Transformers Online rolling out in China next year

In recent years, Activision has been the primary purveyor of Transformers games, but NetDragon has carved out its own deal with toy maker Hasbro to bring the shape-changing robots to gamers. The Chinese online game developer and publisher recently announced a deal to create a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the brand and to bring it to gamers in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Russia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

NetDragon plans to launch Transformers Online in 2011 in China and "other select markets" for which it has the brand's MMORPG development and publishing rights. It gave no specifics as to gameplay, but the company did indicate a desire to bring the brand's "excitement and fanaticism" to online gaming. As of press time, the company had not responded to GameSpot's inquiry about the potential for eventual launches in Europe and North America.

Transformers isn't the only brand popular in the West to be the subject of a NetDragon game. The company's current game lineup also includes Heroes of Might and Magic Online and Disney Fantasy Online. NetDragon is also working on Dungeon Keeper Online and a new version of Ultima Online.