The First Descendant News

Hello, Descendants!

The First Descendant’s official global website is now open.

You can check out the game information and major announcements from the website.

■ Website Guide
ㆍNews: Announcements, maintenance notices, updates, and events.
ㆍInfo: Basic information about the game such as story and character.
ㆍSupport: Recommended requirements, player reports, suggestions, bug reports, and 1:1 player support.

[Website]

Thank you.

Hello, Descendants!

This time, we’d like to answer some of your questions from various channels. Below are the most frequently asked questions and our answers.

Can we play the game on console devices?
Unfortunately, the upcoming Steam Beta Test cannot be played on PlayStation, Xbox, or Steam Deck. A lot of Descendants wanted it to be available on console devices too as much as we did. We focused on improving the quality and volume of the test build for better experience, therefore the beta test will not be available on console devices. We’d like to ask for your understanding. However, we are planning to launch the official service on all platforms in line with our trailer (Steam, XBO, XSX, PS4, and PS5), so please look forward to the official game launch.

Can I play the game in single mode?
The game progress is mainly based on field missions. Such basic missions can be played in single mode, and you can also use the option ‘Private mode’ to play the game by yourself. You will be able to acquire enough resources that are required in growing your character. Of course, you can choose to play in ‘Public mode’ to play along with other players.

Can I adjust the difficulty level?
Basic field missions do not have difficulty levels. But some co-op content, like boss raids, will be divided into several difficulty levels so that players can be motivated to come up with strategies to complete harder stages.

Is there PvP content?
At the moment, we’d like to focus on creating best PvE content possible. The upcoming Steam Beta Test is also focused on verifying PvE content. While the beta test will not include PvP content, we may consider developing it in the future based on user feedback.

Can I customize my character?
Each Descendant character has his/her own appearance and skills. We believe that the most important factor for Descendants is their unique characteristic including their story, voice, and combat style. As the development team hopes to keep such uniqueness in characters, we are not planning on adopting character customization like MMORPG. You will be able to decorate your characters, of course, but the feature will not be available in the beta test. Meanwhile, each character’s unique appearance and skill can be combined with weapons, accessories, and Runes. You can devise different strategies with the same character.

Is there a community where I can talk with other Descendants?
For now, we are sharing news via our Steam page. We also have official Twitter, Facebook, YouTube channels to post information and communicate with users. The official website and Discord will be available before the beta test begins.

Is there a chance the game will be available in other languages?
In Steam Beta Test, audio language will be English; UI and subtitles will be available in English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional, Simplified), and Korean. You might find some translations awkward during the test period, so feel free to send us feedback regarding the translation. Your feedback will help us improve the game’s quality for the official service.

When will I know if I’ve been chosen as a tester?
Steam will send you an e-mail regarding the result of the tester recruitment close to when the testing will begin. This result e-mail has not been sent to anyone yet, so we ask you to be patient. We will try to include as many players as possible for the test.

Thank you.

Hello, Descendants!

This time, we’d like to introduce you the game’s development story as well as technical and game design objectives of the Steam Beta . Also, we’d like to share the much-discussed business model of The First Descendant.

Development Story of The First Descendant
We first started developing the game in the spring of 2019 with the goal of creating a global online RPG for PC. Not many attempted to develop the loot shooter genre at that time, but we decided to create a loot shooter game, for we had believed that loot shooter genre had much potential, and that it was worth the investment. The First Descendant project kicked off using the latest version of Unreal Engine 4. After some time, Unreal Engine 5 was revealed, and the development team was really fascinated with its graphic quality. We had already made some progress in the game’s development, but finally decided that we shift to UE5 for the best graphic quality possible. One of the major reasons behind the version up was ¹Nanite and ²Lumen of UE5. In particular, we believed that Lumen’s lighting quality would be essential in future projects. Now all the members of the development team are greatly satisfied with the outcome.

¹Nanite: A technology that renders high-quality environments with billions of polygons, adding detailed expressions to the vast map.
²Lumen: The latest technology that expresses realistic light sources, and is used to express the angle of the Sun that changes over time and the lighting that changes when the door is opened.
[Go to comparison video of Twitter]

Technical Objective of the Steam Beta
There are two main technical objectives in the upcoming Steam Beta: checking the stability of the UE5 game client and large-scale online access environment. Firstly, UE5 is yet to be adopted in commercialized games, so we’d like to use this opportunity to check its stability and optimization. Also, the upcoming Steam Beta will be the very first open testing of The First Descendant. We did carry out some closed testing on a small scale, but this will be the first time where a large number of global users will be accessing the game. While we are working on necessary measures, unexpected issues may arise. Your feedback from the beta test will help us greatly in preparing for the official service.

