on the very same day of its launch.

Netmarble is the leader in the gaming industry's mobile transformation with the development of smartphones. Another transformation in the mobile gaming space is the introduction of games in MMORPG genre into the mobile world and we are also leading this field with Lineage 2: Harb albakaa. MMORPGs are a costly and challenging game genre to be developed for mobile platforms but yet, it provides a unique game experience. We created a groundbreaking experience with real-time massive scale for up to 200 people that had never been done on mobile before.

With "Lineage 2: Harb albakaa", MMORPGs which have been the favourite game genre in the region for long, can now be played entirely in Arabic on smartphones. So our main source of motivation is to reintroduce MMORPG, a traditionally popular genre, to Arab players in their language with updates exclusive to them.


What unique aspects will the Arabic version feature to players in the MENA region?

Besides incorporating Arabic language so that our players can enjoy the game to the fullest, we introduced a lot of MENA-specific content that we provided specially for the players in the MENA region. We are sure that our players will appreciate the localized costumes, mounts like lion, horse and camel, which we can call one of the symbols of the region. As a tip to our players, I recommend paying special attention to the legendary bird, Roc, which frequents Dion's skies.

The Magnadin town newly added to our game is a hub town for our players. The players have seen this in many of their similar PC games, but we break new ground by moving it to the mobile platform with this game. In the town of Magnadin our players can spend time together, meet new players and clans, share their products with their friends, customize their characters in the beauty salon while preparing for the wars they plan.

How do global publishers like Netmarble approach Arabic game development, and how has that evolved in recent years?

Arabic is a language that global game developers have encountered in recent years and have never experienced before, due to the fact that writing is from right to left. In order for the game to be in Arabic, the design of the game has to be changed entirely, which is a very demanding task. But of course, along with the interest of Arab players, developers cannot remain indifferent. To offer Arabic games to gamers at a habitat with more than 400 million native Arabic speakers is also a great opportunity for developers.

But localization does not end with just translating the game into Arabic. Region specific characters, updates, campaigns should be part of this operation. Moreover, the cultural differences must also be identified precisely. Over 100 employees from different cultures and geographies in the Netmarble EMEA office are working for the localization of Arabic games in the most precise way.

If we take a close look at mobile gaming markets, we may see that the market has recently transformed into a market that is dominated by games in Arabic, thanks to the localization efforts of the developers, though it was dominated by games in English just 2-3 years ago.

How does Netmarble view the region’s appetite for mobile gaming today, how big is its user base, and who are the people playing games like Lineage 2?

The total market share of mobile games in the region has exceeded over 50% of the gaming market. The time that the players in the region spend playing in the game is above the world average. If you look at spending per capita, especially the GCC region have similar characteristics with countries like America, Japan and Korea, where the per capita spending is high.

In particular, the GCC region has one of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates. With the high ownership rates of the latest models of smartphones and fast 4G Telecom infrastructure, GCC region is especially a paradise for mobile game world.

In this region where smartphone penetration is up to 99%, almost 90% of smartphone owners are playing mobile games. So almost everybody you see on the street is playing mobile games! If we take a glance at our player statistics, it may be said that the majority of people who play mobile games are between 15 and 45 years old. Whereas, the players of our MMORPGs such as Lineage 2: Harb albakaa are predominantly working adults.


An MMORPG such as "Lineage 2: Harb albakaa" is meeting for the first time with players in the region as fully localized in Arabic.

To immortalize this important moment we are organizing an event that has never been seen before, in our new server, which has been opened to the region.

Each member of the first group that reaches 4 million combat power will win a 24k gold plated human sculpture. Only 5 of these sculptures were made. There is a tremendous struggle going on to win these highly collectible sculptures. I think this example alone is enough to show our confidence in the region, and its place in the mobile game world.