Earth Eternal fell on hard times last year when Sparkplay Media had to lay off its entire staff following financial issues. But the game has returned to operation in North America thanks to Outblaze and TurnOut Ventures, who today announced the official start of open beta. The beta features new content and several improvements to the core game.

As before, Earth Eternal is free-to-play. Check out the official press release after the break for more and pay a visit to the official website to sign up for open beta.

Earth Eternal Begins Open Beta

Revamped free-to-play MMORPG invites players to explore a unique world

San Francisco , CA – August 9, 2011: Outblaze and TurnOut Ventures announced today that the free-to-play online game Earth Eternal is now in open beta and accepting all players. The beta will run for the next few weeks to let players explore the revamped massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) while helping to identify any issues and bugs before launch. Visit www.eartheternal.com to play the beta of the revamped Earth Eternal.

Earth Eternal is a Free-to-Play 3D MMORPG set in the remains of Europe thousands of years after the fall of both humankind and technology. In a future torn by war and ancient magic, several sentient peoples have arisen to rule the planet. Players choose from 12 very different races, each with its own distinct history and lore. Characters begin as one of four classes, but can be customized with a unique multi-class skill system that provides complete player control over character development.

Players who participate in the Earth Eternal open beta will receive an in-game rewards package, which includes an exclusive Beta Beast banner, a Beta Beast helmet, and a boost to character experience gain. In addition, any character that reaches level 30 during open beta will also receive a surprise Heroic reward. All beta rewards will be automatically added to characters after the end of open beta.

Features of the new and improved Earth Eternal:

- An original 3D world based on Europe long after the fall of humankind

- Unique anime-inspired and non-traditional player races

- Free-to-play with full access to all content

- Hundreds of hours of quest-driven gameplay including dozens of challenging group dungeons

- Robust character advancement system, offering cross-class development (e.g., learn Knight abilities on your Druid)

- Unique skill-based growth ensures no two characters are the same

- Intense classic MMORPG gameplay and systems including guilds (Clans)

- Armor Refashioning allows players to assign stats to their favorite items (including cosmetic items)

- Unique lobby system allowing players to connect from and travel to anywhere in the game world

- Game content streams to player’s  client with no need for a large client download and installation (download of a plug-in and lightweight client is required the first time the game is launched)

To play the open beta of Earth Eternal please visit www.eartheternal.com (Windows XP/Vista/7 required).

About Outblaze

Outblaze is a private company established in 1998 in Hong Kong, with offices in the USA, Hong Kong, China, South Korea and the Philippines. Originally a pioneer of multilingual communication services for online communities, Outblaze and its partners today develop and offer a broad variety of products and services in digital media and entertainment, including smartphone games and apps, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), games and game engines for various platforms and formats, virtual community services, online transaction systems, social network gaming, and web communication services. For more information please visit  www.outblaze.com.

About TurnOut Ventures

TurnOut Ventures Limited focuses on innovation and development of multi-platform entertainment. The company leverages its shareholders' strengths in content development, game development and digital infrastructure, and functions as an incubator for market-leading new media content. TurnOut Ventures is a joint venture between Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc. and Outblaze Investments Limited. For more information on products and upcoming projects, please visit www.TurnOutVentures.com.