Atlantica Online's 2008 Asia publishers: NDOORS, Nexon Japan, Gamania
In the autumn of 2008 two Gaming Nexus reports tracked Atlantica Online as it moved from Korea to Japan and Taiwan. Read together with RPGFan, they also show how a launch date can differ from one source to the next.
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What the 3 September 2008 report says
Gaming Nexus posted "Atlantica surfacing in Japan" on 3 September 2008. The news item says NDOORS, the developer, had signed a publishing agreement with Nexon Japan to bring the turn-based MMORPG to Japanese players.
The report describes Nexon Japan as a leading publisher in its country, with a game portal of 3.9 million registered users across 60 countries. It adds an odd framing for a launch announcement: the deal came despite reports that growth in South Korea's online game market was reaching saturation.
NDOORS' chief executive is quoted saying the company would "make a great effort to attract Japanese players" through the Nexon Japan partnership. The same executive says the game already had more than one million players worldwide. That figure is the developer's own statement in a press release, and the article gives no way to check it.
The rollout in one paragraph
The article also recaps where the game stood. It launched commercially in Korea in January 2008, reached China through a deal with The9 in April, and reached North and South America and Europe through NDOORS Interactive in July. Producer Kim Tae Gon's earlier games are listed too: Seven Years War, Gersang and Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu.
Four markets in nine months
The order of the deals, as the two Gaming Nexus reports list them.
Korea, by NDOORS
The commercial launch that every later deal builds on. No exact day appears in the reports.
Source: Gaming Nexus, 3 September 2008China, by The9
A publishing deal, mentioned only as background in the later reports.
Source: Gaming Nexus, 3 September 2008The Americas and Europe, by NDOORS Interactive
Listed as a July launch by Gaming Nexus. RPGFan gives a different date for the English servers, covered below.
Source: Gaming Nexus, 3 September 2008Japan, by Nexon Japan
The publishing agreement is reported. The article gives no launch date for the Japanese service.
Source: Gaming Nexus, 3 September 2008Taiwan, by Gamania
A second Asian publishing deal. The article counts Taiwan as the fourth major market.
Source: Gaming Nexus, 21 October 2008
The Gamania deal on 21 October 2008
Gaming Nexus reported on 21 October that NDOORS had signed a publishing deal with Gamania to bring the free-to-play game to Taiwan. The report calls Atlantica one of Korea's top MMORPGs and, again, puts its Korean player base above one million.
To explain who Gamania is, the article lists the games it had already brought to Taiwan: Lineage, MapleStory and Kart Rider. It quotes Gamania's chief executive predicting that players would respond to the combat: "Gamers will feel a rush of excitement playing Atlantica with its breathtaking turn-based battles."
NDOORS' chief executive adds a line about being excited to bring the game to Taiwan through Gamania and hoping for a close working relationship. Neither executive gives a launch date, a beta window or a business model for Taiwan beyond the free-to-play label.
“NDOORS will make a great effort to attract Japanese players to the world of Atlantica through a close and cooperative relationship with Nexon Japan.”
Where the Western dates disagree
The September report puts the Americas and Europe in July 2008. RPGFan, writing in 2009, says the North American servers had been up and running since 30 October 2008. The two statements are separate sources and neither explains the other.
A reasonable reading is that the sources count different events, such as a first public stage and a full service. The reports do not say which, so this page does not pick a winner. The Atlantica Online regional versions page keeps the RPGFan date, because that source states a day.
One more point for readers who know the Ignited Games story. None of the 2008 reports mentions Ignited Games. The company that appears in the Western rollout is NDOORS Interactive, described as the American subsidiary of Korea-based NDOORS Corp., which also published Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu and Time N Tales.
The game these deals were about
Atlantica Online as it is listed today.
Image: VALOFE / Nexon, key art from the Atlantica Global Steam page (2020). Shown to identify the game; the image belongs to its owners. Atlantica Online
Players travel the world looking for clues to the lost civilization of Atlantis, fighting mythical and folkloric monsters in places such as Japan, Egypt, Romania and the United States, according to Gaming Nexus in 2008. VALOFE now lists Atlantica Global on Steam, released on 14 May 2020, as of 30 October 2026.
Questions about the 2008 deals
Who published Atlantica Online in Japan?
Gaming Nexus reported on 3 September 2008 that NDOORS had signed an agreement with Nexon Japan for the Japanese version.
Who published it in Taiwan?
Gamania, according to Gaming Nexus on 21 October 2008. The report names Lineage, MapleStory and Kart Rider as earlier Gamania titles.
When did the English version start?
Gaming Nexus lists the Americas and Europe in July 2008, and RPGFan says the North American servers were up since 30 October 2008. The sources differ and nothing further settles it.
Did Ignited Games publish Atlantica Online in 2008?
None of the 2008 reports names Ignited Games. They name NDOORS, NDOORS Interactive, Nexon Japan, The9 and Gamania.