Lost Ark
News, coverage and analysis tracking Lost Ark across the outlets.
Latest coverage
Amazon hands off Throne and Liberty to NC, seemingly ending its MMO era
Amazon Game Studios is handing over the reins of its MMORPG Throne and Liberty to developer FirstSpark Games and publisher NC, marking a potential end to Amazon's involvement in the MMO genre. The transition is expected to be seamless for players, with all progress and items remaining intact. This move follows the struggles of other Amazon-published MMOs like New World and Blue Protocol.
Amazon gives up on MMOs, hands Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty to the original devs instead of shutting them down like…
Amazon Game Studios is stepping away from live operations for the MMOs Lost Ark and Throne and Liberty, handing control back to their original developers, Smilegate and FirstSpark Games/NC, respectively. This transition is set to occur in early 2027 for Lost Ark and Q4 2026 for Throne and Liberty, aiming for a smooth handover with minimal disruption to players on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Lost Ark’s The Bitter Cold update is live with a new extreme raid and a hat-wearing panda rickshaw
Lost Ark's "The Bitter Cold" update is now live, introducing the Kazeros Raid: Act 2 Extreme difficulty and new cosmetic items, including a panda-pulled rickshaw. Amazon Games is also handing over publishing duties back to Smilegate, as anticipated by players.
Amazon Ending Lost Ark Support but Smilegate Will Keep It Alive
Amazon is ceasing support for the MMORPG Lost Ark, which it had imported. However, the game's developer, Smilegate, will continue to maintain the game, ensuring its survival.
Amazon will cease publishing Lost Ark and Throne & Liberty, sending them back to Smilegate and NCsoft
Amazon Game Studios will cease publishing the MMORPGs Lost Ark and Throne & Liberty in the West. Operations for Lost Ark will transition back to Smilegate in early 2027, while Throne & Liberty will move to FirstSpark Games / NCsoft in Q4 2026. This change follows Amazon's earlier layoffs and scaling back of its community teams.
Smilegate will rescue Lost Ark's western servers, as Amazon ditches support while retreating from MMO development
Amazon Game Studios will cease support for the Western servers of Lost Ark in early 2027, with original developer Smilegate taking over operations. This transition will see Smilegate manage all global servers for the action RPG. While most account data will transfer, in-game mail, friends lists, and chat history will be wiped, and Spanish language support will be removed in October 2026.
Lost Ark will merge 12 western servers down to five later this month
Amazon announced that Lost Ark will merge 12 western servers across North America East and Europe Central into five servers starting August 26. Players are advised to claim rewards, use card XP, and manage auction house items before the merge. Players with characters on both servers will have their rosters combined.
Desert Oasis: Black Desert’s latest content has huge implications for the future of the MMO
Pearl Abyss is implementing significant changes to Black Desert Online, focusing on quality-of-life improvements and a revised enhancement system to make the game more accessible to new and returning players. These updates, including the new Agent class and refinements to progression, signal a major paradigm shift for the MMO, aiming to balance profitability with player satisfaction and ensure the game's long-term health.
Perfect Ten: MMORPGs whose fans I feel sorry for
This opinion piece discusses ten MMORPGs whose fans are felt to be underserved or unfairly treated due to various issues like poor publishing deals, legal troubles, corporate decisions, or a perceived lack of developer care. Games like Fractured Online, Ashes of Creation, The Elder Scrolls Online, and New World are highlighted for their fanbases facing significant challenges.
Some Lost Ark player are facing an account issue so bad that Amazon told them to stay logged out
Amazon Games has advised some Lost Ark players to refrain from logging into the game due to severe account issues. The company is actively working on a restoration plan for affected accounts and will provide further details once the undisclosed problem is resolved and it is safe to play.
Massively Overthinking: Which MMOs are a lot more popular than most people realize?
This article discusses the phenomenon of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) that are significantly more popular than mainstream perception suggests. Games like Elder Scrolls Online, Albion Online, RuneScape, and Guild Wars 2 are highlighted for their substantial revenue and player bases, despite often being overlooked by general gaming media. The discussion also touches upon the separate fanbases of Eastern MMORPGs and the tendency for some players to underestimate the continued success of established titles like World of Warcraft.
MMO Week in Review: Lament for Elder Scrolls Online
Microsoft's decision to lay off a significant portion of The Elder Scrolls Online team has led to further management turnover and a restructuring of the studio. This week's MMO news also covers the early access launch of SpiritVale, the cancellation of Final Fantasy XIV Mobile, and discussions on lessons for Guild Wars 3.
Palworld is once again dominating Steam this weekend, clocking up almost 1m concurrent players
Palworld has once again achieved near the top of Steam's concurrent player charts, nearing one million players over the weekend. This marks the second consecutive weekend the game has significantly outperformed titles like Dota 2. The game's full release on July 10th has seen it join an elite group of games that have surpassed two million concurrent players on Steam.
Lost Ark’s Summer of Extremes patch arrives today with Paradise Season 4 and raid update
Lost Ark's 'Summer of Extremes' update has been released, introducing the Kazeros Raid: Act I with multiple difficulty options including extreme. The patch also adds new solo modes for Kazeros Raid, a matchmaking mode for Shadow Raid Serca, and the new Paradise Season 4. The update experienced a slight delay in server return time.
PSA: Lost Ark is purging guilds with no active members over the last year
Amazon Games will be purging inactive guilds in Lost Ark starting the week of July 22nd as part of ongoing server health improvements. Guilds will be removed if all members have been permanently banned or have not logged in for over 12 months. This cleanup will not affect character data, inventory, progression, or currency, and players can create new guilds if theirs is removed.
5 Live Service Games to Quit in 2026 | TAG
This article provides a framework for players to quit live service games they no longer enjoy, arguing that obligation and FOMO should not dictate continued play. It identifies five specific games—Destiny 2, Diablo 4 seasonal, Warframe, Lost Ark, and older MMOs—as candidates for quitting in 2026, and offers a step-by-step guide to breaking free from the cycle of retention-engineered gameplay.
MMO Week in Review: Guild Wars goes mobile, Bungie gets layoffs
This week's MMO news includes Guild Wars launching on mobile, Star Trek Online's new update, and Throne & Liberty's summer expansion. However, the industry also saw significant layoffs at Sony and Bungie, impacting hundreds of developers working on Destiny 2 and Marathon. Other news includes Valve's Steam Machine pricing, the ongoing Ashes of Creation lawsuit, and updates on Grand Theft Auto VI's online multiplayer.
Lost Ark announces an early end to several events to make way for the August server merge
Amazon Games announced that several in-game events for Lost Ark will conclude early on August 19th to accommodate the upcoming server merge scheduled for August. While progression events like the Kazeros Challenge Express are being shortened, new events are promised for September. The update also details upcoming quality-of-life improvements for July, including auto-equip functions and skill suggestions.
Lost Ark’s summer roadmap teases a clock-wielding Warpweaver class for September
Amazon has released the summer roadmap for Lost Ark, detailing content updates for July, August, and September. July will bring solo raid modes and an extreme difficulty option, while August includes a server merge. September is set to introduce the new Warpweaver class, themed around time manipulation, and a new express event.
Lost Ark introduces fresh story content and a new ship with today’s Twilight Isle update
Amazon and Smilegate have released the Twilight Isle update for Lost Ark, introducing new story content in the Cadarum Isles and a new ship called Luminas. The patch also includes the Horizon Cathedral Abyssal Dungeon, new cosmetics, progression events, class balance adjustments, and raid gold changes.