ArcheAge Chronicles will launch in Early Access within this year. XLGAMES also plans to strengthen communication with Western players through self-publishing.
ArcheAge Chronicles Executive Producer Ham Yong-jin revealed the results of the game's first network test conducted on Steam on the 12th, along with future plans. The test targeted Steam users in the United States and Canada for approximately six hours, focusing on verifying server and core infrastructure stability under live player conditions.
Despite a higher concurrent player count than originally anticipated, the servers and main infrastructure operated stably during the test. Even with limited content and a short testing window, participants recorded an average playtime of about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The development team is working on improvements addressing black screen issues, the party UI, and disruptive player behavior, while continuing to polish combat, balance, and performance. Temporary elements identified in the test build will be excluded from the official release version, and internal QA procedures will be strengthened to prevent similar issues in future external test builds.
Regarding gender-locked classes, the current system will be maintained for the Early Access launch. The team is focusing on refining combat and class design to offer a diverse play experience, while plans to expand gender selection options will remain under continuous review during future development.
At the same time, XLGAMES announced that it will directly publish ArcheAge Chronicles. Producer Ham Yong-jin explained that self-publishing enables direct communication with Western players, and that the studio plans to share development and service updates far more frequently leading up to Early Access.
On the 8th, XLGAMES announced that it will transfer the ArcheAge IP and the development business for ArcheAge S to Align Studio. The effective date of the transfer is October 27. However, the ArcheAge Chronicles development project is not included in the transfer, and XLGAMES will continue to handle its development. The self-publishing announcement appears to be directly related to these changes.
Early Access for ArcheAge Chronicles is scheduled to begin within this year. Although a specific date has not been disclosed, Producer Ham Yong-jin shared that Early Access will arrive sooner than players think.
