BioWare enlists Hero for MMO

Top RPG developer BioWare has become the first company to license Simutronics' HeroEngine, which it will use to create the as-yet untitled MMO, which is the first game being worked on at the company's newly formed Austin Studio.

Considering that BioWare's past credits include Star Wars: KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate, it is safe to say that its first crack at an MMO will be much anticipated. Despite lacking a name (or any hint as to its storyline and universe), it is scheduled for release next year.

The deal underlines a recent change of tack for BioWare - although in the past, it has made its own engines, it licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 to form the basis of its much-anticipated Xbox 360 action-RPG Mass Effect. We'll keep you up to scratch with more details about the BioWare MMO as and when they emerge.