The Agency - Project CANNED!

Jan 29, 2009
7,187
Sony Online Entertainment today has revealed via press release details for their upcoming MMOFPS title The Agency.

The game has yet to be given a release date short of sometime in 2010 for PS3 and PC.

From the release:

The Agency is a fast-paced, action shooter set in an online persistent world—a modern setting of bullets, bomb blasts, and betrayal. Live the life of an elite agent in a world of superspies and rugged mercenaries, who use both high technology and low tactics to accomplish their missions and goals. Featuring cooperative and competitive play, The Agency is designed to provide instant action and long-term strategy for all fans of espionage, intrigue, and explosive gameplay on the PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) and PC.

• Live the Life of an Elite Agent: The Agency requires spy world skills in combat, stealth, and style. Players jet around the globe to exotic locales picking up intel, forming networks and taking out criminal masterminds for a multitude of unique missions with numerous goals. With gameplay ranging from sneaky infiltration to all out firefight assaults, there's something for every aspiring agent.

• Fun Now, No Waiting: The Agency blends the action of shooter gameplay with the persistence of an online virtual world. At any point, PS3 or PC players can jump right in and frag opponents in head-to-head combat or advance the ranks in a rich story packed with exciting missions.

• Mercenary or Spy - the Choice is Yours: Operate as a slick super spy or a gritty mercenary, administering arms deals, executing assassinations, managing espionage, counter intelligence, and more. Collect the right weaponry, gadgets, gear, attire and aliases to gain access to numerous locales and influence over the people within them.

• Put Operatives to work: Operatives are collectible non-player characters who provide the goods and services players desire, and the in-mission support to keep them alive. Operatives work 24/7 to help players concentrate on the mission at hand. Trade them with friends or sell them to the highest bidder.

• Build Your Own Agency: As players advance through the ranks of their faction, they'll also begin building their own Agencies. Players increase their power even further by creating Joint Agencies with others.
 
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I've been waiting for this for some time, but I think the hype is begining to die down for me hearing about the gambling system for some things (I think). If I had a powerful enough PC, I'd probably get Huxley.
 
We need more female gamers. (Actually, I don't think we have ANY that play w/ the Clan.) I've played on Socom w/ a few, and they're just Hella fun. This one even has female characters, so that rocks too!! I wonder if it's the type of game where you can customize your character?
 
Sony Online Entertainment has revealed that the company has yet to decide on whether or not online shooter The Agency will incorporate cross-platform play for PlayStation 3 and PC users.

“We have not decided if you can play between the two. They are cross-platform. We’re able to do it - it’s more of a design concern. We’re doing a lot of focus testing and we’re finding that people just, ‘oh they’ve got a controller, it’s not fair! Well they’ve got a mouse it’s not fair!,” senior game designer Kevin O’ Hara told VideoGamer.com.

“It’s what people say they want at first but when they actually play then… So it’s up in the air. We’ll go through beta with that and get strong opinions on which way to go. But technically we can do it if we want,” he added.

The good news is that both versions of the game should be out simultaneously across multiple regions, though O’ Hara noted that it is highly unlikely the title will see the light of day in 2009.

“We haven’t done a release date yet for it,” he said. “We’re still in development. We’ve got a lot of new features in the game - it’s really coming along. We’re having fun with it. We’ve got a couple more features to work on before we’re comfortable with it."

“I don’t believe it’ll be [out in] 2009. After that the marketing people control that information.”

We’ll have more on The Agency as it breaks.
 
Eurogamer has learned that several senior staff have left Sony Online Entertainment's Seattle studio - the developer currently making espionage MMO The Agency for PC and PS3 - including the studio head.

Studio director and executive producer Matt Wilson, art director Corey Dangel, and producer John Smith left at the start of July to form a new studio called Detonator Games, as confirmed at the Detonator Games website.

"It's true that Corey and I no longer work for SOE," Wilson told us. "This was a very hard decision to make, but it's the right decision for both us and the project. There were a variety of factors into making this decision, but we wish SOE and The Agency the best success."

Wilson and Smith were founding members of the Seattle studio, which was formed from their previous start-up, Fireant. Prior to that, they, along with several other SOE Seattle staff, worked at Microsoft on the cancelled MMO Mythica.

SOE declined to comment on their departure, saying it was a personal matter.

The move naturally raises questions about the future of The Agency, which has been in development since the formation of the SOE Seattle studio in early 2005. Sources in the Seattle game development community suggested to Eurogamer that the game will now undergo an extensive rethink and may be delayed beyond its current projected 2010 release date.

However, SOE flatly denied this, telling Eurogamer that "The Agency is not undergoing a reboot of any sorts - that is incorrect." The spokesperson added that "the team in Seattle is still working diligently on this project and we're looking forward to showing you new content in the future".

The Agency was demonstrated at E3 and as recently as the SOE Fan Faire in late June, where a friend of Eurogamer told us it was playable and "really quite good".

You can read plenty more about The Agency, and why we think it's one of the most promising MMOs in development, at The Agency gamepage.
 
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Did anyone see The Agency preview inside Playstation Mag? It said it's definitely coming 2011. Looked a lot better. The biggest downside is that it went from a 3rd person MMO to the standard fare 1st person MMO.:angry: They lost my interest. I had high hopes for this game.
 
I'll have to check that new magazine. I've been waiting for this for ever it seems. I'm surprised they're finally coming out with it sometime next year.

I'll play it either first or 3rd person. Doesn't matter much to me.