Programming Blog

Super hero-themed MMORPG Champions Online is having its second free-play weekend, after only being released two months ago and having its first free-play weekend one month ago. The upcoming free-play weekend, which will be based around Thanksgiving, will coincide with an in-game content update called ‘Nemesis Confrontation’, and will feature new player costumes and quests.

The developers of the game hope that it will lure new players in, as the new quest kidnaps the player to an intergalactic prison where you have to fight your way out to freedom. However, as good as it may sound and despite a lukewarm launch reception,the folks from Cryptic Studios had several adverting campaigns, like reduced subscription deals, price drops and free-play weekends, which leads one to wonder if the game is actually struggling for subscriptions. But since exact numbers of active subscriptions are rarely released publicly by a MMO developer, and usually only when the game is doing well,  all these are only speculation.

Champions Online faces competition from City of Heroes, Cryptic’s first super hero-themed MMO that is now being run by NCSoft, and a pending DC Universe Online, a game with the popular DC Comics license.

The ‘executive producer’ of Cryptic is Bill Roper, formerly of Blizzard Software and Flagship Studios, who worked on such critically acclaimed games like Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3, but also worked on MMO bust, Hellgate: London.

See: Cryptic Gives Away Another Free Champions Weekend [MMORPG Champions Online to Bring New Player Ccostumes and Quests]

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