EA Co-Publishes Hellgate: London, Unveils Hun...

EA Co-Publishes Hellgate: London, Unveils Hunter Faction

When the folks from Flagship Studios, headed by Bill Roper, left Blizzard and started to work on a new Action-RPG, many people were wondering which publisher would be the first to sign their mystery project. And I think that just as many were surprised when the console-centric Namco was announced in 2004 as the publisher for Hellgate: London... Time passed, Namco became Namco Bandai in 2005, and this year - in fact, this week, a new faction joined the Hellgate syndicate. Both virtually and literally.

The first announcement reveals that Electronic Arts entered an agreement with Namco Bandai, that will see the two companies co-publishing Hellgate: London in Europe and North America. The general terms of the deal are as follows:

"As part of the agreement, EA will handle marketing, sales and distribution of the game, while Namco Bandai will continue to work with Flagship Studios on the development of the game and numerous ancillary partnerships including novels, toys, manga, comics and more. The new agreement does not affect Flagship Studio's granting of rights to Namco Bandai to publish future Hellgate: London products."

At the same time, EA and Flagship have also unveiled the Hunter faction from Hellgate: London. This is the third playable character class revealed so far, following the previously announced Templar and Cabalist classes, and offering gamers freedom and flexibility as they take up arms against the demon hordes.

"Since the announcement of Hellgate: London we've had a lot of requests for a faction of characters that place an emphasis on player skill through mid-to-long ranged-weapon attacks", said Bill Roper, CEO and co-founder of Flagship Studios. "By removing auto-aiming and target-locking, the Hunter has been designed to provide a game play experience which will appeal directly to FPS players."

Hunters are highly-trained ex-military operatives and members of secret government agencies who are most comfortable clinging to the shadows and dealing with threats in their own deadly ways. But after the Demon invasion, these rogues switched their crosshairs from human foes to the monsters now threatening their world, utilizing hyper-advanced weaponry that mixes new technologies and theoretical science to stay a few steps ahead of the Cabalists and the Templar.

The archetype of the Hunter is obscure, cloaked in mystery and subterfuge. In one way he is the Assassin, the Ninja, the knife in the dark. In other ways, he is the Ronin, a highly-trained warrior with no master. More, he is the Destroyer, a force of blazing gunfire and deadly accuracy that lays waste to any foe that stands in his way.

Last we heard, Hellgate: London will be out in early 2007.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)