As we reported in September, long-time Archlord North American and European operator Codemasters had lost the rights to run the game, with South Korean publisher Webzen taking over the reins this month. Now the North American and European servers are live, and Webzen is accepting pre-registration for transfers from the Codemasters servers to their own, with in-game cash being offered as an incentive for making the move. Codemasters players can visit Webzen's Archlord home page for details on making the move.

Sweetening the deal for Western players is the introduction of the new Swashbuckler character class, a close-quarters female fighter sporting bunny ears, as seen in the picture here. All this, plus a bunny girl? I, for one, welcome our new South Korean overlords.

The Orcs, Elves, and Humans of Chantra will be moving to a new home on October 3rd, when Korean publisher Webzen takes over the operation of the game in North America and Europe. According to an email notice sent out to players, Codemasters was unable to come to a renewal agreement with Korean ArchLord developer NHN, resulting in a rather speedy transition between the two companies. Codies shuts things down on the 1st of October, and Webzen looks to have things up and running two days later. That trick never works, but we've got our fingers crossed.

According to the ArchLord transition FAQ posted at Codemasters' website, Webzen will be receiving all of the character data for the game, so players shouldn't have to worry about losing their hard-earned gear or experience. As a precaution, Codemasters has shut down new account generation and the game's cash store to ensure that there are no outstanding issues come October 1st.

North American and European players are urged to visit Webzen's ArchLord page for more information.

Thanks to Paul for passing this info along!

It's player versus player on a massive scale in Huxley, the game we first heard about ages ago when it was initially announced for the Xbox 360 and PC. As of this moment it's a PC only game, and U.S. distributor NHN USA and Fileplanet have teamed up to provide closed beta access for everyone with a Fileplanet account. You don't even have to be a paying subscriber. If you can log in to Fileplanet, you're in.

Of course you still have to sign up for a free account at NHN's ijji.com to play, and the beta is only open to those in the U.S. and Canada, but those are simple qualifications...for those living in the U.S. and Canada.

Fileplanet Huxley Beta [Fileplanet via Massively]

This just in - you will be surprised to hear that the MMO/FPS game has had its Western PC release pushed back until "the first half of 2009". The promised Xbox 360 version is even deeper in the mire - no release date has yet been suggested.

The massively multiplayer shooter is loosely (extremely, I would have though) based on the visionary SciFi novel "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. The challenge now for Webzen is to ensure a release date before the novel's fictional timeline begins in 2540 AD. Not long now, chaps!

No Huxley US launch in 2008 [Big Download]

“Huxley is one of the most anticipated online games currently in development, and we are very excited to bring the triple-A title to Western audiences,” said Whon Namkoong, CEO, NHN USA, Inc. “Huxley provides gamers with a unique and compelling experience that gamers everywhere are sure to enjoy.”

Is Huxley still one of the most anticipated online games currently in development? There was a time when I couldn't mention online games without Huxley coming up, but now? Meh. Anyone out there still all tingly for some MMOFPS action?

NHN USA To Bring Much Anticipated Next-Gen MMO Shooter Huxley to North America
Leading Game Portal ijji.com, with More Than Six Million Users, to Host Breakthrough Online Game in Late 2008

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—It’s official. NHN USA, a subsidiary of NHN (KOSDAQ:035420), the largest Korean Internet company, announced today that it has secured the rights to publish the long-awaited Huxley in North America and Western Europe. Bringing online gamers everywhere closer to the chance to exercise their fragging skills against thousands of other players in the first twitch-action massively multiplayer online first-person shooting (FPS) game Huxley, the online shooter is slated to arrive on the PC via ijji.com in late 2008.

“Huxley is one of the most anticipated online games currently in development, and we are very excited to bring the triple-A title to Western audiences,” said Whon Namkoong, CEO, NHN USA, Inc. “Huxley provides gamers with a unique and compelling experience that gamers everywhere are sure to enjoy. The revolutionary online shooter is a welcome addition to ijji.com, the site where millions of fans can play it later this year.”

Huxley is the first massively multiplayer online (MMO) game to combine the twitch-based fast-action gameplay of a first person shooter (FPS) with the cerebral character development of an MMO to deliver an intense and exciting online entertainment experience of a complete MMOFPS. Players will be drawn into the genre-bending game play, riveting cinematic graphics and intricate setting of Huxley, where they will choose between two races, Sapiens or Alternatives and struggle to obtain a powerful energy source while fighting endless battles against the Hybrids, a mysterious third group born of the two races.

Developed by Webzen, Huxley will be released by NHN USA for the PC and be available to play on the publisher’s renowned gaming portal ijji.com in late 2008. More information will be available shortly at www.ijji.com.

Realtime Worlds now holds distribution rights to APB—which, by the way, looked nothing short of fabulous at GDC—which founder David Jones says "can ensure that gamers around the globe experience the revolutionary gameplay we envisioned." Jones also spoke of a "having direct, personal relationships with our players" due to the change. We can only presume that the Scottish method of microtransacting does not necessarily jibe with the Korean style, but we hope that whatever the reason, the game will be better for it. Press release follows.

