Phantasy Star Online 2 launches in the West next year

Gamers in the West will soon be able to try out Sega's new free-to-play sequel to one of its oldest franchises, as the publisher today confirmed that Phantasy Star Online 2 will launch in North America and Europe next year.

Phantasy Star Online 2 will see a return of the series' real-time combat system, with players able to level up characters of three races (human, newmen, or CAST) through a variety of classes, specializing in melee, ranged, or magical weapons. Sega did not announce platforms for the Western release of the game, but the Japanese edition launched last week on the PC and is slated to appear on the PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android platforms.

The original Phantasy Star Online launched on the Dreamcast in January of 2001 and was followed eight months later by a "version 2" release with online play that required a quarterly subscription fee. Other follow-ups to the original have included the 2004 GameCube effort Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution, as well as 2006's Phantasy Star Revolution, which came out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PC.

For more on Phantasy Star Online 2, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.