Project LLL is the First MMO of its Kind – and I’m Excited

Last month NCSoft debuted the very first gameplay trailer for their upcoming MMORPG – simply titled – at present, “Project LLL.” They described Project LLL as being a fully open-world massively multiplayer online third person shooter, currently in development for both console and PC with a confirmed worldwide release date in 2024.
This could be the very first MMO of its kind. Sure, you might make the argument that they’re copying Warframe or Destiny, but the singular, defining difference is that neither Warframe nor Destiny are necessarily “massively multiplayer,” rather, they both define themselves as “online shooters.”
Both have a very limited number of players ever visible, and even fewer you can take out with you on explorations, missions. Project LLL will take what makes both Warframe and Destiny successful, and attempt to – and I stress the word “attempt” here – to implement them on a much larger scale.
This could be the very first fully large-scale MMO-shooter – the MMO Warframe or Destiny we’ve all been itching for. Or, and this is far more likely, it’s going to end up delayed into obscurity, reworked into something entirely different, and released as an incomplete mess.
But that’s just me being pessimistic. I would love to be proven wrong.

Project LLL’s project lead went on to claim that the gaming genre is polluted with looter shooters and battle royales. The goal for LLL, is to create a new intellectual property – for a new market exclusive to NC that incorporates the keywords “shooter,” “MMO,” and “open world.”
He then elaborated a little on the direction for the game – stating that this project is going to combine various play styles and elements from NC’s previous games, before going on to share their gameplay video.

LLL is a scifi game that will provide players a vast open world, built with the latest version of Unreal Engine. The story of the game is kind of an apocalyptic future – set in Seoul, Korea.
Certain events throughout history happened a little differently, and have crafted this dystopian, alternate version of the world that we’ll be inhabiting. Dune, Blade Runner and Total Recall were cited as inspiration for the game.
Unlike traditional MMOs that allow for player creation and customization – NCSoft actually developing and publishing MMOs with quite extensive creators like Aion, Guild Wars 2 and Blade & Soul, LLL is going to feature entirely predefined characters, each possessing their own unique name, background and driving force.
This is going to severely inhibit players that want that sense of originality, as everyone is going to be running around as one of several different characters, with the same faces, same outfits, same abilities.
It is unconfirmed whether they have plans to allow players to customize their characters beyond selecting them, though.

And that’s everything NCSoft decided to reveal in their recent interview.
Project LLL does not yet possess a title, nor do we have any type of expected Closed Beta date, but they did confirm it will release worldwide in 2024.
However, NCSoft aren’t exactly known for keeping to their schedules. Throne & Liberty is proof of that.

Ultimately, I’m kind of excited. This could be a very large new MMO, with an entirely new genre. But it carries that NCSoft Korean polish they’re notorious for.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see as they reveal monetization, business model, and additional gameplay over the next year.