Kingdom Under Fire II goes massively multiplayer

The Kingdom Under Fire real-time strategy series has always incorporated action and role-playing game elements, dating back to its 2001 inception on the PC. With the Xbox 360 release of Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom earlier this month, the developer went so far as to drop the RTS focus and crank out an action-RPG instead.

Now the franchise is set to embrace an even more convoluted genre description. Developer Blueside today announced that it will be taking the series back to its action-RTS roots with Kingdom Under Fire II, but it's also adding something new. The game will be the first example of a new genre the developer is dubbing Massively Multiplayer Online Action Real-Time Strategy, or MMOARTS.

Kingdom Under Fire II's new MMO mode will allow thousands of gamers to meet in "siege battles of epic proportions," according to Blueside. Both its multiplayer and single-player campaigns will feature a new storyline in which the balance of power between the Human Alliance and the Dark Legion is upset by a third faction bent on world domination.

With an anticipated 2009 release window, the game is being made for worldwide release on the PC and unspecified consoles. Blueside is codeveloping the title with Phantagram, but no publisher has been announced yet.