FOW GAMES, a subsidiary of NEOWIZ, is returning with 'Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield,' a sequel arriving six years after 'Kingdom: War of the Spark.' With the subtitle changed to 'Blazing Battlefield,' the scale is expected to be significantly larger. Ahead of the official launch on August 5, we met with PD Song Jae-yeon, who oversaw the development of Kingdom 2, to hear more about the game.

PD Song cited the desire to build an IP as the primary motivation for creating Kingdom 2. He explained that after the release of 'Kingdom: War of the Spark,' the game received positive feedback in Korea and the Greater China region, leading the team to conclude that it would be beneficial to develop the IP for the long term. Consequently, as the service entered its sixth year, the company decided to turn Kingdom into a full-fledged IP and began development two years ago.

PD Song highlighted two major differences from the previous title: a shift from a class-based system to a weapon-based one, and significantly improved graphics and effects. Instead of a class system, Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield allows players to choose one of three races and select any of five weapons to engage in combat. Furthermore, compared to its predecessor, the character and background graphics, combat effects, and sound quality have been enhanced to provide better visuals and a greater sense of impact.

Despite the visual upgrades, Kingdom 2 aims to be a 'mobile game that runs smoothly on phones.' According to PD Song, the team is optimizing the game to ensure it runs without issues on devices from three to four years ago. He also added that they are working on optimizing the game for App Players alongside the mobile version.

PD Song also mentioned that Kingdom 2 will address the issues of inflation and content update volume that were noted in the previous game. He explained that they have improved the inflation of resources and stats, and learned from the experience of being too busy to manage updates after the previous launch; this time, they have prepared content updates like server occupation battles and world events in advance. He also emphasized their commitment to active communication with users through the official cafe and developer notes.

Key content includes Guild Raids, Party dungeons accessible from level 30, World Bosses where players compete for guild rankings at specific times, and the Tower of Infinity, where players challenge their character's limits. Growth content includes items mostly obtained through drops, such as Monster souls, Runes, and Artifacts, as well as a magic infusion system using magic powder obtained by dismantling these items.

Regarding the recent trend of 'lightweight' MMORPGs, he noted that all areas except for elite zones are designed as PvE-only, the requirements for fusing have been lowered to reduce fatigue, and an offline mode is currently in development.

Regarding the business model (BM), which is a point of interest for any MMORPG player, he stated that they are pursuing a model where minnows can enjoy the game, while those who do spend money see clear returns. He explained that players can progress to end-game content through gameplay alone, while spending money provides visible improvements.

Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield Q&A

Q. This is the first sequel in about six years since 'Kingdom: War of the Spark.' What was the motivation behind developing a sequel? I am also curious if you are considering a global release for Kingdom 2.

"FOW GAMES was incorporated in 2018 and launched 'Kingdom: War of the Spark' in 2020. It received positive feedback not only in Korea but also in the Greater China region, which paved the way for titles like 'Priston Tale M' and 'The Legend of Heroes: Gagharv Trilogy.' While considering our next project, the team decided to turn the six-year-old Kingdom IP into a franchise, and development began about two years ago. We are targeting the Greater China region as our first global market and are preparing for a release within this year.

Q. Some users are curious about the future of the first game once Kingdom 2 is released.

"We will not be shutting down or neglecting Kingdom 1 just because Kingdom 2 is out. Kingdom 1 will continue to be operated separately with its own planned content updates.

Q. Personally, what would you say is the most noticeable change compared to the previous title, 'War of the Spark'.

"The graphics, combat effects, and sound quality have been significantly improved. The enhanced sound has greatly increased the sense of impact compared to the previous game. The biggest systemic change is the shift from a class-based system to a weapon-based one. The fun of freely combining the unique skills of three races with the skills of five weapons is a major feature of this title.

Q. Are you using an improved version of the previous engine? Given the visual improvements, I would like to hear about the hardware requirements. Has the minimum spec increased significantly due to the higher quality?

"Yes, we are using the Ray Engine and continuously customizing it to fit the game genre and new projects. Our development team's goal is a 'mobile game that runs well on phones.' While recent mobile games are trending toward PC-level specs, we are optimizing Kingdom 2 to run smoothly on devices from three to four years ago without overheating.

Q. Since you mentioned App Player support, is there a native PC client? Also, there might be questions regarding multi-client usage.

"A native PC client is ready, and we recommend playing on it. For the PC client, only one instance can be run per computer. If abnormal access from the same IP is detected while using multiple instances via App Players, our operations team will consistently issue sanctions.

