upcoming-launch
Latest
Alfheim Tales launching its first server on the 11th
Lately it seems as if you can't throw a stone without hearing about one game or another shutting down. It's to the point where you just want to hear about some game that's actually launching. Well, good news: Alfheim Tales is launching on December 11th, opening its first server with the possibility of more coming later. And seeing as it's a free-to-play browser title, you aren't even going to have to do much to get into the game for the first time. The game is also kicking off a variety of launch events, encouraging players to jump in and start playing right away, although the details of these events haven't been specified. Regardless, if you want to take a spin in a game that's starting fresh amidst a sea of closures, be sure to have your browser primed on the 11th.
TERA ramps up for launch with a video, an offer, and an address
TERA's launch is just around the corner, and if you're not excited yet, En Masse Entertainment is going to throw as much new stuff at you as possible to get you psyched up. That starts with a developer journal by Senior Producer Brian Knox, who talks about the road to launch and the growth of the studio. As you'd expect of a producer bringing a game to market, he's quite excited to see what players will do with the game once it's live. Not interested? Perhaps you'll be more interested to know that the studio has extended the inaugural subscription rate deal; have an active subscription to the game by May 31st and you'll wind up with long-term discounts on the subscription price. Or perhaps you'd rather kick back and watch the final installment of the race videos, this one highlighting the familiar human race. It's a variety of updates to keep your energy up for the launch next Tuesday, assuming it wasn't up already.
New interview with Tony Park talks about Firefall's post-release path
Firefall, the upcoming MMOFPS from Red 5 Studios, is aiming at heating things up with a release in the very near future. But perhaps you're not in the beta and still want to hear more information about the game before it goes live. You're in luck, then, as there's a new interview out today for future players and general enthusiasts to examine. Tony Park, head of the Singapore office, talks about where the team hopes to bring Firefall in the days and months following release as well as the current state of the game. Among the more interesting takeaways are the addition of a new class in the roster (the Dreadnaught) and talk about potential future e-sports participation within the game. Considering the activity level of e-sports in the eastern gaming world, it certainly makes sense that the team would have its eye on that as a potential future element of gameplay, especially with the game's setup lending itself to competitive play. While the release is just around the corner, it looks as if the game will still have plenty for players to anticipate even after launch arrives.
The Mog Log: The natives are restless
Allow me a little bit of woolgathering. When I started working for Massively, it was October of last year, and Final Fantasy XIV had just been announced as the official title for the game code-named "Rapture" and unofficially codenamed "the sequel to Final Fantasy XI" by everyone else who had seen a single screenshot. About four days after you read this, the game is going to be officially live for players around the world willing to shell out an extra bit of cash for various doodads and a headstart. This is kind of baffling. Objectively, you know that the game is getting close to release, but it's not made real until the release is right at your doorstep. So before I go too far off the deep end and start thinking about things like the franchise having started when I was four, let's move on to the discussions coming out of the impending launch. And really, do come back next week when Final Fantasy XIV comes out, as I'm sure we'll have plenty of things on launch day. (Very sure, in fact.)
Wizard101 celebrates its second anniversary
It's easy to dismiss Wizard101 as nothing more than a cute MMO for kids, but the game has proven that it has quite a bit of depth and staying power. And September is the milestone to mark it by, since the game launched in September of 2008. With the arrival of the two-year anniversary for the game, the production staff for KingsIsle Entertainment has posted a short letter to commemorate the achievement and discuss the game's future in brief. Obviously, one of the big points of the future is the release of Celestia, which is currently slated for early fall. The new area and concurrent free expansion will raise the level cap and offer players a variety of new abilities, in addition to the eponymous underwater zone. To help kick off the pending launch, the development team is promising a quest later this month featuring "one of the hottest teen icons on the planet." It's been a busy two years for Wizard101, and it looks like the team is looking forward to many more.
