The Chronicles of Spellborn website has announced that they are very close to a deal with a "Major MMO publisher" that will see the game distributed in North America.

When we originally posted this story we erroneously reported that they were in talks with a publisher that would distribute the game in Europe and the US.  In reality The Chronicles of Spellborn allready has distributors for many European and Asian Countries.

Berlin, 10th of April 2008: After a first review of the beta tests of The Chronicles of Spellborn, which began at the beginning of March, the Dutch developers have decided to make a revision to the server infrastructure. At this time, the game-play mechanics and graphics of the game client have already matched the high demand for quality. These have been mostly completed and will now be thoroughly optimized and polished. In reworking the tools and the network code, Spellborn NV now wants to ensure that the flow and performance of gameplay live up to the general expectations. At the same time, the developer will lay the foundation to allow for quick expansion of the game, with new content and updates, once it is released.

Meanwhile, Frogster Interactive has found a renowned MMOG publisher to be a potential partner for the release of Spellborn in the USA and has already signed a letter of intent. For a successful market introduction, the potential licensor will require a lead time of six months at least. As a consequence, both Frogster and the developers of Spellborn NV have decided to initiate the revision of the server architecture and to use this time to prepare for a coordinated worldwide release of the game. Considering the new strategy, Frogster assumes a launch of The Chronicles of Spellborn in autumn 2008. Nevertheless, the developer will continue the current closed beta tests for the time being. Just yesterday, Spellborn NV has expanded the circle of accredited testers by one hundred committed members of the community to balance and optimize the gameplay even more.

What lies hidden, must be found
With The Chronicles of Spellborn players enter into an impressive online scenario with scenic landscapes, majestic cities and the remnants of an ancient civilization. Alone or with a party of allies, PC adventurers step into a huge fantasy realm consisting of varied shard worlds floating in the magic Deadspell Storm. Those who want to prevail in the staged combats of The Chronicles of Spellborn need to apply their mighty arsenal of spells, melee and ranged attacks skillfully. Battles with bloodthirsty creatures, hostile peoples and human opponents in PvP battles are waiting. An innovative and tactically challenging combat system with shooter-like controls and rotating skill deck provides a fresh breath of air for the dusty MMORPG genre. Thanks to the largely extended Unreal Engine 2.5 The Chronicles of Spellborn boasts stunning 3D graphics, spectacular effects and countless elaborate details. Depending on the current closed beta test, the game will be published in Autumn of 2008. More information, images and videos can be found on

More TCoS here.

Glad they found a publisher (maybe).  I'll be checking it out when it's released for sure.

Looks like AoC is going to have the new MMO market all to itself for a few months.  That's got to be good news for Funcom.

** Woot!  Just realized this in my 1000th post.  Man, I have no life... LoL

I just want TCoS to be released, so im happy they aim for Autumn 2008 with a publisher. But i dont see what they should do with a publisher today....its fricking 2008. Just let us dl it from a homesite.

I dont seem to have life either, 1700+ posts : (

Wonder if it's SOE Platform Publishing ( ' :<

Just yesterday, Spellborn NV has expanded the circle of accredited testers by one hundred committed members of the community to balance and optimize the gameplay even more.

I am not too hip on this one right now..i hope they make some headway...and hopefully NOT release when WoTLK or WAR comes out...or die by the flames..

Cheers

Actually I spoke with the publisher that is in talks.  Should be an announcement of a publishing deal soon :)

They have over 1000 testing the game.

Looks like TCoS is making a run at the big boys, WoW, WAR, as TCoS is now releasing in their time-frame.

With six more months to polish, six months to advertise, it should be a tough six months to wait for the game.

This is great news. I hope that with this extra time they have a smooth and relatively error free release.

I have also read about beta testing from TCoS forums and it sounds like they are asking the beta testers to do specific things and all be in a specific area at the same time to test for lag and server load stuff. It makes me wonder how much "freeplay" they give the beta testers. That might be what they are looking for in a tester, the ability to follow directions and stay quiet. So my two cents is they are using the beta test phase much to the advantage of building a better game at release. I am sure this would impress a publisher after seeing a product working well but not quite there yet.

I think a lot of TCoS fans are looking for three wishes. Published. Released. and a speedy next 6 months or so to Play.

This is excellent news. I'm glad they are having talks with somebody right now for a US dist. I had written this game off because they did not have a US dist and there wasn't going to be a software download dist. option. Hell, I'd even play if it was SOE that gets the final deal (although I think that's pretty unlikely).

I do wish any decent MMO success but TCoS is up against AoC and War and others of course.The market seems a bit crowded for many very similar games.

Look forward to the reviews - I will from now on resist desires to beta test.

ATB

Chrim