Runes of Magic reaches 100k characters created on first day of open beta

As we mentioned last week, the highly-anticipated Runes of Magic fantasy MMO from Frogster Interactive has just entered open beta on December 15th. Normally the news of a small free-to-play MMO would be mentioned, and then subsequently forgotten as the larger, big-budget games continue to hog the attention. Yet Runes of Magic has an announcement that they're quite proud of: 100,000 characters created in the first 24 hours of the open beta.

Not only that, but out of the total 220,000 registrations to date, 20,000 accounts were created on Monday alone with more than 2 million quests completed. Just to be clear, this is not 100k accounts created on the first day. It's 100k characters created by 20k accounts. Still, it's great news for Frogster Interactive and we expect those accounts to rise throughout beta and into launch, which is scheduled for release in Q1 of 2009. For the complete press release and more information on the game's features, continue reading after the cut below.

Frogster Interactive Announces Successful Start to Open Beta Test

BERLIN and SAN FRANCISCO (December 17th, 2008) – Frogster Interactive today announced that the start of Runes of Magic's open beta phase exceeded all expectations. Over 100,000 characters were created in the first 24 hours and are now populating the world of Taborea. Due to the high number of players, Frogster opened an additional game world on Monday afternoon. The international community now is spread over seven servers – even though Runes of Magic is only in the early stages of the open beta phase.

In the first few hours Frogster also noted a significant increase in registration numbers. Out of the total number of 220,000 registrations, more than 20,000 Accounts were created on Monday alone and immediately entered the game world: more than 2 million quests were completed in over 200,000 hours of combined playing time in the game world of Taborea. These numbers underline the relevance of quests and immersive background story in the MMORPG developed by Runewaker Entertainment.

"We will systematically analyze the feedback of the high number of players in the coming weeks and use it to give Runes of Magic the final polish for the official release in the first quarter of 2009," said Daniel Ullrich, director of product management. "The beta is now open to all interested players and the game can be downloaded free of charge after a short registration on www.runesofmagic.com."

Runes of Magic – A World Full of Wizardry and Adventure
With an extensive range of features, Runes of Magic is redefining the standard of free-to-play MMO games. Right from the launch, Runes of Magic will convey its absorbing story through more than 1,000 quests across an exciting and vibrant world. Players can choose from six main classes and secondary classes, offering 36 individual character combinations to suit all play styles. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks, and can use mounts for traveling around the game world.

For guilds and players, it's possible to arrange your own virtual homes and guildhalls with individual furnishings. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PvP, dangerous dungeons and boss-monsters, there is something to keep everyone playing in the game. Taiwanese development studio, Runewaker Entertainment, has developed Runes of Magic to appeal to a global audience, with more than three years of development put into the game. The studio will provide new challenges for players every three to four months with free add-ons and updates. You can find more information, screenshots, art and videos on the official website at: www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic Features

-Free2play: no monthly fees, free download

-Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)

-Versatile spell and attack combinations

-Engaging background story

-More than 1,000 quests and quest series at launch

-No zone boundaries thanks to a seamless architecture

-A mix of instanced, tile based, and persistent dungeons to explore

-Individually developable skills and spells

-Armor sets with special bonuses

-Dynamic item system with hundreds of upgradeable runes

-Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars

-Ranking system with player-ranking lists

-Unique mounts including horses, tigers, striders and more

-Epic crafting system with the ability to improve existing items

-Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing

-Reputation system

-Customizable user interface with the ability to use Add-Ons

-Map and radar system to easily find item dealers, resources and quests

-In-game auction houses for trading items

-Teleport-Runes for instant travel

-Mouse and keyboard controls for movement

-Regular updates with new content

-Cross-server fights through three-server-battles (in development)

-Guild houses in special zones (in development)

About Runewaker Entertainment Ltd.
Runewaker Entertainment was founded in August of 2004, and is headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan. The founding members are all very experienced in the field of online games, and decided to come together to pursue their shared dream. Currently, Runewaker employs over 40 highly skilled programmers, designers and artists and is constantly adding to the team. Runewaker specializes in making Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). The company has built their own engine from scratch, which rivals some of the best available on the market. Their first product, Radiant Arcana (Runes of Magic), is already completed and currently in Open Beta in China, with US and European versions releasing in the coming weeks. Runewaker is currently producing additional content for Runes of Magic to support the game. For more information on Runewaker, please visit: http://www.runewaker.com/

About Frogster Interactive Pictures AG
As a holding company with different shares in the computer games industry, Frogster Interactive Pictures AG, based in Berlin, is focusing on the growth sector of Massively Multiplayer Online Games. The company licenses, operates and markets different online games in the German speaking market and internationally. Its Korean joint venture Frogster Studios Co. Ltd., based in Seoul, develops and markets MMO games as well as licensed virtual worlds in Asia. The company also operates Frogster America, Inc., which is allowing the company to develop its own customer base in North America to support the company's expansion and growth.

At their headquarters in Berlin, and in their regional offices in Rheine, Korea, and San Francisco, the Frogster group employs more than 80 staff members in the fields of development, marketing, community management, customer support, IT, web design, web development, sales and administration. For more information on Frogster, please visit: www.frogster-interactive.de