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So we heard a couple months ago that The Chronicles of Spellborn would be released in North America and the United Kingdom on November 27th, coinciding with the continental European launch. Turns out it's been pushed back -- kinda. The European launch will still commence on the 27th, but the North American closed beta will begin on that day, with the actual, final launch occurring sometime in January.

Sure, we're a bit disappointed, but chances are we'll still get to play the game soon. Acclaim, the game's publisher in the region, went out of its way in the press release it sent us to stress the "Freemium" business model -- a newbie trial area will be available to all players, who can reach level seven before they have to upgrade to a premium subscription at the usual $15/month rate.

The idea of an unlimited free trial area with a level cap isn't fresh -- both Meridian 59 and EverQuest II have done that, but it's not a bad way to sample a game to decide if you want to invest your hard-earned cash in it. Might be worth trying just for Jesper Kyd's soundtrack

Publisher Acclaim Games has finally announced the North American release date of developer Spellborn International's action-oriented MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn. The game will go live in the United States and Canada on the 27th of November -- exactly the same day as the European release. Why Acclaim and European publisher Frogster didn't announce for all regions at once, we're not quite sure!

In the press release we received, Acclaim promised that a North American closed beta will begin soon, and directed would-be players to sign up at the official site. Expect fairly standard MMO gameplay, except for combat, which is a little different. You'll actually have to aim your attacks like you would in a third person shooter game.

Spellborn runs on "Unreal Engine 2.5" and features music by respected video game composer Jesper Kyd, who has contributed scoring to games like Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, and Unreal Tournament 3.

The Chronicles of Spellborn developers Spellborn NV and publisher Frogster have just announced that the eagerly-awaited fantasy MMO will be hit retail release on November 27th, 2008 in Europe. This includes the German, English and French versions of the game. In preparation for this release date, Spellborn has entered into the next phase of closed beta and introduced a large content patch on this last Wednesday, September 17th.

If you've not been following The Chronicles of Spellborn, this would be a good time to see what the game has to offer. Set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting, the game uses the Unreal Engine to create an "authentic living world" for players to enjoy. Check out their forums for information on the beta and more details on the game's upcoming launch.

Mythic's Mark Jacobs wrote a post-announcement update on the Vault Network boards today. The purpose of the post was to clarify some of the details about the release date, pre-orders, and the beta test. Warhammer Online fans should definitely read the post. Most of what he said was clarification about known information, but there were a couple big reveals.

Jacob hopes that the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that prevents current WAR beta testers from publicly discussing their experiences will end next week. He noted that three issues have been preventing the team from taking that step so far, but that progress has been made and resolutions are imminent.

The other big news: folks who pre-ordered the Collector's Edition of the game will soon be invited to participate in the closed beta test. This is probably only a small win for those folks, given the rumors that the open beta is a couple weeks away. Jacobs declined to confirm a date for the open beta, saying that the announcement will come when the game is 100% ready. Not committing is a wise move in light of the problems Age of Conan had in its open beta event.

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Electronic Arts and Mythic Entertainment have announced the official launch date for Warhammer Online: September 18th! That goes for the regions of North America, Europe, and Oceania.

Additionally, game time pricing has been revealed. In North America, a month-to-month subscription will go for the standard $14.99 per month. Three month and six month plans will be available at $41.97 and $77.94, respectively. For Europe, it'll be one month for 12.99€ (£10.31), three months for 35.97€ (£28.55), and six months for 65.94€ (£52.34).

Earlier today, the EA store was updated with an August 23rd date, but that apparently was an error. September 18th is it folks! Get ready for some Realm on Realm action! Check out the full press release behind the jump.

EDIT 3: Feel free to read all the ever-changing drama below for your amusement, but here's the final word right upfront: we've received word from Electronic Arts confirming that the official release date for Warhammer Online is September 18th for the North American, European, and Oceanic markets. Commence rejoicing!

The official EA online store has been updated with a big splash image pitching Warhammer Online to the masses, and the image prominently features a badge that reads: "Coming August 23!" This is not the first time that the EA website has touted a release date; it was only a couple weeks ago that it suggested September 23rd. But this one looks especially promising, seeing as how it's a carefully created image instead of just a text field entry. That's difficult to argue with!

On the other hand, that release date seems unrealistically close. Really, we don't know what to think! If you think this is legit then start your partying, dear readers. Upgrade your computers to meet the minimum specs! Read the official pre-order FAQ and our pre-order guide to find out where you should buy it if you're the type of person who pays extra for collector's editions!

Or you can play it safe and be skeptical; keep your cool and wait to see what happens.

[Thanks, Dean!]

We have a date! Not that kind of date, not the awkward first kind. This is a better date, one where Warhammer Online will be released unto the masses. There have been many 'release dates' since the game went into Beta testing, but this one seems like it might have legs. The preliminary launch date is September 23rd. This release date has been updated on several retail sites, but what lends to its credibility is the official EA site was recently updated with the same date.

The developers acknowledged at E3 2008 that Warhammer Online was pretty much done and that the team is in high-polish mode. The guild beta will also be the last beta phase before the open beta starts. Of course, nothing is official until EA and Mythic Entertainment release an official press release or statement but the pieces are falling into place. Aside from any unforeseen circumstances September 23rd is the day that Warhammer: Age of Reckoning will launch. Delay after delay, no longer. There is no denying that WAR is inevitable, and if you need a heads up on what to expect catch-up on all our exclusive WAR coverage.

