Welcome once again to MMORPGamer, the best collection of MMO News around, now with 70% less sodium! I do apologize for the column being missing last week (technical difficulties which have since been remedied), but don't you worry, this week's MMORPGamer is double stuffed like an Oreo of MMO gaming goodness!

A mere two weeks ago, I reported the rumor that Warhammer Online was going to launch on September 27. As it turns out, Warhammer Online is going to be launching nine days earlier on September 18. In a first for MMO launches, the servers will go live simultaneously that day in North America, Europe, and Oceania. Subscription pricing was also announced, and the pricing structure of $14.99 a month, $41.97 ($13.99 a month) for three months, and $77.94 ($12.99 a month) for six months will seem immediately familiar to World of Warcraft players.

In addition to dates and pricing, the pre-order bonuses for Warhammer Online were also detailed. These include a key for admission to the open beta, as well as access to the "Head Start" program which will give players a few days on the regular game servers before the official launch. Pre-orders will also come with a number of bonus in-game items (the exact items were not specified), and a special Universal Fighting System card game deck based on Warhammer Online. A number of retailers were involved in the pre-order program, but it was unclear as to which of these bonuses would be available from which retailer, and if you're considering a pre-order you may want to call your local retailers or poke around online before tossing your $50 on the table.

Although it had theoretically been in development for some time, Star Trek Online found itself quietly canceled last year when developer Perpetual Entertainment, well, stopped being so perpetual. Permanently. The license has now been picked up by Cryptic Studios, well known for their work on City of Heroes and the upcoming Champions Online. In an interview with the Associated Press, Cryptic's chief creative officer Jack Emmert talked about acquiring the license, noting that the game would be constructed from the ground up without any assets from Perpetual, largely because "there was nothing to be had, to be honest."

Besides confirming that Perpetual's "development" of Star Trek Online was, as thought by many, pure smoke and mirrors, Emmert also gave some details about what players will be doing in the game. Star Trek Online will be set in 2409, a good 30 years after the last Star Trek film, 2002's Nemesis. The focus will be on exploration, and characters can be created from existing races, or new user-created ones. Emmert stresses that while there may indeed a ship bearing the name Enterprise present in the game, "it's probably not the same ship anymore."

With the Beijing Olympics in full swing, people all over the world are watching the Olympic coverage and cheering their nation on. However, if the 400 meter dash ain't your thing, how about going for the gold in World of Warcraft? In the new "The Spirit of Competition" event, players who enter a battleground between August 8 and August 24 will receive a special tabard marked with the Olympic Rings. Furthermore, every battleground you win will give you a chance to win a gold medal which can be redeemed for a special dragon pet.

Meanwhile in the City of Auch, Sword of the New World players have a different Olympic opportunity available. Any players who make a purchase of 1,000 or more gold (not the in-game currency, called vis, but a special currency used for buying potions, temporary buffs and other paid content) between now and August 24 will receive five ring boxes containing random stat-enhancing rings. Please do note that players cannot receive more than 20 ring boxes in this manner.

Nine years is a lifetime and a half in video games, but somehow EverQuest refuses to shuffle off to the retirement home like a proper old game. Instead, EverQuest is set to receive its 15th expansion in the form of EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction, set to launch on October 21. This new expansion will increase the level cap to 85, include 20 new zones, and introduce Mercenaries into the game. Mercenaries are player-controlled NPCs that will scale to the appropriate level and act with limited player input, thus allowing a solo player to more easily put together a group to take on some of the game's tougher challenges. Additionally, the purchase of EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction will give the player access to the content of all 14 previous expansions.

Not to be outdone by its predecessor, EverQuest II will release a fifth expansion pack on November 18. Titled EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey, the new expansion will feature another 20 new zones and new dungeon adventures based on classic dungeons and encounters found in the original EverQuest, as well as a new 200 point cap to achievement levels and a new reward system based around gathering mysterious "void shards". As with EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction, the purchase of EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey will give the player access to the content of all five previous expansions.