jagex posts

Transformers fans will be able to play an all new online game based on the "cars into robots" property. Today Hasbro announced that the Transformers franchise would be adapted into a new online game created by Jagex, the makers of the hugely popular fantasy browser-based MMO Runescape.

Details are scarce but the game is slated to launch sometime in 2012 for North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. In the press release Jagex' CEO Mark Gerhard states that the developer "will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game." Last August it was announced that NetDragon would create a Transformers-based MMO for Asian markets.

The development team behind the hugely successful browser based MMO Runescape have announced plans for its second major MMO game project. UK-based Jagex has officially announced Stellar Dawn, a sci-fi themed game that will launch sometime in 2011.

The game's official web site has launched with some concept artwork from the game (one of which you can see above). Little info on Stellar Dawn has been revealed other than, like Runescape, it will be a browser-based MMO playable on most PC amd Macs. Much of the game will also be free to play. The web site is currently taking applications for a closed beta test of the game but there's no word on when the test will begin.

Blizzard has BlizzCon, id Software has QuakeCon, Sony Online has Fan Faire, NCsoft has HeroCon and CCP has EVE Fanfest. All of these "official" fan events for various games are about to be joined be a new one. Developer Jagex has just announced they will hold the first annual RuneFest in 2010, celebrating their hugely popular browser-based fantasy MMO RuneScape.

Details on the first RuneFest are still scarce but it will be held somewhere in London. UK on August 28. Tickets have yet to go on sale but you can go to the official RuneFest web site and registered to be informed when they will be available. Jagex promises that the event will have " a range of events and activities" including events where the developers can meet with the game's fans.

[Via Blue's News]

The browser-based fantasy MMO Runescape continues to get millions of people playing it so it stands to reason that there might be some underhanded folks out there who might want to take control of other people's accounts for that game. Over the holiday weekend, the game's developer/publisher Jagex announced that a person who allegedly tried to do just that was arrested in the UK.

In its press release, Jagex said that an unnamed 23 year old was arrested on November 24 in the UK city of Avon & Somerset by the local Police Central e-crime Unit. Jagex worked with the police to find evidence that the person allegedly had hacked into "a number of RuneScape gaming accounts". Jagex said that more investigations of this type are underway in the US with the assistance of the FBI.

UK-based Jagex, creators of the popular broswer-based fantasy MMO RuneScape, has decided to cancel their plans for MechScape, their next major browser-based MMO. According to Gamesindustry.biz the decision came in a late stage of the game's development with the company's CEO Mark Gerhard saying it will cost Jagex " . . . tens of millions of pounds. Maybe more." He admitted that the continued success of RuneScape helped make their move to cancel MechScape easier.

However the final product was not turning out as Jagex had hoped with Gerhard stating, "The previous game wasn't a game that we want to play." They are now working on a new secret game project that will use the game engine that was being developed for MechScape. It's current release date is sometime in 2010.

It looks like a number of MMO game publishers are being hit with lawsuits from a company that claims they are all violating patent agreements. Boston.com reports that their local MMO company Turbine along with Sony, Activision Blizzard, NCsoft and Jagex have all been hit with such lawsuits by Paltalk Holdings.

Paltalk owns the rights to two patents that describe technology for sharing data with lots of connected computers. They have already settled a case with Microsoft who Paltalk accused of using their patents in the multiplayer potion of Microsoft's Halo series. So far there's been no reaction yet from any of the MMO publishers named in the lawsuit.

It's currently one of the most popular online PC MMO games but it doesn't get as much media attention as World of Warcraft. It's RuneScape, the browser based title from developer/publisher Jagex that has five million active players. In 2008 a graphically improved version of the game, RuneScape HD, was launched and Jagex states in a new press release today that the majority of RuneScape players have moved onto the updated version.

Today during GDC, Jagex has announced plans to launch an all new MMO title for release sometime later this year. The code name of the game is MechScape but other than that no other details of the game have been announced. Jagex claims the new title "will appeal to both existing RuneScape players and an entirely new audience of online gamers."

Jagex Software, developer of titles such as FunOrb and the popular RuneScape MMO, have confirmed the development of RuneScape: High Detail with IGN. Previously known as RuneScape III, RuneScape: HD will officially debut at this year's E3 and will boast a new look that has been in development for quite some time, according to Jagex.

Not much else is known as of this writing, though E3 will obviously bring more concrete details.

Much has been made on the companies that won't be attending E3 this year (most notably the upcoming Activision Blizzard and NCsoft) but there are a number of new publishers that will be attending the show for the first time. At the official (password protected) E3 web site a new exhibitor just showed up on the list. It's the UK based Jagex, best known for their hugely popular web-based fantasy MMO Runescape.

There's no word on what the company will be showing at the show but if Jagex is coming across the pond to show off something to the media attending E3 it might be pretty major. Another new addition to the E3 list is G4 Media which likely means that the cable TV network will once again be covering E3 for its viewers.