Interplay Entertainment announced that it signed a deal to fund independent studio Masthead Studios for the development of its massively multiplayer online game code-named Project V13, which is widely speculated to be an MMORPG set in the Fallout world.

Interplay's team has been working on the game's design and development since 2007, and will now work with Bulgarian-based Masthead to complete the project. Project V13 will use proprietary tools and MMOG technology that was originally developed for Masthead's Earthrise MMORPG, due for PCs in the second half of 2009.

Though Fallout 3 developer and publisher Bethesda acquired the Fallout franchise from Interplay in 2004, the latter can still license the rights to the development of an MMO thanks to a clause in their agreement. The Project V13 name seems to reference the Vault 13 starting point in the original Fallout game, and Chris Taylor, the lead designer for the first title, is the lead systems designer for this project.

"We are looking forward to turning the vision of our game designers into a compelling online gaming experience," says Interplay chairman and CEO Herve Caen. "The planning and design completed for Project: V13 thus far, combined with Masthead's resources, tools, and growing team of dedicated MMOG developers, will bring this unique game to reality."

Masthead Studios president Atanas Atanasov adds, "This arrangement is ideal because it leverages the technology our professionals have specifically built for advanced massively multiplayer online games into what we expect will be a groundbreaking Interplay gaming title."

When Outspark first came onto the scene in 2008, it was just one in a sea -- now seven seas, probably -- of companies porting over Korean MMOs. But the team, lead by CEO and ex-Yahoo Games exec Susan Choe, has always had a grander vision.

Now, ahead of the formal announcement, Choe outlines the Outspark platform, which will be available for developers from major AAA publishers to tiny two-man shops.

Though the company does operate its own free-to-play games, and will continue to do so in the future, it is opening up its solution to external publishers and developers looking for a foothold in this complex market.

The platform will offer a vertically-integrated solution for the deployment of games online: support for web-based and in-game item sales tied into Outspark's own Spark Cash payment system; an Outspark installer package for game clients; integration with the Outspark user system; game stats and finances reports for developers; client content management for patches, and cross-marketing opportunities with the other titles in the Outspark lineup.

To learn more about this evolution of the free-to-play business, WorldsInMotion.biz sister site Gamasutra went to Outspark's San Francisco offices and spoke with Choe.

In an overview of a newly released study, UK-based analyst firm Screen Digest presented a view of the subscription-based MMO market in the West.

According to their estimates, which did not try to estimate the microtransaction-based online game market, the subscription MMO sector, led by Blizzard's World Of Warcraft, grew by 22% in 2008 and reached consumer spending levels of $1.4 billion in North America and Europe.

With a 58% share of Western consumer spending on subscription MMOGs and over $2.2 billion in cumulative spending on subscriptions since the beginning of 2005, World of Warcraft remains dominant in the market, estimates the survey.

However, growth in consumer spending on other subscription titles was "robust" during 2008 at 27%, confirming continuing adoption of the business model across other games and services as well.

These results "are encouraging for the future of subscriptions in MMOGs, and show a marked improvement on 2007 where growth in ex-WoW consumer spending was just 12%."

By 2013, Screen Digest expects the subscription market to top $2 billion in consumer spending, holding its own alongside micro-transactions, due to "consumer acceptance of predictable subscription payments and the innovative use of premium subscription business models."

Other drivers include the continued introduction of more mainstream games services, broadband internet adoption and the overall development of the European market. Following the announcement, WorldsInMotion.biz sister site Gamasutra sat down with Piers Harding-Rolls, Senior Analyst for Games at Screen Digest, to discuss the results and their ramifications for the online game market.

New data from analyst group Pearl Research shows that China's online games market grew 63 percent in 2008 to a total $2.8 billion.

In its new Games Market in China report, Pearl Research forecasts that the Chinese online market will be worth more than $5.5 billion by 2012.

Online operators in China have apparently seen little downturn in their business during the world economic crisis, with six companies now making revenues greater than $200 million (Tencent, Changyou, The9, Netease, Shanda and Giant).

