Stranger Than Fiction: Acclaim-Published, Perry Developed Free MMO Announced

Acclaim is going to publish a free MMORPG developed by Dave Perry. From what we can tell, this isn't a joke. It's a truth. Games types eh? You just can't call their next move.

The game is called 2Moons and comes packed with the oh so Perry-penned tagline, "No mercy for the weak, no pity for the dying, no tears for the slain." As you may know, in August of last year, former Activision bigwig Howard Marks purchased rights to publish games under the Acclaim banner for a sum in the region of $100,000. Acclaim Games was formed by Marks early this year, aimed squarely at the MMO market for younger teenagers, or the nauseatingly-contrived demographic of 'tweens'.

It would appear that this title has little to do with this market and is being squarely aimed at adult games. 2Moons will be distributed free, aiming to recoup its development and hosting costs via the magic of advertising and microtransactions.

The project draws on the digital avatar market of Korea, taking GameHi's Sunghun Baek (who one SPOnG staffer accidentally had dinner with in a cheap hotel on the outskirts of Wakefield once) to partner Perry for the title. The press release in full reads:


Los Angeles (August 8, 2006)—Acclaim Games announces a free, totally brutal massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) designed specifically for adult gamers. Bearing the tagline: “No mercy for the weak, no pity for the dying, no tears for the slain.” 2Moons was created to be an easy to get into game set in an aggressive, dangerous and visually stunning world. This M-Rated title is targeted at those looking for an adrenaline soaked experience and aimed squarely at players looking to kick @$$ for free!

With 24-years of experience in the video game development business David Perry, whose latest Matrix Movie related game projects grossed over $300 million, hand picked his key creative partner, Mr. Sunghun Baek for the 2Moons project. Mr. Baek is the Designer and Chief Technical Officer for GameHi, a blockbuster game maker from Korea.

As Acclaim CEO Howard Marks explains “David is a superstar in the game world and his first MMORPG is going to change the ‘game.’”

“2Moons is a game that focuses on training players to become saviors in a world where any hope for survival was virtually nil,” says Perry. “Instead of wading through a lot of heavy back story, the game’s narrative is all about the individual’s journey as they grow to become a level 100+ warrior. And the arcade style fighting system in the game lets you dive right in and go hand to hand with some of the most impressive enemies in a massively multiplayer game yet.”

This collaboration of two leading game designers from either side of the planet, working on a game of this titanic scale, is hailed as visionary and very exciting. But perhaps the partnership’s most beneficial component for players is that Acclaim’s model is based on releasing full-price games for free. With no subscriptions, and no charge to download the game, it will be funded mostly by advertising--and (even more radically) the user will be allowed to turn off the in-game adverting if they choose. With Perry's approach, Acclaim is determined to offer truly free gameplay by creating a new kind of advertising model for the industry.

“I've been to Korea twice in the last few months and have met with a lot of very impressive talent.” Perry, who also sits on the Advisory board of the Game Developer Conference, said. “GameHi’s Chairman Mike Kim is extremely forward-thinking, and he really wants the Western gamers to experience the unbelievable work his teams do and I'm going to help him do just that.”

You may register immediately to be a member of the 2Moons closed beta (for free) at www.acclaim.com. Log on today and make sure you are one of the first in the world to experience this exciting new game! More information will become available in the coming months.