Acclaim CEO Howard Marks has updated fans of The Chronicles of Spellborn with some details on the status of the re-development of the game, which was originally announced back in June of '09.

Below is an excerpt from the post made to the official Spellborn forums:

The rumors are true! Spellborn Version Two is on the way. The developer has released the new version in Japan, and based on the success of that launch and the fine tuning of the game, we will keep you informed as to when we shall launch the English version of the game. When we do, we will be inviting registered players of the old version, who have valid email addresses on file, to become our beta players.

Not much, but a sign of life is better than nothing! In the meantime, the free-to-play version of The Chronicles of Spellborn is still up and running.

Are you looking forward to Spellborn V. 2.0? Let us know in the comments below!

Are you looking forward to Spellborn V. 2.0? Let us know in the comments below!

No. No we aren't.

If it was run by any other company then i would be excited................not a fan of Acclaim

Originally posted by lawnmowerman

Are you looking forward to Spellborn V. 2.0? Let us know in the comments below!

No. No we aren't.

Lol.

We're really not though.

Spellborn is a great concept killed by an inept developer and publishing team.

I loved the ideas floating around in the game, but it was also very unfinished.  if its just the same game with an item mall to make things inconvenient, it wont fly... and the servers will shut down for good.

Originally posted by MikeB

Are you looking forward to Spellborn V. 2.0? Let us know in the comments below!

If it is run by Acclaim no, I am not interested.

Acclaim no thx.

 The game had a beautiful atmosphere and great ideas. It really felt like playing in a story. And the graphics, although not spectacular, were very immersive. All it needed was more content and some meaningful PvP. But it'll just be an item-mall type of game now, so R.I.P. Spellborn. No, not excited at all.

Not really

What's changing in 2.0? I personally didn't really like the original

 i could be excited if they released a polished product this time. i thought the combat system was interesting. but like many other things in the game, it lacked fluidity that really turned me off.

Originally posted by unreal

 The game had a beautiful atmosphere and great ideas. It really felt like playing in a story. And the graphics, although not spectacular, were very immersive. All it needed was more content and some meaningful PvP. But it'll just be an item-mall type of game now, so R.I.P. Spellborn. No, not excited at all.

I'm thinking you were the only other person who's posted in this thread that actually played the game.

I kind of liked Spellborn. I really appreciated the Q and A sessions that the developers did with the players. They were genuinely interested in player feedback, which is pretty damn rare these days.

It will be a shame if "version 2" is just the free to play game with an item mall. 

I don't think the game has the potential to be a commercial success, but as far as fun and immersion are concerned, the game did so many things right.

I will definitely give "version 2" a spin.

Originally posted by Kryogenic

I'm thinking you were the only other person who's posted in this thread that actually played the game.

I kind of liked Spellborn. I really appreciated the Q and A sessions that the developers did with the players. They were genuinely interested in player feedback, which is pretty damn rare these days.

It will be a shame if "version 2" is just the free to play game with an item mall. 

I don't think the game has the potential to be a commercial success, but as far as fun and immersion are concerned, the game did so many things right.

I will definitely give "version 2" a spin.

You'd be wrong.  Spellborn was a fantastic world, IMHO.  In fact one of the better MMO worlds I have experienced in years.  But the game itself was just missing essential things that make an MMO.   Things like:  reasons for guilds to exist and compete, housing, extensive player crafting, social outlets..... options!

In the end you were left with a beautifully designed and well functioning single player fighting adventure, reminiscent of Quest for Glory or the old Prince of Persia PC games.   But that does not make an MMO.   And adding an item mall to it only makes it inconvenient to play.

I absolutely enjoyed it at the time. Not enough to go back for seconds though.

I actually am somewhat interested in what has changed with the redevelopment. Spellborn is a game that I watched for a long time while it was in development, and played on release. But, it just didn't click with me and I never did subscribe, nor did I play when it went F2P. I do think it has potential though, and am curious to see what all has changed. Count me in to at least read about it ;)
 

I played TCoS during Beta and the NA Launch. A breath of fresh air. Great potential. But like others have said poor publishing choices doomed the game. Seeing Acclaim is behind 2.0 I have no desire what so ever to take another look at it. It's too bad too since TCoS was actually fun to play.

Personally haven't been impressed with Acclaim's handling of item malls in the past...that being said, TcoS might surprise me, so i'll wait and see.

If we've learned anything from DDO's venture to the F2P side of the market, it's that if your game has enough polish on the game mechanics side than you'll be successful.  One of the worst P2P games suddenly became outrageously well-received and successful in the F2P market, and there are plenty of reasons for this.

1. Standards are lower on the F2P side.

F2P players are used to generic asian-themed "Korean-Grinders" with little to no storyline, over-powered cash shops, and terrible communties.  When something like RoM or Allods get's announced, F2p players go "YAY!" simply because they can finally play games akin to what has been in the P2P scene for years.

2.  F2P players love twitch based systems

If I've learned anything from my time on various forums, it's that Next-Gen Twitch-Based Korean MMOs are incredibly anticipated by the F2P community.  Dragon Nest, Blade and Soul, Mabinogi Heroes, Rusty Hearts, etc.  And from what I've seen/played of DDO, it's somewhat twitch based.

3.  A well known IP is unheard of in F2P

Allods online is the second F2P game I know of to release in America from an IP that people actually kinda know..."Rage of Mages".  The first is DDO.  Well known IP's are helping to breathe life into the F2P market right now, and will hopefully continue.

TCoS will definitely be able to take advantage of 1 and 2.  What you may not realize is that no matter how many of you think TCoS sucks, it is still noticeably higher quality than most F2P games, which will help it rise in the market.

I really liked the game and I'm looking forward to playing it again :) I loved the immersion it had.

 I am only interested in 2.0 if it fixes the lag and has some sort of content update/graphics upgrade.

Spellborn was a great game. Acclaim is a terrible publisher.

I didn't like the combat wheel.  Mmos are mostly combat so...