Chaos Interactive announces Seldon Crisis, a science fiction MMORPG expected to reach the beta stage next year (a Kickstarter for this should kick off next month). Those familiar with classic sci-fi literature will recognize this term from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, and sure enough they say the game is based on an original story based on the books. This trailer from last month shows off a spacecraft named "Hari Seldon" after the seminal psychohistorian, and here's part of the announcement:

Seldon Crisis is a completely player-driven MMO. The game’s economy, politics and even the infrastructure will be in the hands of the players who are not bound by preset paths and forced linear progression. Players can earn money and increase their character level by crafting and trading goods between the many sectors of the galaxy and its stations, hunting pirates and collecting loot and bounty, or fighting other players for their equipment and cargo.

In Seldon Crisis, players also will discover an extensive variety of missions, such as combat, escort, courier and exploration, with various combinations of each. Factions in each sector – hostile, friendly or neutral – offer work for adventurous captains while the vast depths of space offer hidden missions and uncharted territories to discover.

Seldon Crisis takes full advantage of an immense and beautiful galaxy where thousands of star systems, planets, moons, nebulas, wormholes and asteroid fields are waiting to be explored and exploited, with each sector of the universe offering a unique variety of resources and procedurally generated content.