DC Universe Online Gets Official Release Date

The MMO that has taken years to be released now has a launch date: January 11th, 2011.

Sony Online Entertainment announced the release date yesterday. The game will be available on the Playstation 3 for $59.99, and $49.99 for PC Gamers. The Game includes a 30-day game membership, and then switches to the $14.99 monthly membership fee for PC gamers, but included in the SOE all-in-one Station Access subscription.

Here is Sony’s Press release:

Official Press Release

“Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced that the highly anticipated online action game DC Universe ™ Online (DCUO), has reached gold master status and will be available at retail outlets worldwide on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC on January 11, 2011. DCUO, licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on behalf of DC Entertainment,will be the first online game based in the DC Universe, the first MMO on PlayStation 3, and the first time DC Universe Online will be accessible to the millions DC Universe fans.

“Creating DC Universe Online has been a massive undertaking, and we’re excited to be that much closer to launch,” said Christopher Cao, Game Director of DCUO for Sony Online Entertainment. ”We’re grateful to our beta players for providing us invaluable feedback in these final stages that has enabled us to put the finishing touches on a fun and exciting experience when the game launches in January.”

DC Universe Online will carry an anticipated retail price of US$59.99 for PlayStation 3 and US$49.99 for PC in North America. The game includes one 30-day game membership, with monthly subscriptions available thereafter for US$14.99. For customers playing the PC version of the game, DCUO will be included in SOE’s all-in-one Station Access subscription. Sony Online Entertainment expects to update the game regularly with new episodes featuring iconic DC Comics characters, new instances and major in-game events.

As a traditional action-based MMO that combines fast-paced, twitch-based combat with an interactive physics system to deliver a new and unique gameplay experience, DC Universe Online brings the DC Universe to life, allowing players to create their own superheroes – or villains – and join forces with their favorite DC Comics characters such as Superman , Batman and The Joker to aid in saving – or destroying – the universe.

DC Universe Online is rated T for Teen by the ESRB with the following content descriptors: Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence. For more information about DC Universe Online, visitwww.DCUniverseOnline.com.

About DC Universe Online
Lex Luthor has traveled back through time with news of a dire future: While the heroes and villains spent years battling amongst themselves, Brainiac has been feeding on their powers, building strength to return to Earth and destroy humanity. To change the future, Lex has come back to set off a device that bestows super powers to thousands of every-day citizens and give humanity a fighting chance. Can Brainiac be stopped, or is this another nefarious Lex Luthor plot?

For the first time, players and fans will be able to enter the DC Universe as an active force for good or evil. A massively multiplayer experience, DC Universe Online delivers unparalleled high-energy, physics-powered combat that brings the player’s extraordinary powers to life.

DC Universe Online was created in the artistic vision of legendary comic book artist Jim Lee, and set within a world created by famous DC writers including Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman.

About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, PlanetSide®, and Star Wars Galaxies, as well as the recent kids’ phenomenon Free Realms™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, Denver, CO, and Tucson, AZ, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development across various platforms and genres for audiences of all ages.

SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest , Champions of Norrath and PlanetSide are registered trademarks andUntold Legends , Legends of Norrath , and Free Realms are trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About DC Entertainment
DC Entertainment, home to such iconic DC Comics properties as Superman, Batman, Green Lantern,Wonder Woman, The Flash, MAD Magazine, and Fables, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its superheroic characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing over 1,000 comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Comics is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.