Following up on the story below, Turbine Entertainment officially unveils plans for a new Asheron's Call expansion, to be the company's first self-published title. Here's the deal:

TURBINE GREEN LIGHTS NEW ASHERON’S CALL® EXPANSION PROJECT

Expansion Pack Is Company’s First Self-Published Video Game

WESTWOOD, Mass. – April 13, 2004 –Turbine Entertainment Software Corp. today announced that fans of the award-winning 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game Asheron’s Call® (AC) will receive a new expansion pack in early 2005. Available for the PC, the latest AC installment will offer fresh challenges to experienced players while welcoming new gamers to the colorful and exciting fantasy world of Dereth.

“When Turbine first created Asheron’s Call we knew the game would be exciting, but we couldn’t have imagined it would have such an overwhelming following of dedicated players,” said Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO, Turbine Entertainment Software. “This expansion is a great way to say ‘thank you’ to all of the AC1 players. They are the reason that AC will remain a popular and exciting online role playing game for a long time to come.”

The Asheron’s Call expansion pack is the first video game completely self-published by Turbine Entertainment Software. In addition, this project will be the first title developed in the company’s new West Coast Studio located in Santa Monica, Calif. The expansion pack will be the third installment in the original AC series, following the launch of Asheron’s Call in 1999 and the Asheron’s Call: Dark Majesty® expansion published in 2001.

Key Expansion Pack Features

    · Graphics Upgrade: A substantial upgrade of Turbine’s first generation graphics engine, the Turbine Engine®, which serves as the backbone to Asheron’s Call. The upgrade is expected to more than double the original texture size, resulting in more detailed characters, creatures and landscapes. Most importantly, the improvements won’t significantly impact performance, allowing robust play even on lower-end machines.

    · New Elder Game: An intricate and involved strategic resource and land control system that will allow players to compete for enhanced skills and town ownership. Through a new land-raid system, players will also be able to invade other allegiance’s territory and attempt to plunder the opposition’s resources, skills and abilities.

In addition to these key features, there will be many new stories, monsters and hours of additional game play. Turbine also plans to support the expansion’s release with a new story arc promoted through in-game episodic content. This approach will further build upon the massive amounts of existing content by providing new and exciting story lines and adventures. Turbine will release further details about the new chapter – such as the complete feature set – in future announcements. Additional information about the Asheron’s Call video games can be found online at http://ac.turbinegames.com.