SAN RAFAEL, Calif. and SAN DIEGO – April 11, 2003 – LucasArts and
Sony Online Entertainment Inc. today announced Dantooine as the tenth planetary environment for Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, the highly anticipated first installment of the upcoming massively multiplayer online game series. In addition, the fan community for the game continues to grow unabated and has now reached 475,000 registered members, nearly a 20 percent increase since December 2002.
Dantooine is a legendary planet from Star Wars lore and was once the home base of the Rebel Alliance and a Jedi training center. Players who visit Dantooine can expect to encounter dangerous primitive natives known as Dantari, a sizable Imperial occupation force, and a small band of smugglers led by a vicious crime lord. As with all planets in Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, Dantooine will offer a vast amount of terrain to explore, stunning vistas, and wide range of wild life.
“With the inclusion of Dantooine, we feel we’re offering a diverse Star Wars experience,” says Haden Blackman, producer at LucasArts for Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. “Fans of the films will remember Princess Leia’s Dantooine reference from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, though more important is our ability to leverage the world’s rich history and striking landscape. As one of several ‘adventure planets,’ players will travel to Dantooine for the opportunity to engage in epic battles, uncover new storylines, and discover new sites.”
The Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided development team surpassed another major milestone April 2 by launching Beta 3. Throughout this phase of the beta program the team will continually increase the number of testers until a targeted number of 50,000 players is reached. A new release date for Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided will be announced within the coming weeks.
