With great buzz coming out of E3, Anarchy Online went gold this week, in the midst of a large-scale beta test. The title should be available in stores beginning June 27th, and servers will go live that day. The game is the first in a wave of new MMORPGs slated to hit the market over the next year, which should provide a strong challenge to currently established titles in the field. According to Funcom's president, "No other game in the market today can rival our graphics, and none can support as many players in the same playing field as we can."

The game code is in manufacturing and the content and features complete, but a beta test to ensure server stability is still underway, and will remain so until the game goes live. There are thousands of testers playing the new version to find problems and solve them as quickly as possible. Anarchy Online has a science fiction setting, and boasts a number of unique features. Not only is the emphasis on the game on progression, rather than fighting, it also features a wide variety of occupations for players to choose, as well as two factional alignments to decide between.

Anarchy Online will carry a monthly subscription fee like most MMORPGs. For more information, check RPGamer's preview, as well as the game's website.