Q. Are there any lessons learned from the previous game that you applied while developing the sequel.

"The previous game had issues with resource and stat inflation. We focused on systems and combat formulas to prevent this. Also, we compensated for the parts we missed during the previous launch by preparing content like server occupation battles and world events in advance. We plan to continue active communication with users through the official cafe and developer notes.

Q. Was there a specific design intent behind introducing a weapon system instead of traditional MMORPG job classes?

" We wanted to take on a new challenge different from the previous game. The initial plan was to farm many weapons and attach various stats like in Diablo, but as we refined it to fit the mobile MMORPG genre, it evolved into the current, highly polished weapon skill system.

Q. If the weapon system replaces classes, wouldn't there be a burden of having to re-learn skills every time you change weapons.

"For that, Unique grade skills are sold for gold in the shop, so even if you change weapons, you can easily continue hunting by learning skills with gold. While Legend grade skills must be obtained through drops, we have already developed features like race change tickets and weapon skill change tickets to meet user needs.

Q. You mentioned there are various weapons, but there is a stereotype in MMORPGs that F2P players must play ranged characters. What about this.

"It is true that ranged characters are advantageous in the early stages when you need to push through quests. However, once you reach the mid-game at level 20 or 30, the hunting efficiency is designed to be the same for all five weapons. The difference between weapons should be seen as a difference in PVP combat styles, such as CC, tanking, burst damage, or support, rather than hunting speed.

Q. Given the nature of MMORPGs, the BM is a major barrier to entry. Could you introduce the BM of Kingdom 2.

"We designed a BM where investment yields clear feedback. You don't have to spend money to complete all content. All growth is achieved through hunting and drops, and from level 30 onwards, paid currency (Diamonds) can also be dropped directly when hunting monsters. Therefore, it is entirely possible for F2P users to enjoy the end-game content. We also plan to provide plenty of summon tickets through pre-registration and achievements.

Q. The recent trend in MMORPGs is to lower fatigue and become more casual. Did you take this into account for Kingdom 2?

"While there are changes, the core framework remains the same, and I believe users enjoy the familiar taste. However, if it comes out exactly the same, users might feel bored, so I think there must be a special strength unique to that game within the familiarity.

In line with this trend, Kingdom 2 is designed with all areas in the massive open field as PvE-only, except for a few elite zones, to reduce PK stress. We lowered the requirements for fusing to reduce fatigue, and an offline mode is almost finished and will be introduced soon. There isn't much 'daily homework' either. A 1-hour dungeon and about 5 request quests are all there is; otherwise, you can focus on the inherent fun of clearing hunting grounds and upgrading your specs with the resources you farm.

Our core focus is to reduce hunting stress and improve convenience, lowering fatigue so that players don't have to fight 24 hours a day, but can focus on fighting at specific times like boss spawns.

Q. Is there a collection system? I'm also curious if items are automatically registered upon acquisition.

"There is an item collection, but it is not automatically registered; users must manually register the items they obtain.

Q. How many servers are you preparing? I think connection queues and capacity issues are important.

" We have prepared about 10, with 5 more on standby.

Q. What are some of the things that require upgrading equipment or stats as you reach end-game content?

" As you move to higher-level hunting grounds, better equipment drops, so you will need to keep swapping. Runes and Artifacts can be upgraded through consistent farming, and magic infusion, which uses powder obtained from dismantling equipment, will likely be the end-game stat content that creates differences between users.

Q. The slogan is 'War,' so what is the structure of the PVP and large-scale war content, which are the core of a MMORPG?

" First, there is the Boss Battle, where players fight over bosses in elite zones, not PvE zones. It's content where players fight over bosses that spawn at certain times, and we didn't make them spawn too frequently to avoid fatigue. Since many desirable items will drop from these bosses, we expect fierce battles. Besides this, there is the Server Battle, where all players on a server can participate in occupying a tower to show off their or their guild's strength. Additionally, a server-vs-server battle between Server 1 and Server 2 is currently in development.

Q. Which user base would you say Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield is aimed at?

" I think those who like MMORPGs and understand the fun of farming will especially enjoy Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield. Kingdom 2 adopts an intuitive and easy combat system rather than requiring extreme physical skills like parrying or rolling. You will be able to enjoy the inherent fun of war without the burden of physical skill requirements.

Q. Lastly, please say a word to the users looking forward to Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield.

" Kingdom 2: Blazing Battlefield, launching on August 5, is designed not as a game you play for a moment and quit, but as a game you can consistently enjoy. We have prepared a lot of high-quality, fun updates and events, so please look forward to it.