‘Lost Ark’ outlines plans for a new European region to address queue times

nme.com:

Smilegate and Amazon Game Studios are working on “an entirely new region of servers in Europe” to accommodate demand for Lost Ark at launch, however many European players are leaving negative reviews on Steam to show their dissatisfaction with the current server state.Yesterday (February 13), Smilegate announced via a blog that it is “working as quickly as possible to set up an entirely new region of servers in Europe.”According to Smilegate, this is a joint expansion between itself and publisher Amazon Game Studios, and it’s “the only way to accommodate more players in Europe.”At the moment, the demand for Lost Ark in Europe is causing players in that region to suffer from lengthy queue times.

Many of these players are leaving negative reviews on Steam, with some reviews stating queue times in Europe can be upwards of four hours.“While we understand lengthy queue times may persist, we will need time to ensure everything is set up to be in top shape to help accommodate all players to get in game.

We’ll share an update on exact timings as soon as possible,” the blog said.Smilegate has also clarified that this will not have any cross-region play availability and will instead be “ideal for players who have not yet created their character or haven’t otherwise committed to [staying] on their existing server.”The studio has also announced that there will be a “launch celebration gift” sent from itself and Amazon Game Studios, which will include the following non-tradeable items:Though there’s no confirmation on when players can expect this gift, the blog does note that it will be made available to Lost Ark players “after the new region is up and running”.