Game Design Objective
The First Descendant aims for a loot shooter genre, a mixture of RPG and shooting games. That is, the game’s core content will be defeating enemies and acquiring (looting) rewards. On top of that, it is an online game that requires constant access to the Internet. The First Descendant’s game design highlights three types of fun: “Looting, shooting, and co-op.” The objective of the Steam Beta in game design will be asking for the Descendants’ opinion on those three elements. Descendants will play as unique characters with different skills to carry out shooting battles and collect rewards, which will then be used to grow their characters and account. Then you’ll proceed to the next stage, work together with other Descendants to challenge yourself for even harder stages. Not all content will be available for the Steam Beta, but we will be providing as much as possible to get rich feedback from around the world. Also, we would like to make constant improvements based on user feedback in terms of graphic quality, manipulation, change in core PvE elements, UX, and even more.

Direction of Business Model
We are fully aware that there are mixed concerns about the game’s business model. The First Descendant is a free-to-play game that includes in-game purchases. Despite the negative perspective toward free-to-play games, in The First Descendant, you will be able to acquire all necessary rewards by playing the game. We are not planning on adopting a business model that hinders player experience (commonly known as pay-to-win).

Future Plans
We currently aim for an official release in 2023, but we have not decided on a specific date. This is because we want to make a plan by reflecting on the feedback from the Steam beta. We will improve and develop the game, and any further changes will be updated through announcements so keep posted.

Thank you.

Are you hyped to make content about The First Descendant? We are excited to offer the partner creator program for our Steam Beta this October! Be one of the FIRST of our partner creators and receive various perks.

WHO ARE PARTNER CREATORS?
Partner creators are official partners that create content about The First Descendant. When selected as a partner creator, you will be given the following perks:
- If your content is selected as one of the best contents of the partner creators, we will post it on The First Descendant’s official community channel.
- We will support you on your creator journey by sending you official game resources for your content creation (logo, key arts, character images, etc.)

RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE
- Application Submissions: PDT 2022.09.14 - 10.11 07:59 AM
- Decision Announcements: 2022.10.17 (To be emailed individually)

WE ARE LOOKING FOR CREATORS WHO:
- Desire to create various contents regarding The First Descendant
- Can stream or create contents in English
- Own any social media channel (Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
*The more contents you have published in the last 30 days, the higher the chance of you being selected!

HOW TO JOIN
- Fill out and submit the application form [Apply Now]
- All the partner creator related announcements will be sent via e-mail, so please enter your correct e-mail address.

NOTICE
1) The application will only be considered as submitted after you agree to Nexon Korea's Privacy Policy (The period for which personal information is held is one year from when the event ends).
2) We will review your channels and contents based on the submitted application. Please be informed that you may not be selected as a partner creator based on the selection process, even if you meet the qualifications.
3) If any information in the application is missing or does not meet the requirements, your application may be canceled without notice.
4) If you use someone else's information, channels, and contents, you may not be selected. Your partner qualification may also be revoked even after you get selected.
5) If you stream or upload content that damages the brand image of The First Descendant, or you are disqualified due to social norms, the partner qualification may be revoked.
6) The rights of partner creators cannot be transferred to others. Your partner status may be revoked if an act of violating the community operation policy is found.
7) If you are selected as a partner creator, you will be notified individually on October 17th via the e-mail you submitted in the application form. If you are not selected, you will not be given any separate notice.
8) The contents of the selected partner creators can be used as official postings for The First Descendant without notice.
9) Inquiries related to partner recruitment should be sent to the following e-mail address ([email protected]). Please make sure your inquiry is written in English.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]Hello, Descendants!

TOKYO GAME SHOW 2022 Trailer is here!
The First Descendant will be participating in Tokyo Game Show 2022 online from September 15th to 18th, so please keep posted.

You may follow our official Twitter and Facebook channels to learn not only about TGS2022 but other various news.

[Official Twitter] [Official Facebook]

Thanks.