[Via Nullword]

After several months of preparation, tons of screenshots, videos and more, Lord of the Rings Online's Book 14 has a set release date. According to the official site, the servers will be down on Tuesday, July 22nd from 6AM - 12PM Eastern time for the latest content update, Book 14: The Ring-forges of Eregion.

If you need a refresher course on Book 14's contents, be sure to check out Massively's exclusive tour from last week, as well as our screenshot gallery. The official patch notes for Book 14 are now live on the LotRO website, to give you a complete run-down of the changes and additions made with this content patch. Keep your eyes on Massively for more information on Book 14 once it goes live. Now, we look ahead towards Mines of Moria!

In part four of our interview with Cheyenne Mountain's studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine, Lyon describes the philosophy behind the game's artistic style, and we learn more about the company's plan for launch and post-live content.

Total Video Games has a new scoop about BioWare's mysterious MMO project. The site reports that Electronic Arts' CEO told investors that his company is funding an MMO in Austin. Of course, that's a no brainer. Since BioWare is owned by EA now, we assumed that much. But he want on to say that the MMO is slated for a release in "the fiscal 2010/2011." That means it's coming between April 2010 and March 2011. It'll be a long wait; how sad! That's not all, though.

There's also the rumor that will not -- cannot die. An alleged disgruntled ex-LucasArts employee (the "ex" bit because of the recent layoffs) e-mailed gaming blog Kotaku saying that one of the projects "in the pipeline" at LucasArts is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3. That alone is no surprise, since LucasArts and BioWare announced a new collaboration months ago, but ... he also said that KotOR 3 is an MMO.

Oh noes! Not that rumor again! Well, anyway, we're sure our very intelligent readers know to take with a kilogram of salt the paraphrased words of an alleged disgruntled former employee. Right?

In a strange case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, Vivendi Games, in its latest financial press release, has stated that "Blizzard Entertainment's second expansion, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2008." While that's exciting, Blizzard themselves have not made any official announcement about the expansion's release date.

Does Vivendi think that no one's reading these things besides their investors and business partners? Can this be true? If not, it's a serious error that shouldn't be on a financial press release. We're waiting for Blizzard's response to see if there's going to be any kind of spin control on this. In the meantime, revel in the impending release!

[Via BigDownload]

At this stage of the game, it really feels like we've culled absolutely every bit of information that Flagship Studios has to give about their upcoming dungeon crawler Mythos. We've already found out about the in-game mall, email system, group content, mini-games, the class differentiation, and what color sherbet Max Schaefer prefers on a particularly hot day.

As it turns out however, there's always more minutiae to mull over! In the latest interview, the Flagship boys are asked about a bunch of things that you likely didn't even think to ask in the first place. What's going to be done about farmers, griefers, and spawn campers? (Something) How awesome will crafting be? (So awesome!) Will there be a bird race? (Like Big Bird? Maybe...) And as to the elusive question of whether and when the open beta is going to start, they still wouldn't give a solid answer. While that disappoints a little bit, at least their release date isn't set in mud, because we all know what that meant.

We came really close to calling this post 'FusionFall (fusion)falls down to (fusion)Fall', but were talked out of it. At any rate, the Hollywood Reporter, writing about the upcoming MMO FusionFall, mentions that the release date has slipped (once again) from Summer of this year to Fall.

Executive Producer Chris Waldron has said "Let's just say that MMOs are very deep, very large games that are ready when they are ready. They take a lot of testing, a lot of polish, and that's what we're going through." It's the best of reasons to slip a release date, but without more clarity on what precisely they're working on polishing, these sorts of announcements just tend to lead to insecurity among the faithful. After all, if it's slipped once, it can slip twice. If it's slipped twice, as it just has, it could slip again. Let's hope for more information to be revealed soon.

There was a big uproar recently on the Warhammer Alliance forums when one astute forumer noted that gaming mega-retailer Gamestop had updated the release date on Warhammer Online to September 2 of this year. Retailers are sometimes privy to information that gamers are not, so every now and again we'll get an update on a release date from them long before publishers are willing to make a peep. We put the emphasis on sometimes, because there are occasions where the date they set is almost completely arbitrary. Or, as is evidently the case with Warhammer Online, as part of some sort of typographical error.

WAR big-wig Mark Jacobs stepped in to assure gamers that this was a mistake on Gamestop's part. Or, according to Jacobs, "Actually what happened was that GameStop got confused between the various EA release dates for September and put another games release date in for WAR. At least that's what they told us when we called them to ask WTF?" WTF, indeed. Jacobs went on to reiterate that while no release date is set in stone, they're sticking to their Q2 guns. As an alternative, he suggested that the release date is "set in mud" instead. While we appreciate his dedication to finding the most appropriate analogy, perhaps he could have thought of one that wasn't quite so... dirty?

Many massively game developers make mistakes during the development of a title; both minor and major. Sometimes they can be financial, while other times they can be launching with technical bugs -- like Anarchy Online back in the day -- and then sometimes it's launching too early. That's why even though it may seem like the most terrible thing in the world to people already tired of waiting, Age of Conan getting pushed back eight weeks to May 20th is probably for the greater good of the game and its future community.

It's not like there's too much competition in terms of new massively games this half of the year. Some people have been speculating that we may end up seeing a fall release for Warhammer Online as opposed to one sometime in the spring. From what we can tell, FunCom is betting on the same prediction and taking more time to make sure players feel like they've purchased a well polished game at launch.

[Thanks, QforQ]