Realtime Worlds Regains Global Distribution Rights to Ground-Breaking Online Game APB Following Second Round Funding

BOULDER, Colo. & DUNDEE, Scotland—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Realtime Worlds, Inc., a leading independent video game developer, today announced that it has regained the global distribution rights to All Points Bulletin (APB), the highly-anticipated urban-themed massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) under development in the company's Dundee studio. The move follows Realtime Worlds' recent US$50 million second round funding and provides the company with the independence to push creative boundaries in the development of the game and to take a more active role in managing APB's global distribution strategy.

"Owning the distribution rights to APB marks a major milestone in Realtime Worlds' evolution into a premier online entertainment company," said David Jones, founder and CEO, Realtime Worlds. "By controlling the rights to APB we can ensure that gamers around the globe experience the revolutionary gameplay we envisioned when we first began creating the property. We are excited about the prospect of having direct, personal relationships with our players, which is a dream come true for many development studios."

APB is an original MMOG for the PC platform featuring an immersive urban-based community where players choose between playing the criminals or those out to catch the criminals. Players will carry out or thwart opposed crimes and build up areas of the city they control, all with unprecedented levels of character and vehicle customization.

Realtime Worlds regained the global distribution rights to APB from leading Korean online entertainment company Webzen, Inc., which originally partnered with Realtime Worlds in 2005.

About Realtime Worlds

Founded in 2002 by CEO and Creative Director David Jones alongside gaming industry veterans Ian Hetherington and Tony Harman, Realtime Worlds is one of the largest and most successful independent game developers in the world. With an exceptionally talented staff of more than 200, the company's experienced teams have a tremendous history of creating some of the world's bestselling video games, including the global hit franchises "Lemmings" and "Grand Theft Auto."

In an exclusive partnership with Microsoft Game Studios, Realtime Worlds launched its first title, Crackdown, on Xbox 360 in early 2007. The debut game broke records for demo downloads, sold approximately 1.4 million copies, and won multiple awards including prestigious BAFTA and Develop Industry Excellence awards.

With corporate headquarters in Boulder, Colo. and a development studio in Dundee, Scotland, Realtime Worlds is currently working on All Points Bulletin, a massively multiplayer online game in the urban action genre.

For more information on Realtime Worlds, visit www.realtimeworlds.com

"With Huxley's many innovative elements, gamers are in for a totally different experience," said Nam-Ju Kim, chief executive officer of Webzen, Inc. "Huxley is sure to challenge the existing genres with a new look and feel in multiple platforms. We're extremely confident that this title will set a new standard in MMOFPS."

WEBZEN ANNOUNCES THE FIRST CLOSED BETA TEST FOR HUXLEY™ TO START ON SEPTEMBER 13

August 22, 2007 - Global online entertainment company WEBZEN Inc. (www.webzen.com) announced today the dates of the much-anticipated first closed beta test for Huxley™, the next-generation MMOFPS. The closed beta test will start on September 13.

One of the year's most anticipated titles, Huxley is the cutting-edge, next-generation MMOFPS, fusing traditional FPS with the quest and character growth system of the MMORPG. Being developed as a truly global game title for Webzen, Huxley has already been creating a sensation in the markets in Europe and North America with rave reviews and a $35 million deal with a Chinese publisher.

After 999 lucky beta testers are selected from the official Huxley website beginning on August 28, the closed beta test will take place from September 13 for five days. For the first time ever, testers will get a chance to experience the city where the characters live and breath. They will also be treated to a variety of play modes such as team death match and radar domination, as well as the core systems, including the quest, not seen before in standard FPS games.

"With Huxley's many innovative elements, gamers are in for a totally different experience," said Nam-Ju Kim, chief executive officer of Webzen, Inc. "Huxley is sure to challenge the existing genres with a new look and feel in multiple platforms. We're extremely confident that this title will set a new standard in MMOFPS."

Meanwhile, Webzen has been conducting various testing and external network tests with a focus group since June to better gauge gamer preferences and evaluate the game's stability. The first closed beta test is a part of a planned series of user tests.

Cindy Armstrong, Webzen America's CEO, says the company's ready to distinguish itself from other MMO companies like NCSoft or Blizzard. How? Console software. The Korean-based Webzen is responsible for the popular MMORPG Mu Online, but the company with dive feet first into the Xbox 360 with Huxley.

"NCSoft is a great company," says Armstrong. "In the United States, they have done a great job of bringing some new and innovated MMOGs to market , and the U.S. market is not an easy one to penetrate," she continued. "However, we also have a clear strategy for bringing MMOGs to consoles. As far as we know, not many other online games publishers have games in development for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. We think this gives us a real advantage over our competitors."

But will console and online gamers bite?

Full Story Here [The Korea Times]

Red 5 Studios Signs a Deal with Webzen [Red 5 Studios]