Phantasy Star Online 2 is on its way to North America and Europe!

SEGA’s newest and most advanced online multiplayer game ever — and successor to the revolutionary Phantasy Star Online — will be making its way on PC to North America, where it will land in 2013 as a Free to Play title!

Of Journeys Past …

Let’s travel back in time for a moment: to the days of Sega Net and the Dreamcast, and something unprecedented: a multiplayer adventure, combining arcade action, dungeon crawling, and RPG progression with a sci-fi story blended with fantasy spirit.

The original Phantasy Star Online helped to usher in the age of the MMO while introducing SEGA and Phantasy Star to a new generation of gamers. Phantasy Star Online broke new ground while resolutely doing its own thing—in particular, weaving action-based multiplayer combat through a deeply-entrenched story.

Now, the story continues for a new generation of online games and new ways to play and explore, while embracing a free to play model and building the game around that. There are, of course, lots of details to be revealed about this model — we know everyone has questions about how “Free to Play” will work for the Western version of PSO2, so stay tuned!

The New Journey Begins

Phantasy Star Online 2 will find players joining the “Arks” organization as part of the Oracle Fleet – a group of spaceships traveling through the far reaches of the galaxy, with the mission to explore and research newly discovered planets. The game recaptures the sense of adventure and discovery of the original PSO, with players finding their way through uncertain territory while working together — the game is designed so you can adventure alone and explore at your own pace, but has a heavy emphasis on teamwork as well, making unprecedented group encounters possible.

Starting the game in a central hub reminiscent of the original PSO, players will find join a futuristic living space with the chance to learn about their missions, meet other players, and set off to explore challenging new worlds. Embark on the game’s story, and encounter the mysterious D-Arkers — a malevolent force challenging those who would venture into the depths of space.

Together, intrepid players may be able to unravel the mysteries of Phantasy Star, but one thing is for sure: from Rappies to MAGs; from player housing to massive boss encounters, with teamwork and skillful action combat, Phantasy Star is back to provide all new worlds of adventure.

Infinite Adventure and Infinite Customization

There’s a lot to tell you about and a lot to look forward to – in the coming months we’ll talk about the various features of PSO2. Here are some starting points to ponder.

First, the game features an insanely powerful character creator, giving you unprecedented control over your avatar – change the size and shape of any body part, change height and weight, and — if you play as CAST — re-arrange your parts to your heart’s content to build the robot you want to be.

Play as the jack-of-all-trades Humans, the mystical Newman, or the powerful and robotic CAST. From there, you can begin to explore the way the class system is designed to open up your ability to experience and interact with the game world.

The game features three different classes to start as: the Force class with their mastery of Photon Arts, the up-close-and-personal combat prowess of the Hunter, and the long-range tactical genius of the Ranger. Leveling in PSO2 is class-based: you level up classes as you choose, allowing you to try out different ways of playing.

Making your way through the game you will explore randomized dungeons and have special random encounters – custom-event challenges that happen during the course of a mission, designed to test your skill, nerve, and teamwork. Oh yes — and, making its return from the original Phantasy Star Online, the MAG – a combat assistant you can customize to suit your needs.

Ultimately, the game is shaped around the core idea of players extensively customizing their individual weapon combos and upgrading their own skills, combining the character progression of an RPG with the flat-out combat prowess of an arcade-action game. Mix in Phantasy Star’s unique and extensive style and incredible customization, and you have the recipe for an online multiplayer experience unlike any other.

For those of you who have traveled with us in the past, through the original RPGs, through the original Online or Portable adventures, or across the Universe: We hope you will make the journey with us to this exciting new realm. If you are new to Phantasy Star, we hope you will join us for a new adventure unlike anything else Online.

We are pleased and proud to make this announcement — stay tuned for much more news to come from Phantasy Star Online 2!

You can also check out the teaser site at: http://www.pso2.com