Originally released in South Korea in February 2006, the English localizations were launched in the summer of 2007 in North America and Southeast Asia.

Granado Espada won the 2006 Korean Presidential Award for Best Graphics and Game of the Year,[1] with features previously unseen[2] in an MMORPG (such as the ability for players to control multiple characters at the same time).

Granado Espada features a unique art style based on the Baroque period of Europe, differing from the standard “sword and sorcery” fantasy themes of the genre.

The world of Granado Espada takes place on a newly discovered continent based on the Americas during the Age of Exploration.

The world is divided into different maps and grouped into themed regions such as forests, tropical jungles, plains, swamps, deserts and ice fields.

On the continent itself, internal strife has arisen from the feud between the Royalists supporting the Vespanolan crown, and the Republicans campaigning for independence.

The player takes the role of a pioneering family from the Old World, eager to explore the continent and eliminate elements that will threaten the survival of its people.

A new player is able to visit the three main towns (Reboldeaux, Port of Coimbra and Auch) from the beginning, and is not required to conduct exploration trips to find them.

Various NPCs throughout the towns and in some dungeon locations may be approached to initiate quests, which, like in traditional MMORPG format, usually consist of killing a number of monsters and/or obtaining their drops.

Granado Espada has a main quest line that extends to the highest levels and zones: the Frozen Fields of the north, Errac (Zeia), the mysterious southwestern region of Castilla, as well as the isolated isle of Viron (Byron).

This feature is available by clicking on the other family's name for a duel and also available at PvP officers in the Major cities (Reboldoeux, Coimbra, Auch) where four types of battles are available.

With the introduction of the Cross-World PvP system in Version 5.0, players from different servers are able to duel each other in individual or team modes.

Each country's version of Granado Espada provides a different number of initial starting slots with a new account.

Based on the Korean regional server version, there are currently a maximum of twelve barracks (108 characters) per account.

Soso (Feng Ling), Baek-Ho (Baihu), Angie, Kurt and Eduardo (Edward) are examples of this class of RNPCs (No longer pay in cash shop).

Premium RNPCs, for example, Emilia the Sage, can be obtained by the code provided in the Granado Espada Limited Signature Edition Box Set.

Depending on which regional server the player is on, other RNPCs such as Panfilo the Battlecook, Idge the Battlesmith can be purchased from the Cash Shop while Ralph[5] is only available during promotions.

With the V7.0 patch, factions may join either Lealtad (Esmero) or Gleichstellung (Souveran), which are the secret militant arms of the Royalist and Republican parties respectively.

In addition, players belonging to these two opposing secret societies will square off in three different zones, namely the three towns of Cite de Reboldeoux, Port of Coimbra and the City of Auch.

K2 Network announced in January 2007 that they would be bringing Granado Espada to the North American and European markets in Summer 2007 under the title of Sword of the New World.

GamersFirst announced on 31 October 2012, that due to the expiration of the licensing contract with IMCGames, North American operations of the game would be transferred to T3Fun, a subsidiary of the Korean publisher HanbitSoft.

[11] On 10 August 2007, IAHGames, the company which the game is licensed to in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam as well as Australia and New Zealand, announced its business model for Granado Espada.

[15] This marked the first time that a Granado Espada regional server has completely ceased service without any transfer to another local operator.

On January 2024, the publisher from Taiwan announced that the TW service will be discontinued and shut down by the end of February 2024 after 17 years long operation.

The player then gets involved in a new main quest line and aids the Bristian Liberation Army to free their homeland from Vespanolan hegemony.

As of April 2013, the Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Southeast Asian and North American regional servers have upgraded to the new "Return to Orpesia" series.

The current version is Ailis Episode 2 - Dead End in Korean server Critical reaction to the North American release has been mixed.

PC Gamer magazine, also gave it a positive review, giving the game a 90% out of 100% rating, saying it "offered a fresh feel through small improvements and one substantial innovation" compared to other Korean MMOs.