Lineage2M is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by NCSOFT of Korea. NCV Games is an alliance between VNGGames and this unit to release it throughout the Southeast Asian market.
Contrary to the common thinking that an IP that is already famous does not need to do too much marketing to spread the product to new markets, a big reputation is both an advantage and a challenge when facing many problems between reputation and differences in consumer habits of customers in different geographical areas.
Fame is an advantage but also a challenge
Although Lineage2M already has a global presence, to suit the Southeast Asian market, NCV Games' marketing team had to reposition the product to be more accessible to new players, while retaining the "hardcore" quality for the long-time fan base, who were familiar with previous products of the Lineage series.
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Lineage2M is a brand (IP) with over 20 years of history in its home country of Korea and globally. |
The team decided to localize according to the behavior of each market, empower the local teams to make recommendations, and implement a coordinated campaign between offline and online. In particular, the team focused on activities for the community element and activities for clans (in-game guilds).
Another difference is that the publisher proactively activates self-produced content from veteran players early to guide new players to learn, helping to shorten the distance to access the game and build a sustainable community from within.
At the same time, repositioning the Lineage brand was also an important part. Unlike in its home country of South Korea, where players grew up with Lineage, in Southeast Asia, the marketing team had to “retell” the legend almost from scratch in a language that suited the regional culture. From developing the storyline, content about the in-game world on TikTok, to collaborating with VTubers and local streamers, everything was carefully considered to reach the younger generation in a more relatable way.
In addition, publisher NCV Games also wants to convey a different spirit: “Lineage2M wants you to explore the game, not the pressure of tryhard”. This makes the game more accessible to newcomers, but still has enough depth for those who want to stick with it for the long term.
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Localization strategy helps Lineage2M spread strongly to the gaming community. |
Lineage2M’s Southeast Asian offering has been intentionally “softened.” This was done through a redesign of the player journey, prioritizing community and protecting new players without losing the battle-tested spirit that is so characteristic of the Lineage brand.
From special strategy to rewarded effort
With Lineage2M, collaboration between teams is key. NCSOFT is in charge of the original product, NCV Games coordinates regional operations, and local teams handle marketing, community, and market research.
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The repositioning strategy helps Lineage2M get closer to Southeast Asian gamers. |
The launch strategy needs to be coordinated in a “task force” style with multiple countries and departments from the game team at the headquarters, NCV Games, local marketing teams, customer care to legal and platform operations. The team needs a cross-regional project manager to play an overall coordinating role for the pre-launch phase.
In addition, a number of principles were agreed upon by everyone to help coordinate work more smoothly and efficiently. These included understanding and coordination between the main team and regional teams, as well as clear division of responsibilities between implementation departments. Regional cultural differences were also respected and each market had the right to decide on marketing strategies that were appropriate to the local player culture.
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Lineage2M is refreshed to suit the habits of players in each region. |
After the efforts of the general marketing team, local team and associates participating in the Lineage2M project in general of NCV Games, the product was launched with great success on May 20.
It was a worthy achievement for the marketing efforts of the team at NCV Games and the local teams. They reached out to fans of the Lineage brand, hardcore gamers, as well as new players from GenZ. The bridge between viral information and direct product experience was built and operated smoothly.
This is the first success of NCV Games and is the motivation to encourage more quality products to be launched in the future. As for the Southeast Asian market, gamers have a quality playground to participate in called Lineage2M.
Source: https://znews.vn/lineage2m-bai-hoc-kinh-nghiem-marketing-cho-thuong-hieu-lon-post1558039.html
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