It is a sad day in the gaming world when any MMO has to close its doors for good.  Today this is the case with Earthrise from Masthead Studios.  The sandbox sci-fi MMORPG just was not enough of what players expected, and the support there was not enough to keep development going.

Masthead Studios announced today that it will be shutting down the Earthrise servers on 9th of February.

“One year after the launch of the game, we have decided to stop the Earthrise servers. Earthrise was released too early and did not meet the expectations of its fans” said Atanas Atanasov, Director of Masthead Studios. “We did our best to revive the game in 2011, but the time was not enough to keep up with the user requirements. There is a huge interest in high quality open world sandbox MMORPGs, unfortunately the big publishers do not show any interest in the genre. It is unfortunate that low budget companies like ours are trying to bring innovativeness in the already saturated MMO market. I hope that one day an independent studio will be able to release the long anticipated open world sandbox MMO, which everyone is talking about, but no one is making. We tried, but did not succeed. We would like to apologize to those who were disappointed from Earthrise and to thank everyone who supported us during the years.”

The free to play version of Earthrise, which was planned for 2012 may be released only if there is investor or publisher interest.

If and while the official website reamins up, you can view more information HERE.

Bigpoint’s Battlestar Galactica Online just began “space trials” for its new Carriers, the largest and most unique class of ships players can now own in the game. (Players can also “rent” the Pegasus and Basestar by cashing-in Merits, which they earn through gameplay.) Attached please find a screenshot of the Cylon Carrier.

Carriers are a new class of ship in Battlestar Galactica Online. They are support and supply vessels for the fleet that can serve as a mobile outposts for nine Strike ships, a repair and recharge resource for friendly vessels in flight, and a coordinator of tactical offense by calling out enemy targets upon which to fire.

During the testing phase, which is scheduled to last until the end of Feb.,, level 30 or higher players can enter a lottery to pilot the ships on the Kobol (public beta) server. To enter, players must sign-up through the community forum: http://en.board.bigpoint.com/bsgo/sh...d.php?t=416980

Upon successful completion of the space trial period, these ships will become available to all players on all severs. The current requirements to purchase these ships: Level 40 or higher players, 400,000 cubits, 90,000 Merits.

For more information on Battlestar Galactica Online, or to sign up for a free account, visit the official website HERE.

CCP has announced their new versions of the EVE Online site and community site, as well as new videos now available.

From the official announcement:

Today was a big day for the internet presence of EVE Online.

First, our web team deployed two pretty spectacular sites

• The new EVE Online.com site, designed as the perfect destination for those curious about EVE or trying it out
• The new EVE Community portal, forged to fully support the award winning player community of EVE Online

Both are supercharged by what they tell me are ancient "Jovian" secrets, which are more commonly known in this era to be industry leading web development tech.  While there's a wealth of stuff to check out, of particular note are the ship viewer, which showcases a portion of the ships of EVE Online, and the starmap, which pulls in-game data to show exactly how vibrant the EVE Universe truly is.

Second, our video team put together a really stunning introduction video for pilots new to EVE called Pilot Orientation, which shows off some of the beautiful new nebulae and gorgeous ship models and wraps them in a straightforward description of why EVE is "different" and what to expect from the EVE experience.

For more information on EVE Online, visit the official website HERE.

Nexon has announced that Vindictus, the free to play action-RPG, will have two colossal new visitors by the end of February.

Beware of the thunderstruck Lizard

We’ve all heard the urban legend of giant crocodiles lurking in the sewers beneath our streets. In the sewers of Rocheste, however, lies something far more sinister: a house-sized, three mouthed, thunderbolt-throwing composite being, known as Thor. This monster is a force of pure evil manifested in its largest of forms, so prepare yourself for the most strategically advanced and toughest Raid-Boss yet. Team play is the only Key to win against this enormous and threatening beast.

Little big Barbarian

Those wishing to face Thor may wish to utilize a brand new character- Karok; A giant warrior who has ventured to the lands of Colhen and Rocheste from the south. Shrouded in a mysterious past, Karok dwarfs other playable characters by a considerable margin, and although friendly in nature, packs a phenomenal force when he is crossed. His tremendous power allows him to parry bosses, hurtle enemies afar, and cause devastation with one swing of his giant pillar.

To see Thor in all its hideousness and catch a first glimpse of Karok, take a look at following teaser trailer:

For more information on Vindictus, or to sign up for a free account, visit the official website HERE.

Notorious Games are proud to announce the first dedicated "Let's Play" Series for Xsyon.  Saintbob has been a member of the community for over a year, and has produced many tutorial videos to help new players get to grips with the basics of Xsyon.

In his latest instalment, Saintbob takes his viewers on a journey across the Xsyon world, he encounters various obstacles, hostile animals, dangerous mutants and even an invasion of critters.

To check out Saintbobs YouTube video series goto our official Xsyon YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/NotoriousGames

Xsyon: Let's Play - Part 1

Notorious Games encourages its players to create projects like Saintbob and give full permission to record and upload any in-game footage.

Xsyon is an open ended fantasy sandbox MMORPG that evolves with its community. The Prelude is the current, limited first release of the Xsyon virtual world. Players create their own virtual realities as they form tribes, build towns, shape landscapes, share quests and form societies. 

Notorious Games is currently taking orders for Xsyon: Prelude.

Please visit www.xsyon.com for more information and to join us in creating a new world!

The recently-added "Time Dilation" feature, which actually slows down time in highly populated solar systems (akin to "bullet time"), has opened up much larger and more intense battles--many of which are larger than entire server populations of other games.

EVE Online: Time Dilation

For more information on EVE Online, visit the official website HERE.