The protagonist of this week's Gamemeca ranking is 'Lineage'. Thanks to the launch of 'Lineage Classic' on February 7, Lineage has surged to 4th place. While it’s rare to see this veteran title back in the top five, don't break out the champagne just yet. The climb is purely a result of the hype surrounding the new launch, and the sentiment among the player base is overwhelmingly negative.

The controversy surrounding Lineage Classic started brewing on February 8, just a day after launch, when the team announced they were considering adding an auto-play feature to ease the 'fatigue' of manual grinding. They marketed 'Lineage Classic' heavily on its old-school charm, specifically highlighting the traditional monthly subscription model. While some players might appreciate the convenience, many pointed out that if auto-battle is enabled, it renders the game indistinguishable from Lineage Remastered or the various mobile iterations already flooding the market.

Now, whether auto-play is a blessing or a curse is a matter of taste. But the situation turned sour on February 10, the third day of service, when the team scrambled to handle a 'refund run' exploiting a loophole in the payment system. By February 11, when the paid service officially kicked off, they introduced loot boxes and additional microtransactions, sending player sentiment into a nosedive.

The arrival of these paid items isn't just about the money. Before launch, NCsoft promised they would provide the service 'in the same form without any additional business models.' But when the lid was lifted, the reality was quite different. It echoes the 'flip-flopping' seen in previous titles like Lineage W and Blade & Soul 2. It feels as if they are squandering the hard-won goodwill they built up with games like Aion 2 over the past year.

After teasing some 'big news' last week, Overwatch has climbed even higher this week. By rebranding from 'Overwatch 2' back to 'Overwatch' and dropping five new heroes—including the fan-favourite 'Jetpack Cat'—they’ve certainly grabbed our attention. The narrative conflict between Talon and Overwatch is finally heating up, and let's not forget the Hello Kitty and Sanrio collaboration skins that have everyone talking.

The data shows a massive spike in portal search volume, largely driven by the roadmap revealed alongside the rebrand. It’s clear that many players have returned to the fray to see what this 'new' Overwatch has in store. The real question now is whether they can sustain this momentum in the rankings.

In the mid-tier, Wuthering Waves jumped 13 spots to land at 27th—the biggest leap in the rankings. The catalyst? The new character 'Aemeth' who arrived on the 5th. Since her reveal, she’s been dubbed 'my daughter' by the community, and her debut has driven a significant increase in PC bang traffic. It seems many players came back just to add her to their roster.

Down in the lower ranks, Final Fantasy 14 has returned to the top 40, sitting at 39th after three weeks. This follows the 7.4 patch on the 4th, which brought a new scenario, dungeons, and trials. The boost in PC bang usage is particularly notable, thanks to a 'Burning Event' that doubled points during the weekend. Fans are also buzzing about the upcoming 7.5 patch, which promises synchronization with the global server.