SOE Dates Pirates of the Burning Sea

by: Dan - posted: 12/10/2007 2:36:00 PM

Sony Online Entertainment gave a date today for the release of Pirates of the Burning Sea. The MMO will hit retailers worldwide on January 22, 2008. SOE is hosting a preview party at CES in January, but due to scheduling conflicts, only John may be able to check it out. Check out all the details after the jump:

AHOY MATEYS! PIRATES OF THE BURNING SEA™ SCHEDULED TO SET SAIL WORLDWIDE JANUARY 22

Gamers Experience Action and Adventure on the High Seas Circa 1720 in New Online PC game

SAN DIEGO, CA & SEATTLE, WA – Sony Online Entertainment LLC’s (SOE) Platform Publishing label and Flying Lab Software LLC (FLS) announced Pirates of the Burning Sea™, is scheduled to launch worldwide on January 22, 2008. The hotly anticipated MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game, featuring high seas action and swashbuckling adventure in a bold world of pirates and plunder, is being developed by Seattle-based FLS and published by Platform Publishing.

“We are eagerly anticipating the day we can raise the anchor and set sail with Pirates of the Burning Sea. Our team’s hard work and dedication, and that of our partners at SOE’s Platform Publishing group, is going to result in a fantastic gameplay experience for PC gamers, ” said Russell Williams, CEO, Flying Lab Software. “We are looking forward to bringing this game to fruition, and appreciate the support from our dedicated community in helping us to develop a top-notch game.”

As a captain in Pirates of the Burning Sea, you can choose among the French, Spanish, English, or Pirate nations, playing a naval officer, a freetrader, a privateer, or a pirate as you like. Action–filled ship battles take place at sea, where players can destroy or board and seize their competitors’ ship. On land, a world of swashbuckling adventure awaits full of sword-swinging action. The unique player-driven economy means players can be a captain of industry too, running mines, lumber mills, shipyards and other large-scale operations to produce the tons of goods needed to supply every player in the game with what they need. Through the player-generated content system, players can create their own sail and flag designs to display in game and even model their own ships.

“The vast amount of player-created content and the intense strategy required in Pirates of the Burning Sea sets it apart from any other MMO on the market, ” said D Tim Granich, Sr. Global Brand Manager, Sony Online Entertainment. “Gamers will be donning their captain’s gear and eagerly awaiting their next battle on land or sea.”

The game takes place in the New World circa 1720, a dramatic time of conflict and riches that features action for every play style, from epic ship combat, to piracy, to building economic empires or sword-swinging adventure. With more than one thousand missions per nation, dozens of ports to explore, and the entire Caribbean as their domain, players will find an online experience like no other.

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Pre-orders began on Tuesday, October 23rd. Players that pre-order will receive an invitation to the “Pre-Boarding Party” giving them access to the live game 15 days prior to launch. During this time, players can level up to 20 and keep their characters after launch, with a purchase of the game and paid monthly subscription. Players who pre-order and purchase the game will also receive a “captain’s best friend” – known to any good pirate as a blue and yellow parrot – as well as a powerful weapon suited to their fighting style and an original game soundtrack CD complete with 60 minutes of pirate-themed music.

Pirates of the Burning Sea game features:
· Join one of four nations (Pirate, English, French, or Spanish)
· Every player is the captain of their very own ship in massive naval battles
· Duel other players to control more than 80 conquerable ports in the Caribbean
· Explore the world and make a name for yourself in more than 1, 000 missions
· Economy driven by players, who manufacture and sell all ships and equipment found in the game
· Build, capture, and customize more than 50 historical ships
· Design your own flags and sails
· Choose from 3 different styles of swashbuckling combat – deadly and formal Fencing, flashy, dual-wielding Florentine or rowdy and treacherous Dirty Fighting
· Participate in epic sea battles with up to 25 players on a side

For more information on Pirates of the Burning Sea, log onto www.piratesoftheburningsea.com or the community site at www.burningsea.com

About Platform Publishing™

Based in San Diego, CA, Platform Publishing is a cross-platform publishing, distribution and marketing label, with an exciting library of interactive entertainment products from third-party developers and content providers for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. The label puts talented developers and publishers together with Platform Publishing’s high caliber suite of services and support, including top-notch distribution, marketing and technology resources. Platform Publishing is a DBA of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. For more information, please visit www.platformpublishing.com.

SOE and the SOE logo are registered trademarks and Platform Publishing and the Platform Publishing logo are trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Flying Lab Software

Flying Lab Software, a Seattle-based game development company, is the maker of the critically acclaimed Rails Across America. Their current project is Pirates of the Burning Sea, an innovative massively multiplayer online role-playing game of adventure and naval combat in the age of sail.