Aion will be taking the increasingly popular step of switching to a free-to-play model. Developer NCSoft announced that the new pricing structure will come alongside the game's 3.0 update this Spring, which will also bring an increased level cap, housing, mounts, new zones and instances. This announcement comes two months after the game was announced as F2P in Europe.
Though ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2 is now lined up to launch on PC this year, it's still early days for the console edition. "Console edition?" you may ask. It's been quietly mentioned a few times before with no concrete details, and that's apparently still the case, but work is continuing.
Read more: ArenaNet "fully dedicated" to making PC version "kickass" »
A May launch was announced for MMORPG Tera earlier this month, but NCsoft is hoping to stop that outright. The publisher alleges that NCsoft employees who went on to found developer Bluehole Studio built the game upon "looted" ideas, and, having fought a similar battle in South Korea, wants to block its release in North America.
"When it's done" - three little words that infuriate some and delight others, and three words which no longer stand in for Guild Wars 2's release date. The subscription-free MMORPG will launch on PC "later this year," developer ArenaNet announced today, preceded by the beta testing ramping up.
Though word leaked earlier this week that the final Guild Wars 2 profession revealed would be Mesmer, all we had was a video without any explanation. Today, developer ArenaNet officially unveiled GW2's take on the returning class, with heaps of details and a few screenshots.
The announcement comes just in time as ArenaNet revealed that a closed beta is starting this Friday.
While struggling MMORPGs used to simply shut down when subscriber numbers dropped, the rise of the free-to-play model has seen many hold on to eek out a living. Add NCSoft's Aion to that list, as the publisher announced today it'll switch in February 2012--but, for now, only in Europe.
Read more: Switching as game becomes "more and more deserted" »
Grind-athon Lineage II is jumping aboard the free-to-play MMO bandwagon, developer and publisher NCSoft has announced. The switch will be made when the 'Goddess of Destruction' free expansion launches "later this year," and a surprisingly large amount will be free.
"Character creation, races, classes, skills, zones, bosses, quests, clans, crafting, warehouse, auction house, chat, mail, forums, customer support, and so on" will all be free for everyone to play under the 'Truly Free' model, NCSoft says.
When Richard Garriot (Garriott de Cayeux, now he's married) triumphed in his lawsuit against former employer NCSoft last year, being awarded $28 million, the publisher unsurprisingly appealed. However, the appeals court has also found in favor of the Ultima creator, and he's now due $32 million.
The lawsuit stems from when Garriott de Cayeux and NCSoft parted ways in 2008, after working on Tabula Rasa.
Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet is celebrating the Gamescom show with a whole host of festivities, including details on the subscription-free PC MMORPG's revamped PvP, a glorious five-minute trailer, and great gobs of new screenshots.
Building, exploring, and collecting are playstyles intended to be just as valid as hitting monsters until they fall over in Carbine Studios' WildStar, announced today at Gamescom by publisher and parent company NCSoft. The sci-fantasy MMORPG is coming exclusively to PC. And has rabbit ladies.
Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet is shining the spotlight on its playable plant people in a week of videos and articles. The Sylvari race might have similarities with the elves seen in every fantasy game under the sun but, thankfully, they seem far a more interesting take on the idea of wise and noble forest-dwellers, and not nearly as tiresome.
NCSoft has revealed that a beta test for its upcoming massively multiplayer online title, Guild Wars 2, will begin in the second half of 2011.
According to Eurogamer, the announcement was made by company CFO Jaeho Lee during a conference call. Lee reportedly "heavily" hinted at a 2012 release for Guild Wars 2, before noting the game "will go into beta testing stage in the second half of this year." In what form the beta would see release was not specified. Read more »
PopCap Games and NCSoft have partnered to bring the developer's games to Korea within a new service, dubbed PopCap World. The platform will launch later this year and include access to 13 PopCap games including Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled, Zuma, and "an all-new multiplayer game, Super Zuma, built exclusively for Korean players."
Access to these games will be free "with optional, premium paid elements to be added later," as is common for PC games in Asian territories. PopCap World is being developed by PopCap's Shanghai studio and it will be operated by NCSoft in South Korea. Read more »
Ultima creator and Tabula Rasa designer Richard 'Lord British' Garriott has won his lawsuit against his former employeer NCSoft, the Statesman reports, and will be awarded $28 million. Read more »
Ultima creator Richard Garriott is suing former employer NCSoft for around $27 million, alleging he lost stock options when the Tabula Rasa publisher mischaracterised the circumstances of his depature, GamePolitics reports.
"I am leaving NCsoft to pursue [other] interests" wrote Garriot in an open letter when he left in November 2008, making his depature appear voluntary when this was not the case. Read more »
"the european region was handed over to a third party publisher (gameforge) which is using the ..."
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