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Gazillion shutting down Fortune Online
Gazillion's new Fortune Online title is headed for the scrap heap, according to our friends at Joystiq. The Diablo-style browser MMO was born of a desire to simplify dungeon crawling for casual gamers, but apparently it's taking too much time (and too many resources) away from Gazillion's Marvel projects. "We will continue delivering and refining content for Super Hero Squad Online, along with building and developing the Marvel Heroes game," a Gazillion spokesman told Joystiq. The firm also denied speculation that it is preparing for a Disney acquisition, and it declined to announce a timetable or job losses resulting from the Fortune closure. [Thanks to Space Cobra for the tip!]
Gazillion shutting down Fortune Online, focusing on Marvel properties
Gazillion confirmed to Joystiq this afternoon that the MMO publisher will shut down its Diablo-esque Fortune Online. There's no announced timetable on when the company will shut down the project, nor how many employees will be laid off from the studio in San Mateo, California. Gazillion will try to shift the team to its two Marvel projects.The publisher will continue focusing on its two Marvel-based MMOs, Marvel Super Hero Squad Online and Marvel Heroes (formerly known as Marvel Universe). A company spokesperson told Joystiq, "We will continue delivering and refining content for Super Hero Squad Online, along with building and developing the Marvel Heroes game."After a series of moves that cut weight from the company, we had to ask if it was positioning itself for a Disney acquisition, considering its two remaining announced projects are Marvel (and therefore Disney) properties. The company denied that being the plan.It's worth noting that Gazillion inked the rights to Marvel MMOs for ten years back in 2009, before the comic book company was purchased by Disney. At this point, Disney can either keep letting Gazillion hold the rights to what is surely a lucrative property or make it a Galactus-size buyout offer.Update: A representative for Gazillion tells us, "Fortune Online is shutting down on February 29, however if our records show a player has made a purchase in the game at any point, they will be receiving a full refund to the payment method used."
Gazillion bringing two MMOs to Europe with the help of German publisher
Gazillion is bringing two of its free-to-play MMOs to the Old Continent this summer. Marvel Super Hero Squad Online and Fortune Online are being released in Europe under the oversight of ProSiebenSat.1 Digital, a German media publisher that's previously been responsible for releasing games in the region from the likes of Nintendo and Sony. Both games are browser-based, so ProSiebenSat.1 Digital's main responsibility will be connecting Gazillion's titles to a new European audience. We assume, of course, that they'll also be responsible for taking both games around to see the sights while they're visiting. They're both currently in beta, but they'll be out for release as soon as they've taken in the requisite tours of the Lourve and the Tower of London.
Gazillion signs European Marvel Super Hero Squad Online deal
It looks like Marvel Super Hero Squad is coming to Europe, according to a news blurb at GamaSutra. Gazillion Entertainment has inked a deal with the German media conglomerate known as ProSiebenSat.1 Digital, and the resulting agreement will bring "cross-media promotional support" to both SHSO and Fortune Online. SHSO is a kid-friendly romp through the Marvel mythos with locations that include Asgard, the Daily Bugle, and the Baxter Building. Gameplay revolves around collecting various heroes to form one of the titular squads, as well as choosing a particular individual to play and level up. "Gazillion's goal is to deliver entertaining console-quality games through the browser around the world," said CEO John Needham via press release.
Cryptic boss leaves for Gazillion
First at Sony Online Entertainment, then at Cryptic Studios, and now at Gazillion Entertainment, John Needham has seen a lot of massively multiplayer worlds in his time. The much experienced exec is now at the helm of Gazillion Entertainment in order to work on "converting all of its major games to the free-to-play business model." The plan, Needham says, "is where the secret sauce is for the industry." Gazillion most recently launched Lego Universe, which was then immediately sold to the Lego Group (along with the dev team at NetDevil). The publisher's next game is Fortune Online, which is currently in closed beta.
Fortune Online video dev diary details classes
Judging by a new (and slickly produced) dev diary video, Gazillion is spending a fair bit of money on its new Fortune Online MMORPG. The video features a mixture of in-game footage as well as commentary from producer Ricardo Mendoza, design director Adam Maxwell, and senior content designer Chris Holtorf. Most of the discussion is focused on two of the game's classes, the Master of Arms and the Disciple of the Dragon, which belong to the Warrior and Guardian archetypes respectively. What's an archetype? "Fortune Online has several classes that you can choose from but we've done something to sort of simplify it for more casual players. We've boiled them down into very basic archetypes," Maxwell explains. Check out the full video after the cut.
NetDevil lays off large portion of its staff [Updated]
When it comes to game development, it's somewhat common to see a layoff or realignment of development team members shortly after the release of a title. However, it appears that NetDevil's most recent round of layoffs came as a complete surprise to its employees. After all, the company's most recent release, LEGO Universe, is well past that initial post-launch phase, having gone live back in October 2010, and both Jumpgate Evolution and Fortune Online are (at least supposedly) under development currently at the studio. There are jobs posted on the hiring page, as well. However, it appears that the developer, owned by Gazillion Entertainment, is on shaky ground as of this morning, according to rumors. The truly horrible thing about this isn't that some developers were laid off -- it's how the affected employees found out. It appears that some of the NetDevil employees were notified that they were going to be laid off via Facebook postings before they were officially contacted by the company, according to a blog posting by Toby Cochran, who worked as a character/creature animator on LEGO Universe. Apparently an image showing a tombstone with the inscription "NetDevil R.I.P. Oct 1997-Feb 2011" started making the rounds on social networking sites shortly thereafter, indicating a far bleaker picture than just that of layoffs. We've reached out to NetDevil and Gazillion Entertainment for comment on the rumors and what, if anything, it will mean for the development of Jumpgate Evolution and Fortune Online. We'll be sure to update this post as soon as we have further information. In the meantime, we hope that all the talented, hard-working NetDevil employees who were affected are able to land fabulous new well-paying spots elsewhere, continuing to do what they love. [Update: We received the following statement from NetDevil: "The transition of members of our team to the LEGO Group allows us to conclude the work-for-hire segment of NetDevil's business and lets us expand our internally-published, free-to-play game businesses based on our own properties and licensed properties. Gazillion is wholly focused on developing, operating, and publishing the next generation of browser-delivered games," said David Brevik, President and COO. "We're proud of the LEGO Universe game that our team built, and we are certain that it has a bright future."]
