SOE confirms Agency for PC, PS3

Sony Online Entertainment has talked about its upcoming super spy project before, but the publisher today gave gamers the first official details of the game.

Set for release on the PC and PlayStation 3, The Agency will be a persistent online shooter in which players can step into the world of international espionage, working for one of two main factions with the ultimate goal of controlling the world. As should be expected of a game that seeks to put players in the role of a Fleming-esque hero (or villain), The Agency will feature adventures in far-off lands, assassinations, illicit drug trade, sabotage, undercover sleuthing, and betrayal.

The theme of the game shouldn't be the only novel element to massively multiplayer online game veterans. SOE said it wants to provide pick-up-and-play fun accessible to any type of player, which might suggest a departure from the traditional MMO level grind. One change is that players won't need to pigeonhole themselves into any particular style of play. Calling the approach, "You are what you wear," SOE is allowing players to customize their character's specialties before each mission through the gear they outfit them with.

There will still be signs of the persistent character development from other online games, however. Players will develop skills over time, but they will also increase their influence over the world and have the ability to set up their own agencies. And since a single player does not a spy network make, there will also be non-player-character operatives that can be recruited and used as resources to build equipment, gather basic intelligence, and do other essential tasks.

SOE is promising a large assortment of story-based missions for players to take on competitively or cooperatively. And when gamers need a break from the physical danger, they can instead opt for financial peril at minigame-loaded casinos, take on other players at the shooting range, or engage in other diversions.

These details aside, SOE is still keeping some of the game's secrets to itself. At the moment, The Agency does not yet have an official release window.