MMORPG developer and publisher NCSoft is getting ready to showcase its slate of upcoming games at the G-Star 2025 event held in Busan by being the event’s main sponsor. As part of this sponsorship deal, the company is slated to feature more than 300 gaming stations at the event, according to MMORPG.com, and one of the projects to be showcased is being referred to by the company as “the new frontier of MMORPG.”
While NCSoft will likely have Aion 2 take a prominent spot at the event, complete with a playable demo showcasing character creation and a new take on one of the franchise’s fan-favourite dungeon, it is also slated to feature a yet-to-be-unveiled title, which is believed to be an MMORPG based on Sony’s and Guerrilla Games’ Horizon franchise. The title, referred to internally as Project Skyline, first came to light thanks to a series of leaks and rumours.
The report also indicates that the timeline lines up with reports that development on the Horizon MMO started back in 2021, which means that an official unveiling at a major event in 2025 would make sense for the company. G-Star 2025 is slated to start on November 13, and will go on until November 16.
Interestingly, a report from earlier this year had indicated that the Horizon MMO, also believed to be codenamed Project H, was seemingly being cancelled. The report at the time indicated that Project H, along with Project J and Pantera had their development halted. However, a later report indicated that while Project H has been cancelled, it was a completely different game than the Horizon MMO that NCSoft was working on with Guerrilla Games.
Along with Aion 2 and maybe even the Horizon MMO, NCSoft will also bring Cinder City to G-Star 2025. The title was officially unveiled back in August, and is slated for release on PC and consoles some time in 2026. Cinder City has been described as a tactical shooter that takes place in a dystopian take on Seoul. This means that the title will also allow players to explore in-game versions of real-world locations in Korea, including Samseong-dong, and Noyeong-dong.
“Cinder City is a game name that conveys the meaning of humanity in the future, facing a serious crisis, saving the world as a spark of hope in a ruined, decadent city.” said BigFire Games CEO and project lead Jaehyun Bae in the game’s announcement. “BigFire Games will work together to do our best to develop the game in order to satisfy players around the world.”
Cinder City was originally announced back in November 2022. At the time, it was only known as Project LLL, and was described as being an open-world third-person shooter. When it was first announced, Bae had spoken about wanting to develop a new take on the multiplayer shooter genre that can stand apart from popular battle royales and looter shooters. To achieve this, Cinder City is going to feature a host of different play styles, as well as elements of other NCSoft games.
