MMO developer Virtual Fairground has announced an agreement with French animation house Alphanim (a Gaumont company) to develop a browser-based MMO based on the animated series Galactik Football.

The two companies have signed a worldwide licensing agreement that is to see a phased international roll-out of the game and service starting spring 2009 until a full launch in 2010, with Virtual Fairground assuming full development and publishing duties.

Galactik Football follows the progress of the “Snow Kids”, a futuristic football team from the planet Akillian as they try to win the Galactik Football Cup.

"We’re looking forward to opening up the Galactik Football galaxy to kids”, said Maarten Brands of Virtual Fairground. “In a safe and extensive online world, kids will soon be able to create their own players and teams and compete for the Galactik Cup. Besides the overall quest, we’re creating numerous mini-games, fun distractions and socialization features for a kid and tween audience.”

Atlus has announced its first MMO title for its recently formed online community, Atlus Online—the Korean developed Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent.

Developed by JoyImpact (licensed by HanbitSoft) the title is to be given “the same style and caliber of localization that Atlus has been known for over the years,” and is to be published by Atlus Online in North and South America and the rest of the world except Europe.

Set in a “steampunk”-esque world, Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent features two nations battling over a resource known as “Neo Steam”, from which players choose their allegiance before selecting their class. Each player in Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent also begins with a pet.

More information about Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent’s beta and launch dates is to be released by Atlus Online in the near future, and we’ve talked to Atlus Online’s Head of Operations, Jamie Ortiz, about the company's decision to make the title it's first MMORPG, their localization, and the potential monetization.

Former Criterion/Rendeware CEO David Lau-Kee and Jim McNiven, founder of digital marketing agency Kerb, announced the launch of Kerb Games, a studio specializing in persistent browser-based online games.

The new company hopes to create and distribute games for what it describes as a "rapidly emerging 'Games 3.0' market," which includes casual titles offering community experiences and targeting both men and women from a wide age range. One of Kerb Games' goals is to develop titles for emerging platforms such as the iPhone.

Its primary aim, however, is to produce persistent browser-based online games that take players away from traditional hardcore online gaming environments, focusing instead on "networked and community-oriented, social-media aware settings." The developer has a number of games slated for release in the next year, which it says will promote creativity from its community by emphasizing user-generated content.

Founded in 1996, the Kerb agency specializes in "youth marketing" and the design of web sites and web-based games, counting Sony PlayStation, Microsoft, and Samsung among its clients. The company currently runs Project Rockstar, a free music-based MMORPG that has so far picked up 200,000 registered players.

McNiven will continue to lead the agency as manging director, but will also serve as CEO for Kerb Games, working on strategic development and marketing.

Prior to Kerb Games, Lau-Kee was the co-founder, president, and CEO of Criterion Software Group, the UK-based middleware studio behind the Renderware engine used in the Burnout series and several Grand Theft Auto games.

He most recently joined 3D game development tool provider Unity Technologies as a non-executive chairman. Lau-Kee joins Kerb Games as a non-executive director, and will provide business guidance and support the company's growth into the mainstream games industry.

"The games industry has for too long relied on either accident and circumstance or imported IPs and outrageous marketing spends to generate its hits -- user engagement is either random or paid-for," says Lau-Kee.

"At Kerb games, we’re applying years of experience of web analytics, viral marketing and web community development to truly engage with our audience – our games are ground-up designed for the web-connected, Games 3.0 generation."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Following a lengthy beta period, in-browser gaming site InstantAction.com today officially opens to the public, and InstantAction is making the underlying technology available to developers.

Distinguishing itself from the myriad Flash-based game portals already strewn across the internet, InstantAction -- a venture of the IAC-owned developer and middleware provider GarageGames -- is comprised of full real-time 3D titles that, in most cases, bear much more similarity to traditional standalone PC and console games than they do to typical web games.

See exhibit A, the 16-player FPS Fallen Empire: Legions, a slightly-more-than-spiritual successor to now-defunct developer Dynamix's PC multiplayer classics Starsiege: Tribes and Tribes 2 -- memories of whose innovative, large-scale gameplay remain near and dear to the hearts of many PC gamers. Key Dynamix personnel founded GarageGames, and a number of Tribes veterans are on the Legions team.

InstantAction currently features nine games, also including Rokkitball and Marble Blast Online, with at least seven more in development. Only four of the nine, and one of the seven, are "first-party." Most of the service's games are created by external developers, and that's where the company's experience providing technology to other firms comes in handy.

But unsurprisingly, investing in high-quality browser-based development is still a leap for some studios, general manager Andy Yang and technology VP Brett Seyler tell Gamasutra.

[As Quake Live launches, writer Michael Walbridge recounts his experiences with the closed beta for Id Software's free-to-play first-person shooter -- which blends casual gaming features with a hardcore, competitive userbase.]

"Man, it has been a long time since I played THIS game," I wrote, hoping to break the ice.
"Welcome to 1999," someone replied.

"The crazy thing is ... some people never left," another said.

We were all dead, waiting our turn; we're playing Quake Live's Clan Arena, a mode in which teams square off and each player's death merits no respawn until the next round. We all get maximum armor, health, and weapons, pounding each other into oblivion.

There's also Duel, which pits players one-on-one while the rest wait in line to face the challenger. The list of spectators is a virtual list of quarters lined up on arcade machine.

The atmosphere of the site, with its ladders and stats, is almost like a chess club. Quake Live is a bold and new move -- it is absolutely free, and it is better than the Quake 3 I repaid twenty dollars for about five years ago.

Watched the new promo video for the Hello Kitty line of MAC cosmetics yet? Well, if you have, you’ll be well aware on how clever Sanrio are in keeping their key brands relevant, and so to make an awkward segue their digital arm, Sanrio Digital, has announced the appointment of Robert Ferrari as vice president of publishing and business development.

To be based in Boston, Ferrari is to assemble a US-based team and a “network of partnerships” to drive Sanrio Digital’s Hello Kitty Online and their other initiatives within virtual worlds/social networks on all platforms.

Ferrari previously served as vice president of business development at Turbine (since 2004) working on titles including The Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach and Asheron’s Call. Prior to his time at Turbine, Ferrari held positions including vice president of sales and business development at Phillips Electronics.

“It is an honor to join Sanrio Digital and have the opportunity to shape the future of social gaming,” said Ferrari. “I have known this organization for years and hold it in the highest respect. There is no company better positioned for the convergence of online gaming, virtual worlds and social networks than Sanrio Digital. I very much look forward to working in such a dynamic studio and taking social gaming to the next level.”

MMO publisher Aeria Games has announced that they are to publish Twelve Sky 2, the sequel to (naturally) Twelve Sky (though then again, couldn’t the sequel have been called Thirteen Sky?) also published by Aeria Games.

Developed by Korean develop Gigassoft, Twelve Sky 2 is a “large-scale, multi-faction PVP-based MMORPG” set in China during the middle ages (with a fantasy twist. )The sequel to the original game adds a new mount system, trainable pets, new armour and weapons and a new skill system to the title.

The game has been announced for an April 2009 release, and players should be able to transfer their characters from Twelve Sky—though Aeria Games has not announced if there will be any fee for the service.

The title is currently in closed beta, and you can head along to the Aeria Games site if you’re interested in signing up.

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in big sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Capcom, NetDevil, Realtime Worlds, PlayFirst, and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include: