Lineage (series) explained

Lineage
Developer:	NCSoft Netmarble Neo Snail
Publisher:	NCSoft Netmarble Games Tencent Holdings Snail
Genre:	MMORPG
First Release Version:	Lineage
First Release Date:	September 3, 1998
Latest Release Version:	Throne and Liberty
Latest Release Date:	December 7, 2023

Lineage (Korean: 리니지) is a medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game franchise by the South Korean video game developer NCSoft. It has become highly popular in South Korea with subscriptions counting into the millions, but is also available in Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and English-language versions. It is also one of the highest-grossing video game franchises of all time, having grossed $9.7 billion in lifetime revenue, as of 2019.

Games

• Lineage, released in 1998.
  • Lineage M, a mobile port version of Lineage developed by NCSoft, released in South Korea on June 21, 2017.^{[1] [2]}
  • Lineage W, a sequel to Lineage, released in Asian markets in November 2021. The story is set in 150 years after story of Lineage.
• Lineage II, a prequel to Lineage, released in 2003. The story is set in 150 years before story of Lineage.
  • Lineage 2: Revolution, a direct prequel to Lineage II. The story is set 100 years before the storyline of Lineage II: Goddess of Destruction. Developed by Netmarble Neo, the game was released on mobile platforms in 2017.
  • Lineage 2 M, a mobile port version of Lineage II, released in November 2019.^[3]
  • Lineage 2: Blood League, a mobile game developed by Snail Games, release date unannounced.
• Lineage Red Knights, a mobile game developed by NCSoft, released in 2017.
• Throne and Liberty, a direct sequel to Lineage.

Revenue

The following is the gross revenue generated by the Lineage PC games.

Year(s)	NCSoft revenue (PC games)
	Lineage	Lineage II	Lineage I & II	Lineage I & II
1998–1999			^[4]
2000					^[5]
2001					^[6]
2002					^[7]
2003					^[8]
2004					^[9]
2005					^[10]
2006					^[11]
2007					^[12]
2008					^[13]
2009					^[14]
2010					^[15]
2011					^[16]
2012					^[17]
2013					^[18]
2014					^[19]
2015					^[20]
2016					^[21]
2017					^[22]
2018					^[23]
2019					^[24]
2020					^[25]
2021					^[26]
1998–2021	+	+

See also

• List of best-selling video game franchises

Notes and References

1. News: 'Lineage M' set to break mobile game sales record . . July 24, 2017 . 25 October 2020.
2. News: Chapple . Craig . Lineage 2 Revolution follows Lineage M in breaking $1 billion barrier . 25 October 2020 . . August 6, 2018.
3. News: Joo-won . Chung . NCSOFT flying high on earnings hope . 25 October 2020 . . 8 January 2020.
4. Web site: 2006 NCsoft Analyst Day . . November 2006 . 6 . 7 April 2020.
5. Web site: Dart Annual Report, II. 2. 주요 제품 및 원재료 등 . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 30 March 2001.
6. Web site: Dart Annual Report, II. 2. 주요 제품 및 원재료 등 . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 26 March 2002.
7. Web site: Dart Annual Report, II. 2. 주요 제품 및 원재료 등 . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 11 April 2003.
8. Web site: Dart Annual Report, II. 2. 주요 제품 및 원재료 등 . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 11 May 2004.
9. Web site: Dart Annual Report, II. 2. 주요 제품 및 원재료 등 . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 31 March 2005.
10. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2005 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 14 February 2006.
11. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2006 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 7 February 2007.
12. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2007 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 13 February 2008.
13. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2008 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 9 February 2009.
14. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2009 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 9 February 2010.
15. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2010 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 10 February 2011.
16. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2011 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 15 February 2012.
17. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2012 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 5 February 2013.
18. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2013 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 13 February 2014.
19. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2014 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 11 February 2015.
20. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2015 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 11 February 2016.
21. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2016 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 7 February 2017.
22. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2017 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 7 February 2018.
23. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2018 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 9 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 12 February 2019.
24. Web site: NCSoft 4Q 2019 Earnings report - Fact sheet, Game Sales . 12 February 2020 . NCSoft Corporation . 12 February 2020.
25. News: 4Q 2020 Earnings Release . 3 March 2022 . . February 5, 2021.
26. News: 4Q 2021 Earnings Release . 3 March 2022 . . February 15, 2022.