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Lineage (Korean: 리니지) is a medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in 1998 by the South Korean computer game developer NCsoft. It has become highly popular in Korea with subscriptions counting into the millions, but is also available in Chinese, Japanese, and English language versions. The sequel, Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle, is considered one of largest commercial MMORPG communities in the world at 2005.[verification needed]

Lineage features 2D isometric-overhead graphics similar to those of Ultima Online and Diablo II. The game was designed by Jake Song, who had previously designed The Kingdom of the Winds, another MMORPG. Players can choose one of five character classes: elf, knight, wizard, prince/princess, or dark elf. Game play is based primarily upon a castle siege system which allows castle owners to set tax rates in neighboring cities and collect taxes on items purchased in stores within those cities. It features classic RPG elements reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons, such as killing monsters and completing quests for loot and experience points, levels, character attributes (charisma, strength, wisdom, etc.), and alignments (neutral, chaotic or lawful). Lineage's stat, monster, and item system was originally largely borrowed from NetHack with MMO elements added, but recent updates have introduced more original content.[citation needed] Player versus player combat (also known as PVP) is extensive in Lineage. Players can engage in combat with other player characters at any time as long as they are not in safe zones such as cities. By joining a "bloodpledge" (an association of players almost like a clan in other games) players become eligible to engage in castle sieges or wars between bloodpledges.

NCsoft has reported that Lineage had at one point more than three million subscribers, most of them in Korea. Some other notable MMORPG's that also have had over 1 million users include,Guild Wars, Lineage II, World of Warcraft, and Runescape. Despite a sharp reduction in number of active subscriptions, it remains among the most popular MMORPGs in the world, with a little under 1 million active subscribers. Only World of Warcraft, with over 9,3 million active users, and Guild Wars, with just over 4 million, have a larger user base. Analysts have come up with many ways to explain the difference in magnitude of these numbers. Many suggest that Korea has a thriving multiplayer computer game culture (a ban on some Japanese imports up until 1998 has been cited for delayed growth in its video game console market). Others point to the difference in subscription models: Most Korean gamers play at PC bangs that pay for their own subscriptions.

Despite the popularity of their games in Asia, NCsoft has yet to produce similar successes anywhere else in the world. They developed Lineage II and released it in Korea in 2003 and the United States in 2004. They hope that dramatically improved 3D graphics (thanks to the Unreal engine) and better marketing in the US will help business performance.

The title Lineage came from a series of comic books with same title Lineage by Shin Il-sook, and the servers of Lineage are named after the characters of the comic book. It is a fantasy story where a rightful prince reclaims the throne from the hands of usurper. When first created, the game closely resembled the original work; but, as developers have added new features, the fictional universes of the two works have gradually diverged.