Cryptic Studios has officially announced its new Neverwinter PC RPG, simply called “Neverwinter”. But is it the long-awaited, much rumored MMO based on the beloved franchise? Nope, but it will feature co-op play. The studio says it's been working with Dungeons & Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast and author R.A. Salvatore on the fiction and its authenticity.
Not much has been revealed about the story so far, though the press release hints at the kind of disaster only you can avert by caving in a ton of skulls: “Once a bustling location, Neverwinter has faced a great many disasters in the past hundred years. Rule of the city remains unclear following the unfortunate demise of the last Lord of Neverwinter and factions still battle for dominance after the all-consuming Spellplague took a high toll on the population. Even Neverwinter’s dead are beginning to rise from their graves and march upon the city they once called home.”
The Neverwinter PC RPG will be part of a ‘multi-platform’ event. So in addition to the release of the actual game; we can also look forward to a book trilogy, also penned by R.A. Salvatore, leading up to the events of the game. The first book in the trilogy, a prequel novel titled Gauntlgrym, will arrive Oct 5 of this year. Furthermore, Wizards of the Coast will offer up a new table-top RPG – though, considering the Neverwinter videogame series is itself an extension of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, we’re going to guess it’ll be very D&D like, if not simply a Neverwinter-focused D&D quest pack.
Above: No screens of Neverwinter have been released, so just imagine this Neverwinter Nights 2 shot with better-looking everything
"We're beyond thrilled to develop a brand new version of Neverwinter. It's been years since the original became a gaming icon and we're honored to work with such a great franchise," said Cryptic COO Jack Emmert.
Neverwinter will be released Q4, 2011. And for those do-it-yourselfers out there, a toolset for user-created content is also promised. If it’s half as robust and Neverwinter Nights 2’s content creation engine, Neverwinter may keep you running clear through ‘2012.
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