The MMORPG genre is exploding at the seams, and Codemasters is adding to the fireworks. The company has announced its clandestinely developed entry, dubbed Dragon Empires. The developer is hoping to infuse the genre with some innovation, by bringing in the concept of clans that has proven to be highly successful in other online genres. The game is being developed at Codemasters' California-based offices, a group previously responsible for the classic MMORPG The Realms

Dragon Empires has an archetypical swords and sorcery basis, with a heavy dose of dragons thrown into the mix, and a sprawling world of 100 lands and five encompassing empires. Players must form clans with their online brethren in order to overthrow cities and even empires. Combat takes a simple player-to-player direct approach, and there are no constraints. In this world, all are free game. Once players cross the line, however, they are open targets for the more law-abiding citizens of the land.

Codemasters is promising an injection of pace into the genre. Says Ted Carron, producer of the title: "Dragon Empires is a massive and important project as Codemasters continues to embrace new delivery platforms for gaming. The always-on combative element is something we're very excited about; the majority of existing MMORPGs are 99% co-operative and relatively slow paced. Dragon Empires is more intense and competitive, driving people into groups where the real benefit of online gaming lies."

The producer went on to say, "We're confident no other MMORPG will provide the fiercely competitive balanced battles that Dragon Empires will create an arena for." In case you didn't catch it, them's fighting words. We'll see if the game lives up to those words when it reaches consumers in the second quarter of 2002. Till then, keep checking with us as more information is released.