redbana-usa posts

The shut down of Flagship Studios over a year also caused their in-development free MMO Mythos to be sold off to Korean publisher Habitsoft. At the time it looked unlikely that the publisher would allow Mythos to be accessed by US players. That changed today with the announcement that the game's new developer, Redbana USA, is prepping the game for a US launch.

The announcement today also comes with the launch of the new US-based Mythos web site which at the moment features a YouTube teaser video with gameplay footage. At the end of the video it shows a "2010" release date (you can check out the video after the jump). At the moment the game is in closed beta in Korea but there's no word on when that will happen for the US release. In the meantime you can check out a brief Q&A on the game's relaunch at our sister site Massively.

As a reminder, Mythos' original development team at Flagship Studios are not in charge of this new version; they have since gotten back together as Runic Games. They have already released the successful single player action-RPG Torchlight with an MMO based on that game now in the works.

If you live in Asia, you will soon be able to access the latest online update for Hellgate London. The multiplayer action-RPG, first created by the now shut down Flagship Studios, has some new life thanks to Korean based HanbitSoft and the game's new developer, the San Fransisco based Redbana USA.

A new 1.5 patch for the game will be released in the near future which is supposed to improve the games Player Vs Player features. But in a new press release issued this morning, HanbitSoft repeated what has been reported before; US and European players can't sign onto their servers to play the game. The press release states, "We cannot open up the server in Korea to allow access by US and European players as this will constitute infringing upon Namco Bandai's publishing rights in the US and Europe." Namco Bandai shut down those servers earlier this year and so far the publisher doesn't seem interested in giving up their territorial rights to HanbitSoft.

[via email press release]

As promised a few months ago, Namco Bandai has officially shut down the multiplayer servers for Hellgate London. The action-RPG from the now disbanded Flagship Studios. The game's official web site is also shut down. Fan site Hellforge reports on the game's final online moments this past weekend as players gathered to play the title for the final time.

Again, Namco Bandai has insisted it has the US and European rights to the game and that there will be no revival in those territories. However, Korean-based HanbitSoft has insisted it owns the Hellgate London IP and plans to relaunch the game globally as a free-to-play title. We will see if that happens and if so if players in the US and Europe will be allowed access.

[Via Blue's News]

The specter of Hellgate London continues to haunt us. The multiplayer-oriented action-RPG launched in October 2007 via Flagship Studios but the game was released it such a buggy state that few people wanted to buy it. In the summer of 2008 Flagship shut down its operations and the game's publisher Namco Bandai announced that the online servers would be shut down on after Jan. 31 (that's this Saturday, by the way).

But now Gamasutra reports that Korean based HanbitSoft will launch global servers to keep the game alive as a free-to-play game. Previously reports were that a new US based developer, Redbana USA, was working on new content for Hellgate London for HanbitSoft's Korean audience but that apparently has been expanded to include the entire world. HanbitSoft claims it bought the worldwide Hellgate London rights along with its source code and engine from the failed Flagship Studios. However, Namco Bandai has stated in the past it owns the Hellgate London publishing rights for North America and Europe. It remains to be seen if Namco Bandai will fight HanbitSoft if HanbitSoft allows US users to sign into their Hellgate London servers.

A few weeks ago Hellgate London publisher Namco Bandai announced that they would shut down the online servers for the action-RPG after Jan. 31. However, a note on the Korean Hellgate London web site served to fuel speculation that the game from the now defunct developer Flagship Studios would be revived under a new owner, HabitSoft, and a new developer, Redbana USA.

While that may be true in HabitSoft's home country of Korea, a note on the official Hellgate London US message boards from Namco Bandai has put the brakes that any revival of the game would be here. The note states, "People are speculating and I don't want anyone shocked on January 31, 2009 when the server and forums shut down and there is nothing. Let me explain things a bit to see if it clears up any issues for you. Hanbit owns the IP and rights to publish anywhere other then the US and EU and I think the other territory is Japan. NAMCO owns the rights to publish in the US and EU."

[Via Gamasutra]

Last week it seemed that Hellgate London, at least for its US customers, was pretty much doomed. The developer, Flagship Studios, had already shut down, and last week the game's co-publisher Namco Bandai announced that the multiplayer servers for the action-RPG would be shut down after Jan. 31.

But wait! All is not lost. A fan site called Hellforge spotted a note on the Korean Hellgate London web site which run by the game's Korean publisher HanbitSoft. We've reproduced part of that note that hints that the game could have a life beyond Jan. 31. The note comes from Redbana USA, a new San Francisco developer that seems to have been established in the last couple of months. Our quick check of our sources turned up word that some former Flagship team members are among its employees. While its not definitive, it certainly sounds hopeful.

[Via Blue's News]