NCsoft推进二次元RPG Astraea Oratio首测并取得全球发行权

NC is making a renewed push into the anime-style game market, partnering with developers behind Nexon Games' hit title Blue Archive and preparing to launch a closed beta test for its latest title.
The company announced on July 20 that it will hold the first closed beta test (CBT) for Astraea Oratio, an anime-style role-playing game developed by Dynamis One. NC plans to begin recruiting testers in August, with detailed schedules and participation methods to be announced later. The publisher made a strategic investment in Dynamis One in January 2026 and secured domestic and global publishing rights for the game.
Alongside the CBT, NC is stepping up its efforts in Japan, the world's largest market for anime-style games. The company will participate in Comic Market (Comiket) in August and showcase the game's systems at the Tokyo Game Show in September.
NC previously entered the anime-style segment with Hoyeon, which launched in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan in August 2024. Based on the Blade & Soul intellectual property, Hoyeon featured more than 60 collectible characters and cartoon-style graphics, leading many to classify it as an anime-style title.
The company, however, distinguished Hoyeon from conventional anime-style games. Unlike the genre, which places strong emphasis on attractive male and female characters and character-driven storytelling, Hoyeon was designed as a field-combat massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) with cartoon-style visuals. Amid debate over its genre identity, the game's Asian service was discontinued in February this year.
Astraea Oratio, by contrast, is positioned as a full-fledged anime-style title. Much of the attention surrounding the game stems from the involvement of Park Byung-rim, chief executive officer of Dynamis One and former producer of Blue Archive at Nexon Games. Park founded Dynamis One in 2024, and several key Blue Archive developers, including scenario director Yang Ju-young and art director Kim In, also joined the studio. Given Blue Archive's strong performance in the Japanese market, the development team's track record is viewed as one of the game's biggest strengths.
Dynamis One, however, also faces legal and reputational challenges. The studio's first announced title, Project KV, drew criticism for alleged similarities to Blue Archive in its worldbuilding and character designs. In addition, several Dynamis One executives are under investigation over allegations that they unlawfully removed development materials related to MX Blade, an unreleased title from Nexon Games. Police referred Park and other individuals to prosecutors without detention in October 2025 on charges including violations of Korea's Unfair Competition Prevention Act, and prosecutors requested a supplementary investigation the following month. Dynamis One has denied the allegations, saying many of the claims are inaccurate. No indictment has been filed and no court has found the individuals guilty.
Industry observers say Astraea Oratio's success will depend on whether NC avoids applying the same live-service operating model commonly used in MMORPGs. Players of anime-style games tend to place greater importance on character design and storytelling than on combat systems, making the genre fundamentally different from conventional MMORPGs.
As a result, the first CBT is expected to provide an early indication of whether the game offers compelling reasons for players to collect and develop characters, and whether its world and narrative can build lasting player attachment.
The launch also marks NC's first clear commitment to the anime-style genre after Hoyeon occupied an ambiguous position between genres. Its decision to work with an external development studio and actively engage Japanese players before launch reflects a different strategy from the company's previous approach.