Hellgate: London to release in Summer

It’s about time. Ever since Bill Roper and his band of merry men jumped ship at Blizzard to form their own studio, every Diablo fan and his grandmother have been both excited and scared to see what they’d come up with.

The departure of the Blizzard North team resulted in the formation of Flagship Studios and the development of their debut title; Hellgate: London. I’m not going to bother hiding or curbing my lust for this game. I’ve spent countless hours of my life playing Diablo and Diablo II, so I have complete faith in Bill and the rest of the Hellgate team and trust them to come up with a title that will rock my socks off.

Hotly-Anticipated Action-RPG From Flagship Studios Set to Heat up PCs This Summer
LAS VEGAS –(Business Wire)– Jan. 8, 2007 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced a summer 2007 worldwide ship window for the highly-anticipated online action RPG Hellgate: London(TM), the first original PC title from premier developer Flagship Studios.

“We are all committed to making Hellgate: London absolutely the best game possible,” said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios. “The anticipation surrounding the game is immense and we are looking forward to its launch being a truly worldwide event.”

At its best, I trust Hellgate will be a game of considerable depth, striking a fine balance between action and role-playing elements. At its worst, it will probably be a 3D Diablo II clone (I hear there are already some references to Wirt’s leg in there). Either way, I’m not complaining. Bring forth the awesomeness, Bill.  We’re counting on you.

[Via Kotaku]