Given that NCsoft recently downsized (laid off) a portion of their workforce in the west (part of it in publishing), it isn’t that much of a surprise that the company decided not to self-publish this game. Instead, Amazon Games (which also publishes New World and Lost Ark) will be the publisher for western regions (North/South America, Europe) and Japan.
The press release (as expected) does not delve into the details about the business model; I expect it to follow something similar to the one used for Lost Ark (free to play, virtual currency to purchase cosmetics/services, seasonal passes).
So it finally does look like this long “in development hell” title will finally see the light of day.
