NCsoft hops aboard Steam train

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Apr 22, 2009 3:58 pm PT

Korean MMOG purveyor now offering City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and Lineage installments through Valve's online distribution platform.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to find a publisher that isn't taking advantage of Vavle's digital distribution platform, Steam. Today, NCsoft said that it would lend its plethora of massively multiplayer online games to the Steam storefront. Beginning today, Steam users can now purchase a number of NCsoft's games and expansion packs for its City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and Lineage franchises.

NCsoft titles currently available through Steam include Guild Wars Game of the Year Edition, City of Heroes Architect Edition, Guild Wars Nightfall, Guild Wars Factions, Lineage, Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne, and Guild Wars Trilogy. The South Korean publisher also said that its upcoming angels-and-demons MMOG Aion: The Tower of Eternity will be available through the service when it launches in North America and Europe this fall.

To promote the new additions, Valve and NCsoft are offering a variety of deals on the recently added games in the coming weeks. As for current promotions, Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne is available for $9.99, which is 50 percent below its standard sticker price. Guild Wars: Game of the Year Edition has also been discounted, by 10 percent, for a limited period of time and is available for $26.99.

27 Comments

  • Megamanx266

    Posted May 4, 2009 12:40 am PT

    actually the first 2 "expansions" weren't actually called expansions. I forget what NCsoft called them but Eye of the North was the first "True" expansion to Guild Wars.

  • nurse_tsunami

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 1:05 pm PT

    I hope they add Eye of the North to Steam as well. It is kind of odd they added the first 2 expansions of GW and the original, but not the latest expansion. I agree that NCsoft does take a lot more risks in the MMO market, which is good because without thinking outside the box you just get more WoW/EQ clones. I am looking forward to Guild Wars 2 and Aion.

  • XanderZane

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 11:09 am PT

    That's nice. I already have all those games, but don't even play them anymore. Well, I don't have Lineage 2. That game was crap. City of Heroes was broken again and again, so I abandoned that game as well. The only game even worth playing is Guild Wars.

  • cekay

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 10:57 am PT

    StSk8ter29 said it all. NCSoft is the only highlight to be a real alternative to wow. it's good they take their time for gw 2 since they also learn from mistakes.

  • StSk8ter29

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 5:50 am PT

    The one thing i've realized about NCsoft over the last five years is they are a very experimental MMO publisher when compared to others that use the monthly fee formula. Auto Assault and Tabula Rasa didn't make it, which is kind of a shame for the people that enjoyed them, but NCsoft has always been very kind with giving out free 30 day subscriptions and beta access to upcoming games when one of their games goes down the drain. I find it interesting that NCsoft experiments with these different types of MMOs because I feel that's where real innovation comes from. It is the same reason why I enjoy cash shop companies like Nexon and Ijji because they're constantly supporting unique ideas like Drift City, Maple Story, Mabinogi, and Huxley. I say keep it coming NCsoft.

  • quickchord

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 2:50 am PT

    Hopefully this will up the GW population

  • darfvader

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 2:34 am PT

    choo choo w00t

  • gameking5000

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 12:15 am PT

    Good already saw it on now. Woah are they cheap!

  • paullywog

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 10:11 pm PT

    well, i'm not getting any of these, but i'm sure this means GW2 will be on steam, so i'll get that on steam for sure.

  • RavageGT

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 10:02 pm PT

    City of Heroes and Guild Wars were MMOs I actually had fun playing. This is fantastic news.

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 9:48 pm PT

    sweet dealio

  • VenomRitual

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 9:46 pm PT

    i hope this doesn't count as the weekend deal. that fifa soccer manager deal last weekend was a joke.

  • ragedemonz

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 9:17 pm PT

    Love steam, hate NCsoft =(

  • nurse_tsunami

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 8:59 pm PT

    I am always happy to see more games come to Steam. I loved playing Guild Wars but never picked up the expansions to it. The soundtrack to the games are amazing I think. I just wish I could convince my friends to play GW with me and kick their WoW habit.

  • bananaxx2

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 7:48 pm PT

    that is great! ^__^

  • ascalon94

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 7:04 pm PT

    yes now I can actually get Nightfall instead of no stores having it

  • DenisG

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 6:21 pm PT

    No specific release date as of yet on GW 2, as a matter of fact they even pushed it back from late 2009 early 2010 to now 2010-2011. A maximum 3 and a half years in the making, it will be massive at first with a way better graphic's engine. You'll be able to run it on direct x 10 and a 2 gig vid card or even a 256 or 512 mb card, entirely up to the user.

    I'll be going with direct x 10, 2 gig vid card and 4048 ram. My feeling is it'll be out late 2010 crossing fingers and meanwhile playing other games.

  • 7_armageddon_7

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 6:19 pm PT

    Guild Wars is seriously the best game for MMO PvP while the PvE is actually quite expansive and well-done... all of that at no monthly fee!

  • Alphamale001

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 5:57 pm PT

    Guild Wars is great for player who don't want a monthly fee and enjoy the experience(even if a little watered down) of an MMO. This is wonderful news. NCSoft makes pretty good games. I might hop on the last Guild Wars expansion when I get my PC working again.

  • jazilla

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 5:50 pm PT

    that's a fantastic price point for guild wars. great community, excellent PvP. i can't wait for aion too!

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