RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Atari announced today that they are developing Neverwinter, an online RPG based around the titular Dungeons & Dragons city.  In-house online developer Cryptic, perhaps best known for City of Heroes/Villains and Star Trek Online, is at the helm of the project.  While the game shares some of the locations with BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights series, Atari’s Neverwinter will tell its own story, wherein the city is blighted by civil war and a plague outbreak.

Cryptic did not explicitly say Neverwinter is massively multiplayer, though it will require an online connection and players can form five-player teams to work through dungeons and quests.  Solo players can recruit computer-controlled allies to clear the same areas, while a content creation system called Forge will let players generate their own storylines and such.

Neverwinter is set for a late 2011 release on the PC. Further information can be located on the official website.