The Chronicles of Spellborn Closed Beta Starting in November; Heading to North America in January

Acclaim Games has officially updated the release schedule for The Chronicles of Spellborn with additional testing happening along side a Closed Beta which is set to begin on November 27. They have also announced that the game will be released in North America sometime in January 2009.

When the European countries go live on November 27, Acclaim will simultaneously start Closed Beta testing in North America and then go live in January. Both launches will have the exact same product versions featuring identical Freemium models but with a different release date to accommodate additional testing for a smooth official release.

In all regions, the MMORPG will be a “Freemium” game, with a Free to Play zone and a required premium subscription service in order to access the full game past the Free to Play zone.  The game client will be completely free to download and install, and will feature the special Free to Play zone with no time restrictions (only level limit). Key features of this Free to Play zone include the following:

• Free players are limited to the starting zones Hawksmouth and Aldenvault

• A gameplay limit occurs at Fame level 7, when free players have progressed approximately 90% towards Fame level 8

• Upon reaching this limit, all character progression is blocked and the player will receive a pop-up informing them of this block and what is obtainable beyond this with a premium subscription

• The following elements will be explicitly blocked:

• • Players will be unable to gain Fame in any way or form, frozen at a fixed amount
  • The player will be able to accept quests, but not able to complete any objectives/quests
  • Able to kill mobs, but the player will receive no kill credit. This means, no fame reward, no pep reward and no item reward
  • Unable to travel beyond the zones Hakwsmouth and Aldenvault.

Players who want the full game experience and wish to go past the zone restrictions must purchase a premium subscription option priced at $15 per month to open all game content. This Freemium model will allow many more players to experience the gameplay before choosing the premium subscription to access the full array of game features and content.

More information along with a beta registration-form can be found on the official website.