Runes of Magic Expansion Showcased at GDC

Runes of Magic: The Elder Kingdom logo

Runes of Magic, the winner of the German Game Developer Award for Best International PC game of 2009, is scheduled to release “Chapter III-The Elder Kingdoms” the upcoming expansion for the game, in May. Publisher Frogster will showcase the expansion’s features at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco from March 11th to March 13th. For those attending the event, Frogster will be at booth 859 in the Moscone Center.

The Elder Kingdoms is an extensive expansion of Runes of Magic, incorporating a new continent into the game world based on a new zone concept, featuring vast play-areas. A new PvP battleground and new instances allows players to test out their fighting skills, and new siege battles pit up to 150 players against 150 players in enormous guild-castle wars.

Runes of Magic is one of the premier free-to-play World Of Warcraft-esque MMORPGs out, and perhaps one of the most polished. It’s cash-shop is exorbitant, but as you aren’t really required to buy anything that isn’t aesthetic anyway, players can enjoy much of what the game has to offer without spending a dime.

Runes of Magic has attracted over two million registered users, making it one of the most successful MMORPGs in the free-to-play market. Offering two races to choose from (Humans and Elves) players can customize their character via the duel class system, which allows players to combine primary and secondary classes for a variety of skills and options.

Runes of Magic may not be the most original of F2P MMORPGs out as far as gameplay or even aesthetics, but it is definitely one of the most polished, and well worth a look.