Bless Online
Bless Logo
Developer(s)Neowiz Bless Studio[1]
Publisher(s)Neowiz Games
Director(s)Jacob Han
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • WW: 2018
[2]
Genre(s)MMORPG

Bless Online (Korean: 블레스, romanized: Beulleseu) was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Neowiz Games.[3] The release date was May 28, 2018, for Founder's Pack purchasers and May 30 for Early Access on Steam.[4] Bless Online uses a free-to-play business model.

Gameplay

Bless is set in a seamless fantasy world. The main story revolves around a decade-long war between two factions, the nation of Hieron and the nation of Unión. The game world is separated by different climatic zones. Players can choose their character's race and class, with race determining which faction they align with. Players can join PvP castle sieges, to advance their faction power. Winning sieges grants new quests, and resources. Faction and race dependent role-playing scenarios are also available for players to advance their character progress.[5][6]

Characters

Bless Online features humanoid races for players to choose from when creating a character. The races of Hieron are composed of the Habichts (Korean: 하비히츠, romanized: Habihicheu), the Sylvan Elves (Korean: 실반 엘프, romanized: Silban Elpeu), the wolf-like Lufus (Korean: 루푸스, romanized: Lupuseu), the Fedayin (Korean: 페 다인, romanized: Pedain), and the Mascu (Korean: 마 스쿠, romanized: Maseuku). The Unión's races consist of the Amistad (Korean: 아미 스타드, romanized: Amiseutadeu), the Aqua Elves (Korean: 아쿠아 엘프, romanized: Akua Elpeu), the catlike Pantera (Korean: 판테라, romanized: Pantela), the Iblis (Korean: 이블리스, romanized: Ibeulliseu), and the Sirens (Korean: 시렌, romanized: Silen).

Development

Bless was initially announced as BLESS, back in 2011.[7] Bless was developed with Unreal Engine 3, a game engine by Epic Games.[5][6] Bless' western version was cancelled by game publisher Aeria Games in 2017, however, in response Neowiz plans to self-publish the game.[8] In July 2017, Neowiz Games announced their Rebuild Project in order to address many game specific components.[9] At TwitchCon 2017, Neowiz announced that the release date would be sometime in 2018 and that Bless will become available at Steam, as part of the early access program.[4] Steam's early access included localized versions for English, German and Russian languages.[10] Two mobile games based on the Bless IP were announced, one using Unreal Engine 4.[11] As of October 2017, Neowiz Games was still assessing in-game monetization options.[10] The last remaining server in Korea was shut down on November 19, 2018.[12]

Beta testing

The first closed beta testing began in 2014 [13] in South Korea.[14] Since August 2017, the open beta phase of Bless is available on South Korean servers.[15] Japanese closed beta testing began in April and proceeded in October 2017.[16][17] From December 2016 until May 2017 an open beta version of the Bless client was hosted on servers located in Russia before being shut down after failing to gain traction.[18]

Final release (United States and Europe)

Bless Online released in Early Access on Steam for Founder's Pack purchasers on May 28, 2018, and Early Access on May 30, 2018. The Steam version closed on September 9, 2019,[2] with its struggling userbase size cited as a main reason by media outlets.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Bless Online". Steam Community Hub.
  2. 1 2 Ford, Suzie (June 7, 2019). "Bless Online to End Service on September 9th". mmorpg.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  3. ↑ Blevins, Tal (December 20, 2012). "First Look at Bless". IGN. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Bless is coming to Steam in 2018". bless-source. October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "NEOWIZ GAMES Gets Unreal with New Fantasy MMORPG BLESS". MMOHuts. November 8, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Fuller, Garrett (January 1, 2013). "Bless: Uncovering the Enigmatic New Game". mmorpg.com. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ "NEOWIZ GAMES Announces Unreal Engine 3-Powered MMORPG 'BLESS'". Epic Games. 2011.
  8. ↑ "Bless Online to Show Up at TwitchCon 2017 This Month". mmosite. October 15, 2017. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Bless Online Announced Rebuild Project for Future Global Release". mmosite. July 17, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Official TwitchCon recap and FAQ!". Bless Source. 2017.
  11. ↑ "Bless – New Unreal Engine 4 mobile game announced by Neowiz". MMOCulture. April 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Bless Online's last remaining Korean servers are shutting down | Massively Overpowered".
  13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/Pmang.Bless/photos/a.261217727333621.59820.258195107635883/491593837629341/?type=3
  14. ↑ "Character Creation Shown In New OBT Video". MMORPG. January 30, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Rebuild Project Testing Period Begins in Korea". MMORPG. August 1, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Japanese Closed Beta Registrations Open with 10k to be Chosen for CBT2". MMORPG. October 3, 2017.
  17. ↑ "First Japanese CBT to Begin April 28th". MMORPG. April 21, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Bless Online Closing Russian Servers, Sent Back For "Revision"". MMOExaminer. April 24, 2017.
  19. ↑ Bradford, Joeseph (September 10, 2019). "Bless Online Officially Shut Down After A Year And A Half". MMORPG.com. MMORPG.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
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