BigWorld Pty officially announces Grandia Online, almost four years to the day since we learned that that title was "patented" by Japanese developer GameArts. This is an MMOG using BigWorld's eponymous BigWorld technology that will be published this summer after open beta testing that's set for next month. The Japanese Grandia Online Website is online, and here's a bit:

Grandia Online is the latest in a series of best selling games dating as far back as the 1997 release of the original Grandia RPG for the Sega Saturn console. The game itself is set within the world presented in the Grandia series, in the "Age of Genesis", before the original Grandia story takes place.

The Grandia Online announcement comes hot on the heels of the recent upgrades to Hokuto no Ken Online Heroes (“Fist of the North Star” Online Heroes), which was also built on BigWorld Technology by GameArts Co., Ltd.