The most popular online game in China during 2008 was Netease’s Fantasy Westward Journey, with 1.8 million peak concurrent users. This was followed by Giant’s Zhengtu Online on 1.5 million, Tencent’s Dungeon and Fighter on 1.2 million and Blizzard’s World of WarCraft on 1.0 million.

Out of a total of 298 million Internet users in China, 70 percent are under the age of 30. The reticence of this demographic to cut down on low-cost entertainment such as online gaming is seen as one of the main reasons for the market’s continued growth.

"Trends to track in 2009 include the growth of social networking sites in China, with over 55 million users, and their cross-pollination with games," said Pearl Research managing director Allison Luong.

"One overall concern is the lack of diversification with many game operators relying on a single title for the bulk of revenues. In addition, a glut of content with more than 200 games on the market makes releasing a breakout hit increasingly difficult."

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

At the MI6 game conference in San Francisco, Laura Naviaux-Sturr of Sony Online Entertainment discussed the impending launch of SOE's free-to-play MMO title FreeRealms.

Part of SOE's goal, Naviaux said, was “expanding our reach from our core 34-year-old male fantasy enthusiastically, whom we affectionately call our geeks,” The 5-to-12-year-old demographic is actually shown to be the fastest-growing online demographic.

The company wanted to build a world as engaging as that of EverQuest, but delivered much faster. “You literally need to deliver the game in less than 30 seconds,” she said.

Early SOE executives like John Smedley are “visionaries,” Naviaux said, but he also owned over 10,000 Magic: The Gathering cards, and the company was staffed up with those in the same mold. She showed a series of photographs from SOE fan events, with a largely adult audience, weighted towards male, with a strong interest in fantasy.

NCsoft has launched a new feature for players of its popular PC MMO City of Heroes called Mission Architect that lets users generate custom missions and story arcs and share them.

Using Mission Architect, discussed in depth recently at the Game Developers Conference, players can not only build missions using existing game assets, but they can also build their own characters and villains using the game's character creator. Mission architect also lets players write their own dialogue.

Users of the monthly subscription-based MMO can publish three story arcs per account, and each arc can have up to five missions of up to twenty five individual objectives.

The system also allows players to rate one another's user-submitted missions and stories, and players can earn in-game rewards for highly-rated content. Players can also get an extra slot for an additional story arc if theirs is hand-chosen by the City of Heroes dev team.

"We are very excited for City of Heroes to be the first-ever MMO to offer this revolutionary new system to our players," says City of Heroes GM and EP Brian Clayton.

"Within two weeks of opening the beta version of Mission Architect to our community, players published an astounding 5,000 custom stories, representing up to 25,000 user-created missions. Such a steady influx of fresh content offers the capacity for endless adventures to City of Heroes subscribers."

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

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 Fuel Industries, Infinity Ward, THQ 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:

Dr. Gregory P. Zeschuk, BMSc, MD, MBA, Vice President, Entertainment and Miscellaneous, BioWare and Vice President, Electronic Arts, and Dr. Raymond A. Muzyka, BMSc, MD, CCFP, MBA, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, Electronic Arts, have titled their address "Emotionally Engaging Narrative: Gaming's New Frontier."

The talk will take place on the second day of GDC Canada, which runs May 12-13, 2009.

Edmonton, Canada-headquartered BioWare is known for its story-centered games; currently, it is known to be developing the single-player RPGs Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2, and the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Dres. Zeschuk and Muzyka founded BioWare in 1995 after completing medical school, with the intention to develop medical software, but quickly changed focus to computer roleplaying games. The company is now owned by Electronic Arts.

"We couldn't have found two more appropriate speakers for the inaugural GDC Canada, as Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk are two of the most esteemed members of the game development community worldwide, and certainly leaders amongst the Canadian game development community," said Izora de Lillard of Think Services Game Group (also Gamasutra's parent company.

"Both are also pioneers of the move towards making games that tell rich stories and affect players on a deep emotional level; we look forward to hearing how they inspire the attendees of GDC Canada to push their games into what they are rightfully calling gaming’s 'new frontier.'"