New Steam MMORPG Throne and Liberty Becomes an Instant Success

Throne and Liberty has quickly captured a vast player base on Steam, just days before its global launch. Current access to the PC version is limited to players in the Americas, Europe, and Japan via the Valve-owned platform, but this restriction hasn’t hindered its impressive rise in popularity.

Developed by NCSoft, Throne and Liberty is a free-to-play MMORPG built on Unreal Engine 4. The game initially debuted in South Korea last December and expanded to several other regions in July. With its global release set for October 1, facilitated by Amazon Games, this version—which will be available on PC and next-generation consoles—has already made waves in the gaming community.

According to analytics tracker SteamDB, Throne and Liberty has achieved a remarkable peak of 54,812 concurrent players on Steam since its early access phase began. While the game is free to play, players who purchase one of the early access bundles can jump into the action starting September 26. The most affordable pack providing early access is priced at $39.99, while the premium bundle is just a few cents short of $100. The latter package includes various morphs, outfits, titles, and emotes, along with 1,000 Lucent—the in-game currency for purchasing items—and Throne and Liberty's premium battle pass.

Peak Concurrent Player Count for Throne and Liberty

NCSoft, the studio behind popular titles like Guild Wars and Lineage, first announced Throne and Liberty in 2011. Originally conceived as a sequel to the Lineage series, the game underwent significant transformation after a reportedly disappointing closed beta. To allow for essential adjustments and enhancements, Amazon Games postponed the global release from September 17 to October 1.

In May, Amazon Games also announced that it had begun development on an open-world MMO inspired by The Lord of the Rings. This unnamed project will explore the narratives of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic trilogy and The Hobbit and is set to launch on PC and consoles. Although Amazon previously attempted to create an MMO based on The Lord of the Rings, that initiative was ultimately scrapped.

Meanwhile, NCSoft is working on several other MMORPGs, including the sci-fi shooter Project LLL and a sequel to the long-running Aion. In addition to Throne and Liberty's upcoming global launch, NCSoft released the 30-player brawler Battle Crush in 2024, further expanding its portfolio in the gaming market.