Pirates of the Burning Sea announced

Flying Lab Software, the company responsible for Rails Across America , has today announced that it has put the development of its ambitious strategy game Rails Across America on hold in order to focus on the previously unannounced Pirates of the Burning Sea. The new game is a massively multiplayer online RPG that takes place in the Caribbean of the 18th century.

Assuming the role of a bold sea captain, players will be able to make a name for themselves as a privateer, a merchant, a free trader, or a naval officer. Servers will deliberately be limited to a maximum of around 3,000 players so that, in theory, the world is big enough that there are always new people to meet and new adventures to experience, but small enough that reputations earned within the game will carry some weight.

The gameworld will continually evolve thanks to Valve's Steam technology, which allows your computer to automatically download new game content as it becomes available, and a peer-reviewed player-content-creation system. Features already being planned for updates subsequent to the game's release include the option to make a career as an explorer and the ability to own island properties.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is currently scheduled for release in the fall, but in the meantime, you might like to check out the game's official site for further information. We'll bring you more on the game as soon as it becomes available.