Flagship Joint Venture Creates Ping0

Representatives from developer Flagship Studios have announced the formation of a new joint venture with South Korean publisher and developer HanbitSoft to manage online services for forthcoming title Hellgate: London. The joint venture is named Ping0 and has already entered into an agreement with Namco Bandai Games America to digitally distribute, host and manage the online component of Hellgate: London. Although future projects for Ping0 have not been detailed, it is expected to offer services to other developers and publishers, both for online distribution, management and online game services - potentially becoming a rival to Valve’s Steam digital distribution service, but more specifically themed around 'online games'. “Supporting Hellgate: London is just the beginning for Ping0,” said Bill Roper, CEO and co-founder of Flagship Studios. “We fully expect Ping0 to both handle the online components and digitally distribute all of Flagship’s future titles. The company will also provide publishers and developers that want to bring their games online with a solution proven by one of the most highly anticipated titles in the industry.” “Through Ping0, we will offer a turn-key solution for developers and publishers developing online games, from sophisticated MMOs to casual games,” said HanbitSoft executive vice president Tony Park. “Additionally, we are extremely excited about bringing our own titles to new markets through this joint venture.”