Pirates Online MMORPG Is Coming

Walt Disney Internet Group will launch Pirates of the Caribbean Online, a new massively multiplayer online game based on the hit film franchise, this summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The subscription-based game is in beta testing, and no launch date has been set, the trade paper reported.

Pirates is designed as a game but even more as a virtual world in which players build their own stylized characters, form pirate communities and embark on ship- and land-based treasure hunts.

The online game is not to be confused with the franchise's just-released console game. It was first conceived in 1999 and has been in development at Disney's Virtual Reality Studio since the success of the first film three years ago.

Characters in the movie franchise will exist in the Pirates Online world, with the addition of a new villain, Jolly Roger. While great effort was put into re-creating the world of the movie and capturing the elements that made the films successful, the game's design stresses accessibility.

Participants will be able to play the game a third of the way through without subscribing, though they will see ads. For unlimited access, players pay a monthly fee of $9.95.

To date, nearly 100,000 people have registered on the game's Web site, requesting information about the game as well as a chance to participate in its current beta status.