I am willing to bet it has everything to do with Nexon, publishers do not trust their consumers. That’s the best reasoning I can think of, they see an oppourtiniy to get more profits from the game by controlling the servers, and offering what is essentially a reskin or mod of the original game and selling it as content.
Battlefield and CoD, perfect examples.
I’m probably being cynical but that’s what this industry has done to me, I seriously just expect publishers to fuck over their consumers because they can get more profits.
I for one believe in the philosophy of simplicity and budgeting, I can make a game that’s using an older engine but if it’s good enough despite that, I’ll make back what it cost to make and then some, which funds the game’s future content and more projects. I don’t care about making more money for the sake of me, I care about it cause it’s a means to and end, and that end is making the best God damn game I can before my time is up.