Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising MMO Slain to Make Way for Focus on Star Trek Online

San Francisco-based MMO developer Perpetual Entertainment has announced on the official Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising site that the ancient Rome-themed massively multiplayer game has been put on "indefinite hold"--likely a euphemism for cancellation--in order to dedicate the company's resources more fully to its simultaneously developed game Star Trek Online. Planned to have been published by Sony Online Entertainment, Gods & Heroes had already entered a closed beta testing phase, and was said to be set for completion in early 2008. "Recently, we took a step back to evaluate the competitive landscape, the game's current state, and the overall goals for our organization," reads the announcement. "And while we are truly proud of and pleased with what we have created in Gods & Heroes, we also realize that achieving the level of quality and polish that we are committed to will take a significant investment." According to word from Shacknews' sources close to Perpetual, the game had long played second fiddle internally to the currently self-published Star Trek Online, expected to launch late next year. Some considered Gods & Heroes something of a testing ground for the relatively young company to establish a footing in the competitive MMO field. "The Perpetual team is faced with a unique challenge of simultaneously developing both Gods & Heroes and Star Trek Online in addition to growing our Online Game Platform business," the statement continues. "After assessing all of Perpetual's opportunities, we have made the decision to put the development of Gods & Heroes on indefinite hold." Perpetual was founded in 2002 by a number of industry veterans, many of whom had been involved with Ultima Online early in its development. The company's structure is explicitly MMO-oriented.