Interview on ArcheAge Chronicles: housing, PvP and MMO
On 1 August 2025, Bree Royce published on Massively Overpowered XLGAMES's answers on ArcheAge Chronicles. The studio defended it as an exploration action RPG, not as a classic MMORPG. That conversation left channel housing, opt-in PvP and the first half of 2026, subject to testing.
Our own summary of the interview that Bree Royce (Massively Overpowered) conducted with XLGAMES on 1 August 2025. The full questions and answers are in the original, in English.
Read the original interview on Massively Overpowered ↗The first half of 2026 and the 2013 game
In August 2025, XLGAMES was still set on the first half of 2026, the window that Massively Overpowered took from Kakao's latest financial report. The plan remained subject to testing.
“We're aiming for the same 1H 2026 schedule, but will ultimately do what's best for the game and adjust based on our testing feedback.”
— XLGAMES, in the interview with Massively Overpowered
Of the 2013 ArcheAge, they said they loved it as much as anyone. The priority was Chronicles and other adventures in the universe that did not yet exist. They did not talk about a classic server.
A group in charge, without Jake Song
The questionnaire came out in March 2025, a few months after the name change, with Jake Song already gone and with delays piling up. In August there was no named successor. The game was led by heads of design, narrative, systems and live operations, veterans and new people. From him they kept the player's freedom and a world that lets you decide. Decisions were made by the group.
They were grateful for the legacy: freedom, ambition and history. The helm changed, not the pulse: they went on from what had been built.
Action RPG, with dozens of players nearby
ArcheAge Chronicles, they said, was not a traditional MMORPG: it was an exploration action RPG, with trade, housing and crafting online. The weight was on the story, solo and in small groups. Multiplayer was optional. Capacity was still being tuned: dozens of players depending on the zone and the activity, with no server figure, clearer once there was testing.
“Think of it as a hybrid of games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and ArcheAge – somewhere in between the two is ArcheAge Chronicles.”
— XLGAMES, in the interview with Massively Overpowered
They cited feelings: wonder, discovery and a path of your own. They did not name every source. They did name The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring, for the exploration, the story of the landscape and solo progress. Curiosity weighed more than the score.
From the first ArcheAge they kept housing, trade routes, lifeskills and the player economy, solo or in company. Combat, crafting or simply being there stayed open. From the MMORPG they took the persistent world in which you leave a mark, and they set aside the excess of features, the routine and the permanent session.
Bree Royce, executive editor, did not sign off on that label.
“I dunno, still sounds like an MMORPG to me, and I've been playing 'em for almost 28 years now!”
— Bree Royce, in Massively Overpowered
What fit into half an hour
The development blog spoke of about thirty minutes per session. Always online, with the individual adventure at the centre and company as an option. In that half hour there was room for a zone, a profession, lore or your own pace, and also trade or an encounter. No daily tasks, no group beforehand and no second shift.
Housing by channel
Housing in ArcheAge Chronicles was still a pillar. Not a single open space seen by everyone at once, nor the private house of Elder Scrolls Online or New World. Channels: shared, persistent zones, in the world, for having a house, seeing the neighbour's and making a neighbourhood, without the race for the land.
The feel was that of the neighbourhoods of LOTRO or World of Warcraft, with more room. Several channels per zone, copies of one and the same town. The house was for you and your neighbours: people, trade and decoration, without the scarcity of a single plot. Gardening, crafting and community stayed. Overcrowding and plots snatched away, no. Placement and economy, in a text that did not exist that August.
Trades in the loop and open-world PvP set aside
Crafting, gathering and the player economy were the centre. Farming, trade and the rest of the lifeskills went into the loop, also outside combat. The list of trades and how they fit was not given that August.
The open-world PvP that made ArcheAge's name no longer ruled ArcheAge Chronicles. It remained, smaller and without dictating the adventure: no massive faction wars and no hunting in the open field. Structured or opt-in formats, not the normal state of the map. Regions, for later. The core was narrative, exploration and player progression, a shift for a wider audience.
What the studio has said since is in the producer Q&A and in Ham's letter.
Source: Massively Overpowered · interview by Bree Royce with XLGAMES · 1 August 2025. Summary by ArcheAge World; the quotes are in their original English.