City of Heroes expansion ‘Going Rogue’ announced (Update)

Paragon Studios’ City of Heroes is an MMO where you make a superhero and beat people up. Wicked earlier this morning, Paragon sort of announced ‘Going Rogue,’ a second expansion for the long-running title. We say “sort of” because the only thing we have is this official Web site (with trailer) and a possible press release that may or may not have been accidentally sent to subscribers.

‘Going Rogue,’ judging from this press release, sounds promising. The new content takes place on an alternate (but mirroring) dimension named Praetoria. Apparently, a jerkoff emperor has plunged the realm war and it’s up to you to choose sides. Or switch them. Players will be able to change their heroes into villains and vice versa for the first time ever.

If you’re down with this, head over to the official Web site and watch some footage. Check out the emperor’s teeth by the way. Scary straight, man.

[Thanks, DrkAdonis!]

[Update: We have the official PR after the break.]

SEATTLE, Washington – May 12, 2009 – NCsoft®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and Paragon Studios™, the developer of City of Heroes®, today announced the development of City of Heroes Going Rogue™, the first major expansion for the City of Heroes franchise since the launch of City of Villains® in 2005. As the name implies, Going Rogue will blur the line between heroes and villains in the first and longest-running super-powered comic book MMO game.

In the Going Rogue expansion, hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation of the game’s main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their loyalties.

City of Heroes Going Rogue will introduce a new alignment system that helps players explore the shades of gray that lie between good and evil. For the first time, hero characters can become villains and vice versa, enabling hero archetypes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and villain archetypes to experience Paragon City™. Clearly marked missions, in addition to behaviors and decisions made by the player, will move a hero’s or villain’s moral compass, which could eventually change the hero’s or villain’s alignment. Going Rogue will also introduce two primary new fictional characters representative of this alignment shift in the game’s lore: Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero gone rogue, and a Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain who has been redeemed.

“City of Heroes has brought a fresh new perspective to the MMO stage with its foray into the super-powered hero comic book genre, and we are excited to present gamers with even more innovative content in Going Rogue,” said Brian Clayton, general manager and executive producer at Paragon Studios. “For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain. Now we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges.”

NCsoft will share more details on Going Rogue in the coming months. The game is currently in development by NCsoft’s Paragon Studios, the City of Heroes development team that most recently launched the ground-breaking Mission Architect system. The launch of Mission Architect sets a significant milestone for City of Heroes as the first MMO to allow players to create user-generated content. City of Heroes has and continues to set new standards among its MMO peers and player community with its engaging and approachable comic book-inspired universe theme and consistent delivery of concepts that break the standard MMO mold.

For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.cityofheroes.com. For more information about Paragon Studios, go to http://paragonstudios.com. For more news about NCsoft, go to http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news or http://us.ncsoft.com/en/news/press-releases.