You say you've never heard of Astrum Online Entertainment? You would know them if you lived in Eastern Europe I bet. Responsible for the successful launch of Lord of the Rings Online and Perfect World in Russia, this team is looking to expand even further and has tapped BigWorld Technologies to further that goal.

Astrum Online Entertainment and BigWorld Pty Ltd. announced today the signing of a license agreement for the use of BigWorld’s technology software suite for developing a new online game.

This new project has already been in development for several months by a team of professionals with over ten years of experience in the Russian gaming industry. The team has earlier produced well- known games such as Silent Storm and Robocalypse. The official announcement of the game is scheduled for the second half of 2009.

“Our team has many years of experience in the gaming industry and I’m proud that we’ve got a chance to focus directly on this challenging gaming process in our first online project. It’s been in development for several months already; so it’s safe to say now that BigWorld’s technology successfully tackles all the objectives and allows cutting production cycles”, said Dmitry Zakharov, Head of ACTA Games, the developer of the game.

Mike Allenson, Business Development Manager Europe/Russia for BigWorld Technology stated, “We’re extremely pleased to be working with the largest online company in Eastern Europe. We’re certain that the combination of our world-leading MMO technology suite and Astrum’s highly professional and experienced development team will produce results that help solidify both of our positions locally as well as internationally.”

Vladimir Nikolsky, the CEO of Astrum Online Entertainment believes in the strategic advantage of partnering with BigWorld Pty Ltd. “Using BigWorld’s technology in game development opens new strategic horizons for Astrum Online in the development of the European online gaming market. Only the best quality and the most creative gaming projects can win against tough competition. We have both of these advantages and we are ready to start astonishing Europe and Russia this year already”.

Expanding into international markets with high quality Russian products is a seamless part of Astrum Online’s development strategy. The first steps have already been implemented and include the localization of Astrum’s games into Great Britain, Germany, Turkey and China. The experts of Astrum Online believe this will allow the Russian gaming industry to secure its position in foreign markets and create a strong foundation for the Russian business thus getting ready for the next turn in the global entertainment industry’s evolution which will begin in 5-7 years.

Occupying over 60% of the local Russian market and having extensive experience in the development, publishing and managing of online games, Astrum Online Entertainment operates in new geographical markets according to time-proven strategy of focusing on MMO games and a free-to-play business model.