MAG expanding June 22

Zipper Interactive's Massive Action Game is poised to become a bit larger, as the studio today announced an expansion pack for its online shooter. Titled Interdiction, MAG's first full-blown add-on will be available to PlayStation 3 gamers on June 22 for $9.99.

Headlining the expansion pack will be the titular Interdiction game mode. In it, two factions of up to 128 players compete to take and hold command posts in an effort to achieve the highest score. More than just storming a command post, though, gamers will be charged with foiling the efforts of their opposing side. Each side will also be supported by heavily armed convoys, while squads will come loaded out with their own APC transports.

The Interdiction add-on will also include three new maps--Lake Bayano Spur, Sovot Motorway, and Iron Cree Quarry--all of which are faction-neutral. Therefore, the maps can be selected by any faction for play at any time. The "Heavy Improved" armor set is also included in the add-on pack, as are 12 new ribbons, medals, and trophies.

Zipper also provided a handful of stats for MAG, which had sold some 500,000 units less than a month after its well-received worldwide launch in January. More than 930,000 battles have been waged in nearly five months, with more than 1.7 million players logging a total of 1.1 billion kills.

Developed by SOCOM 4 studio Zipper Interactive, MAG is an ambitious online military shooter that features up to 256 players in a single game. Players assume different ranks on each side, viewing the battlefield according to their station. Commanders will see the action at a top-down view from which they can direct lower-level soldiers, who will experience the front lines in first-person.