August 6, 1999 Web posted at: 4:40 p.m. EDT (2040 GMT) by Douglas F. Gray

From...

INTERACTIVE:

(IDG) -- Microsoft will debut its new online role-playing game "Asheron's Call" at the GenCon Game Fair, which began Thursday in Milwaukee.

Conference attendees will be able to play the game, which is scheduled for a year-end holiday release on the MSN Gaming Zone, at the convention, according to a Microsoft press release.

MSN Gaming Zone is a portal for Internet gamers. It includes both free games and premium games, in which users pay a subscription fee, ranging from daily to monthly, for access to the game. "Asheron's Call" will be a premium game, although no pricing information is yet available.

The fantasy game, which is set in a world called Dereth, was developed by Turbine Entertainment Software for the MSN Gaming Zone. Microsoft will gradually make the game available to thousands of users before its actual release to the general public, according to the release. This is usually done so that when the public finally has access to the game, there are already other characters to compete against.

Westwood, Mass.-based Turbine exclusively creates games intended for online play. The company is also working on a title for Sega of America's next-generation Internet-enabled gaming system, Dreamcast.