Specifically designed to set itself apart from other MMOs with its unique combat, mercenary, and city/country management systems, Atlantica takes players through ancient settings and civilizations, such as Hanyang (Korea), Indus Valley (India and Pakistan), Mesopotamia (Iraq, Syria and Turkey), and Egypt.

The turn-based combat system allows players to plot the movements and strategies of nine characters in their group. Players can form teams of three to bring 27 controllable characters into combat.

Gamescampus.com and MaxOn soft partner to bring the popular fantasy anime MMORPG to North America later this year.

San Jose, Calif. (June 24, 2008) - San Jose-based online game publisher, Gamescampus.com (www.gamescampus.com, run by OnNet USA), announced a publishing deal with MaxOn Soft Corporation to launch its newest game, Asda Story, in the U.S. market. The game will launch
later this fall.

"We are very pleased to announce our new partnership with MaxOn Soft which allows us to bring this wonderful product to the U.S. market, "said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Gamescampus.com. "Asda Story has already built a successful following in Korea and Japan. It is an exciting and innovative 3D MMORPG, and we have every confidence it will be a major success in the U.S."

Based on a colorful, bright and cheerful world, Asda Story is a free to play exciting fantasy-style anime 3D MMORPG game that features a unique 'Soul Mate System.' The unique party system offers two players the ability to align to become 'soul mates' and allows them to wear unique costumes and use special skills. Another key feature of the game is the '

The unnamed MMO was revealed by CEO Geoff Iddison during a panel discussion at today’s GameHorizon Conference in Newcastle.

Dubbed ‘Nextscape’ by Iddison, the game was said to incorporate – as Runescape does – a variety of business and subscription models to drive consumer engagement, he said.

However, although the company has run its successful Runescape MMO since 2001 – offering biweekly content updates - with the new property due to join it early next year, Iddison said that Jagex’ real value isn’t its IP, but its infrastructure.

“We’ve got an infrastructure behind Runescape which is the real silver of the Jagex, the value of the company,” said Iddison. “It’s not the game, the game is going to come and go,” he said.

“The infrastructure is the thing that can scale. Runescape has 10 years of good growth – but the infrastructure is infinitely scalable,” he added of Jagex’ vast operation of servers and online support teams.

Although Jagex employs 400 people at its Cambridge, UK HQ, only 25 per cent are dedicated to development. Half the staff are focused on content and support whi

Fallen Earth, a post-apocalyptic MMOG in development using the Icarus Studios Tools Suite platform, today announced it has reached the Alpha milestone and is now “Feature Complete.”

 Over the past six months, the Fallen Earth team has implemented new production processes which has allowed for improved product quality and a streamlined development schedule.

Colin Dwan, who was promoted from Lead Engineer to Project Manager, said, “Fallen Earth has great technology and tons of content, but we needed to put a stake in the ground about all the features that were absolutely necessary to ship with. Now that we’ve finalized that long list, we’ve been able to spend all of our time making those features really fun.”

The Fallen Earth Art Department focused on an in-depth upgrading of the game’s overall appearance, improving textures, animations, and enriching the overall “look” of the game. Human models have been completely revamped, and newly added creatures include giant genetically engineered super soldiers and vicious killer fungi. Volumetric fog has been added and many towns have been completely rebuilt to take advantage of new bui

In a weblog post lamenting Hellgate: London's lack of success and describing the developer's work environment as "depressing," Flagship audio and gameplay programmer Guy Somberg claims that the studio's staff, including programmers, accountants, human resources personnel, and artists, has been leaving "in droves."

Somberg has since taken down the post but a cache of the page is still available. According to the programmer, Flagship's founders are still at the company but are working on projects outside of Hellgate: "The only one still actively on Hellgate is [technology director Tyler Thompson], but Tyler’s not programming anymore; he spends all of his time on management activities."

With rumors of even more artists and programmers planning to leave the Hellgate developer, Somberg commented, "Thing is, the way things are going I’m likely to be the only programmer still working on Hellgate left from the original crew."

Released for PCs in October, 2007, Hellgate: London's launch received criticism for its bugs, slowdowns, and crashes, among other issues. Somberg, however, has high hopes for the MMORPG in the Asian market: "Y

Realtime Worlds today unveiled its plans to host a "full public beta of APB," its upcoming crime-based MMO due out on PC and Xbox 360. Helmed by Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones, the studio's first release was the open world title Crackdown (360).

The news and two new bits of character art were tucked away within the announcement of Chris 'Ulric' Dye as the game's community relations manager.

According to business manager Mario Rizzo, Dye's hiring "signals the start of a new phase for APB where we can interact more fluidly with both gaming sites, and our potential future player base. This is an important milestone for the game now that we are transitioning into Alpha and moving towards the full public beta of APB."

Alpha and beta tests are relatively common for massively mutliplayer online efforts, though they often occur within the confines of an closed, invite-only environment. No timeframe or platform details were provided for the public beta, though the game is expected to launch in 2009.

Via Shacknews

Ankama is proud to announce the launch of the closed Beta version of Wakfu, its next tactical MMORPG. Scheduled for a Q4 release, the Java sequel to DOFUS is now entering its final development stage.

Improving the turn-based fighting system of DOFUS even further, Wakfu sets a new standard in massively multiplayer online games with its combination of battle tactics and role playing.

Set a thousand years after DOFUS, Wakfu sees the rise of the terrible Ogrest, an Ogre who has become the equal of the gods after gathering the six powerful dragon eggs called Dofus. The land of Amakna has now been flooded by the tears of Ogrest, as he pines for his lost love.

Being an atypical MMO, Wakfu features never seen before elements. The most important feature is clearly the absence of non player characters (NPCs), Wakfu will also establish a sophisticated political system where appointed player-governors will rule the various islands and their peers.

“Ecology will also be of utmost importance in the game, and players will have to act in order to keep their world alive and blooming.” says Anthony Roux, co-founder and Director of Creation.

This first version of the Beta feature

Ghost Online (Global version), the highly anticipated action-oriented 2D Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game announces the launch of its Beta Phase, presented by MGame USA, Inc. ( http://www.netgame.com ) in partnership with Game&Game ( http://www.gamengame.com ).

Ghost Online offers a unique world unlike any other by combining popular oriental martial arts with mythical spirits and ghosts. Many will enjoy the fast-paced combat system in conjunction with jaw-dropping skills and feats, a large Player-vs-Player environment, crafting, mining, and fishing leisure activities, mini-games, pet companions, and the innovative "Ghostpedia".

Scheduled for final release in late June 2008, Ghost Online will be operating under the Free-To-Play business model, making available for all to enjoy at absolutely no initial cost!