Worldwide Transformers MMO Planned

A while back a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on Transformers was announced by China's NetDragon that was planned only for the Asian market (Japan, China, etc). According to Joystiq, the rest of the world will get a Transformers MMORPG to play thanks to the United Kingdom's Jagex. The only real bit of information is that Hasbro has signed an agreement to create the game for North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for launch in 2012. According to Kotaku, they learned via Jagex's PR department that the game will be "partly on Transformers Prime ...though is said the feature characters from Generation One and other Transformers universes. Past that no information was provided so questions like how it will be implemented, story, and so forth will have to remain unanswered for now. I get a sneaking suspicion that the recent DC Universe Online game will help provide the template on how the game details will be worked out. (via TFW2005, thanks to Sahara for link)

HASBRO AND JAGEX ENTER STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT TO CREATE NEW TRANSFORMERS ONLINE GAME
Iconic AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS Set to Battle Online in 2012

PAWTUCKET, R.I. - March 14, 2011 - Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) announced today that it has signed a strategic development agreement with Jagex Limited to jointly create a new online game based on the globally iconic TRANSFORMERS brand. Under the agreement, the two companies are slated to launch the TRANSFORMERS online game in 2012 in North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

Jagex, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the largest independent game developers and publishers in the world with a dedicated global user base of millions playing its more than 40 online games. The company's flagship game, RuneScape, is the world's most popular free-to-play MMOG.

“Hasbro's decision to align with Jagex speaks to the quality of their award-winning development and publishing team that boasts an outstanding track record of delivering innovative and fun online games capable of reaching millions of gamers across the globe,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro. “We are extremely excited to create a dream team that combines TRANSFORMERS brand stewards with Jagex development experts to deliver an epic TRANSFORMERS gaming experience to fans in 2012.”

“TRANSFORMERS is one of the most iconic brands in the world and we are delighted to team up with Hasbro in order to bring our shared vision to reality,” said Mark Gerhard, CEO at Jagex Games Studio. “There is a huge appetite for an online TRANSFORMERS game and we will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game that TRANSFORMERS fans will find irresistible.”