Following the news about Hellgate: Tokyo, here’s something more surprising about Flagship Studios’ (“From the creators of the Diablo series!”) misbegotten premiere title; it’s returning to the US market in a free-to-play format.
Hellgate: London was launched by Flagship Studios in 2007, but failed to make a mark and the game’s servers were closed down indefinitely in Europe and NA. Namco Bandai, who obtained the rights to the game after Flagship’s demise, stated at the time that there were no plans to re-open the game in the west, although HanbitSoft would be continuing the game in Korea.
Since that time, HanbitSoft has rebuilt and expanded the existing game, and the next instalment, Hellgate: Resurrection, was announced last month.
It now looks like players in the west will be getting back in on the Hellgate action later this year, following the recent announcement. The company plans to re-launch the game in China, Taiwan, South East Asia, followed by Europe, NA and Japan.
More information here: http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/hellgate-tokyo-teaser-trailer