SOE announces new EverQuest expansion

Sony Online Entertainment has announced the planned February 2004 release of Gates of Discord, a sixth expansion pack for the ever-popular massively multiplayer RPG EverQuest.

Along with an expected new continent, Taeolosia, which comprises 20 new zones including a huge ship city and combat areas for characters over level 50, Gates of Discord will also introduce a new character class, the axe-swinging and rock-chucking Berserker, 20 new NPC models, a Tribute System, new tradeskill recipes, dozens of new story-driven quests and Alternative Advancement Abilities. EverQuest fans can find plenty more details on the expansion's official website.

Although the game has yet to pop up on Ubisoft's release schedule, it seems likely that SOE's longstanding European publishing arrangement will see the game released under Ubi's banner sometime in the next three months. In the US, SOE plans to encourage retail purchases - rather than downloadable purchases via the EverQuest launch pad - by offering a free gift with the boxed version and a special magic item for use in-game to boot.