Online MMO hit heads to retail

Iceberg Interactive may not be the best known publisher in the industry, but aims to change that with the retail release of Global Agenda.

The PC MMO has already been downloaded almost 100,000 times worldwide. In fact, the title – which was previously only available digitally – has been Steam’s top-selling game in the MMO category since pre-orders opened in December 2009.

Iceberg Interactive and developer Hi-Rez Studios believe Global Agenda is perfectly suited for retail.

VP of gamer operations at Hi-Rez Studios Stewart Chisam told MCV: Global Agenda’s ‘no monthly fees’ pricing model and affordable SRP of 24.99 makes the game very attractive at retail, and is highly competitive with shooter games that do not offer anywhere near the level of content or MMO-like features.

Supported by a strong marketing effort and very positive word of mouth, we expect a strong performance with steady growth.

The game’s business model, which relies on occasional paid expansion packs, also creates a franchise that can be continually renewed from a marketing and sales standpoint, with frequent in-game content upgrades for players.”

Iceberg Interactive’s dedicated marketing campaign is running until December, with print ads appearing in Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, SFX and more. Web banners will also feature on specialist websites including CVG, IGN, Eurogamer and Edge Online.

Players of the Unreal Engine 3-powered third person shooter MMO recently received a free ‘Sandstorm’ expansion pack, adding a range of new devices and game modes. Users can also change their name or purchase in-game ‘boosts’ for a small fee.

The game has been well received by a variety of games publications. It won the E3 Game of the Show award from MMORPG.com and has an average review score of 70 per cent on Metacritic.

Global Agenda is out now on PC.