The popular South Korean MMORPG Lost Ark remains one of Steam’s most played games as its third anniversary approaches, and this year is proving to be the biggest milestone yet. Lost Ark’s large player base has already been treated to some celebratory events, updates and gifts as the big day approaches, and the response from the community has been positive.
There is still much more to come, including more events, giveaways and some familiar faces joining in with the festivities on Anniversary Island. Ahead of Lost Ark’s third anniversary, Game Rant caught up with Matthew Huston, associate franchise lead for Lost Ark at Amazon Games, to learn more. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
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Anniversary Events And Free Gifts
Q. The “Festa of Arkesia” anniversary event was released in late January. What prompted the decision to start the celebrations a little early this year?
A. The “Festa of Arkesia” this year really came down to timing. In the past, our monthly updates usually coincided with the anniversary window, but this year it fell a bit earlier, which means we got to kick off the festivities sooner! We’re still looking to do a little something on the anniversary day, so stay tuned!
Q. Have you enjoyed watching the community’s reaction and do you have more plans for Anniversary Island?
A. The community is what makes this game so great, and I’ve enjoyed really being able to step out from behind the scenes and take part in some more of the forward-facing communication. All types of feedback are great and help us shape the future of the game. In terms of future Anniversary Island plans, we always try to stay creative and make it fun. If you remember last year, we had the Arkesia Festival and Birthday Bash, so it’s safe to say we’ll have some more yearly themes on this special day.
Q. Players will receive an anniversary gift closer to the big day in early February. Could you give some hints about the gift?
A. Everyone will get more Una complete tickets and recovery brews. Kidding, we are actually doing a few gifts this year and a little something on X socials, so stay tuned for that. I will leave this. It will have a few selection chests, so I hope you choose what’s best for you.
Q. 2024 saw plenty of new updates and improvements to the game. How would you summarize this past year?
A. It can be summarized as a year of trying new things. We released Thaemine Leaderboards, managed a successful region merge, implemented Bound Gold, pushed Ignite Servers in parallel with Hyper Awakening. This is on top of new continents, new class (Breaker), events both seasonal and non-seasonal, as well as behind-the-scenes work that keeps things running smoothly. I’m proud of what the team accomplished and there were lessons learned along the way.
Introducing A New Class
Q. The new Wild Soul Advanced Class will be released in early February. It looks interesting, being able to transform into animals or use spirit beast spells while in human form. How does this relate to the anniversary celebration? Could you give some insight into the development of this class?
A. To be honest, there is no direct tie in to the anniversary and the class itself. It really just comes down to timing and releasing it when it makes the most sense. For us this year and with its recent release in Korea, it made sense to do it in February, which happens to pair with our Anniversary month. We did not play a role in the overall development, but I will say, it is a very unique Specialist class that mixes things up compared to other classes. Despite the mixed comments, I think we’ll see quite a few players adding it to their rosters.
Q. Could you give more information about the progression events that will accompany the new Wild Soul Advanced Class?
A. At this point, most players should be accustomed to the events that we roll out alongside a new class. I think you can expect something similar, but we always try to tweak it slightly or adjust the rewards based on the current state of the game. We will be bringing back an event that did well, with some needed adjustments, so keep an eye out for that as we share more details with our February update.
Previous Celebrations And The Future Of Lost Ark
Q. You have gone all-out on previous anniversaries, adding tons of new content and hosting special events. How does this anniversary feel compared to previous years and what does this celebration mean for the game this year?
A. I would argue that the team did more this anniversary than in prior years. At the start, everything we introduced felt fresh and new, especially around the anniversary period. This year, we had the same amount of content if not more, with events, skins, and a unique quest line. Each year has a theme and this year’s anniversary event was celebrating with the community… This is where Roxx and myself get to be in Arkesia itself, working alongside the player to host a huge celebratory party. It had a nice personal touch to it. What does this celebration mean for the game this year? I think it marks being creative and trying new things.
Q. Could you give any insight into further plans for 2025 and beyond?
A. I can’t share too many details at this time, but coming off of the last question, as we catch up to Korea, we’re getting creative with how we deliver content and make adjustments, specifically for the West. Though you don’t see us using official names in socials or engaging directly, we’re very active and really using player feedback and sentiment to shape 2025 and beyond. So please keep having those discussions and voicing your opinions. Any time you get a chance to take a survey, please do as this also helps us as we move forward to make Lost Ark great for all players.
Q. When you reflect on the game, what has been the biggest lesson of the past three years?
A. The last three years have been amazing to be a part of. We’ve had our ups and downs and everything in between, which is to be expected from a game of this magnitude and that has so many passionate players. Personally, the biggest lesson of the past three years comes down to the players. Running a Korean game in the West, there are passionate players in all regions, so when changes are made, it sparks conversation in other regions and this goes both ways. Lost Ark players follow the other regions closely and, to some extent, decision-making has to factor in the global mindset. On the other side of that coin, it goes without saying that player opinion is very important and engaging with the players, within reason, is a great opportunity. I hope we can capitalize on it more as we head into the next three years.
Q. Are there any other ways that you are celebrating internally?
A. We try to keep it light and fun, hang out with each other and talk about Lost Ark or other games (play them too). This year, the team got some pretty sweet swag, where we distributed a Lost Ark soccer jersey to team members. You might see me wearing it in our next roadmap video. A lot of us will be playing the game for the anniversary too, enjoying the new content along with the players. There’s not too much time to celebrate though, as we have a lot to get moving on for 2025! There is that new class coming up later this month after all…
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Lost Ark is a top-down fantasy MMORPG developed by Smilegate and published by Amazon. Players that enjoy the Diablo series but are looking for something with a greater MMORPG-style feel should enjoy this release.
- Released
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December 4, 2019
- Developer(s)
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Smilegate RPG
- Publisher(s)
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Amazon Games