Ragnarok: The New World Launches July 15 in SEA — The RO IP Reborn as an Open World With 8 Classes and MVP Mounts

Ragnarok: The New World, an open-world title built on the Korean Ragnarok IP, launched July 15 across Southeast Asia (excluding Vietnam). Officially licensed by Gravity, it is developed and published by its subsidiary Gravity Game Vision. The Steam PC version is free-to-play, with mobile and regional channels rolling out on or around July 16, and a global launch slated for Q4 2026.

• ▶Sources: Official Steam Page · METAMMO — release date & platforms · Official YouTube Channel

The Essentials at a Glance

A 20-Year IP Reimagined in Open World

The New World rebuilds the Ragnarok IP — in service since 2002 — as a modern-engine open world. It preserves the franchise's charming art direction while foregrounding seamless open-world exploration across regions and large-scale field content. Made under Gravity's official license, it carries forward series-defining locales and monster ecologies such as Prontera, Payon, and Morocc.

For Korean audiences, Ragnarok is a flagship homegrown IP more than two decades old. Note, however, that this is a Southeast Asia–first launch; the global service, including Korea and Western regions, is scheduled for Q4.

The New Druid Class and an 8-Class Roster

Eight classes are available at launch, with the Druid debuting as a new class for the series. Built around a nature-and-summoning concept, it introduces a play style absent from Ragnarok's existing class trees — one of the game's core selling points.

Core Systems — MVP Mounts, Safe Refinement, Player Stalls

The New World modernizes elements long familiar to Ragnarok players. Chief among them is taming MVP monsters as mounts — turning the series' iconic boss-tier MVPs from kill targets into creatures you capture and ride.

On the economy and progression side, player stalls and auctions enable open item trading, and the game supports hundreds of customizable outfits. Most notably, safe refinement to +15 with no gear destruction removes the classic stress of failed upgrades and lost equipment — one of the changes drawing the most community attention. Offline auto-hunting is also included, easing the grind for lighter players.

Platform & Monetization — Free on Steam

The only platform confirmed on Steam is PC (Windows), listed as free-to-play. A mobile version runs alongside it, with store openings landing on July 16 or 18 depending on the region. Given the free base, the practical revenue model will likely lean on cosmetics and convenience items, though the detailed monetization varies by launch region and warrants a closer look.

Market & Community Reaction

Southeast Asia is a core commercial market for the Ragnarok IP, and local anticipation for this open-world reimagining runs high. The community's biggest talking point is safe refinement to +15, with many arguing that eliminating gear-destruction risk sharply lowers the barrier to entry. At the same time, skeptics warn that the combination of open world, auto-hunting, and free-to-play monetization could repeat the grind-and-spend fatigue of existing MMORPGs. For Korean players, the Q4 global service's localization and server policy will be the variable that decides its real success.

The GamePeak Bottom Line

Ragnarok: The New World carries a two-decade IP into open-world territory, leading with player-friendly systems like removed refinement stress and MVP mounts. But this launch is Southeast Asia–first; for most Korean and Western players, the real point of entry will be the Q4 global service. If you are a franchise fan, the sensible move is to watch the early SEA-server reception alongside the global build's localization and monetization before deciding when to jump in.