MMO Roundup: Bungie's MMOFPS, RIFT endgame, and more
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. RIFT's endgame detailed in 18-minute video Much has been written about RIFT in regard to the title's first 20 levels, its soul system, and the titular rifting mechanics. Endgame has remained something of a mystery up to this point; a new 18-minute video will shed a little light on the proceedings. "WoW in space": Bungie's MMOFPS named Destiny A couple of years ago, fans of the Halo franchise were crushed to find out that their favorite first-person shooter probably wasn't going to make the leap to MMO space. However, the company behind the Halo phenomenon has been diligently at work on another highly speculated-about project -- and it looks as though this project could go a long way to giving the fans what they want. Champions Online gains profits and players as a free-to-play Since Champions Online's relaunch as a free-to-play title a little less than a month ago, any player who has logged into the game has undoubtedly noticed the sheer number of folks running around Millenium City. Cryptic Studios and Atari have both declared that the move to free-to-play has been a huge success. First Impressions: Fortune Online Are you looking for another Diablo-esque title to hold you over until Diablo 3? How about a top-down adventure MMO? Massively's Beau Hindman took the game hands-on and supplies his first impressions of Fortune Online! Massively Speaking episode 135 Massively Speaking returns this week with Shawn and Rubi discussing the week's latest MMO news. Later in the show, Shawn is joined by Gremrod and Styx, two members of the Menace to Society corporation in Perpetuum Online, to chat a bit about the recent insurance fraud actions taken by Avatar Creations. Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
First Impressions: Fortune Online
You know, there is no shortage of "Diablo clones" out there. We've all played them, and we've probably enjoyed many. It's safe to say that "Diablo-esque" is a real word with real meaning -- something you can say to your gaming buddy and he'll know exactly what you mean. However, as with any other genre, it's very easy for it to become repetitive and boring. The initial thrill of the game or style that inspired the movement tends to pass away if developers continue to regurgitate it in the hopes of profiting from gamer nostalgia. In some cases, it works pretty well. Torchlight, for example, is a lot of fun and easy enough to play -- as evidenced by the success of the game. The fact that it was really nothing new didn't stop us from having a lot of fun with it. The tales of an online version tantalize us, but wouldn't it be nice if we could play a Diablo-esque game that truly offers MMO benefits? It's possible that we can with Fortune Online. I was asked to spend some time with the beta to see how it's going. Is it really a good choice for fans of top-down dungeon grinding? Click past the cut to see what I thought. %Gallery-115609%
Gazillion's 'Fortune Online' is Diablo-esque, closed beta begins
Gazillion Entertainment had an announcement one-two punch with Fortune Online today, not only revealing the game, but also the start of its closed beta. The multiplayer browser-based, free-to-play dungeon crawler looks to be the latest game that's happy as sin to dole out that Diablo fix while Blizzard's sequel takes the hellishly long road to market. Company COO David Brevik, who was part of the team that made the original Diablo and Hellgate: London, says that Fortune Online is a great example of Gazillion's focus on free-to-play, console-quality games for browsers. Check out a video of the Flash-based title after the break, which is looking like a decent descent into familiar loot-obsessed dungeon exploration. Head on over to FortuneOnline.com if you're interested in testing out the beta.%Gallery-115608%
Gazillion and Netdevil's Fortune Online closed beta mystery
One of the things we love to do here at Massively is to point you to interesting MMO games on the horizon -- especially when it comes to signing up for beta testing! We figure since nerds of a feather flock together, you'd probably enjoy finding out about new games just as much as we do. That's why we admit being to a bit flummoxed by this one. You see, Gazillion Entertainment and Netdevil have just launched the website for their new browser-based game, Fortune Online, which currently offers only a login page or a sign-up for a closed beta spot. However, since you need a code to sign up, you can't currently get further into the site than this page, leaving us to look at its shiny graphics and wonder... what gaming goodness lies beneath? Thankfully, Gazillion Entertainment sent us a pile of screenshots and a video to give us an idea of what the game will be like. Created to play in "any browser released in this century," Fortune Online is a lush, isometric, Diablo-esque action game offering the ability to play with friends in a persistent world. Even more interesting is that the game is flash-based, which will spare us from enormous downloads and give players the ability to jump in from just about any computer they can get access to. The game is also designed to allow ease in inviting friends to play with you. To top it all off? Fortune Online will be free-to-play! So while we wait for open beta, check out the gallery of screenshots below and the action-packed video behind the break! Or, you know, you can go look at the shiny site and click expectantly on the buttons like we did. %Gallery-115609%
