Phantasy Star Online 2's English PC version will launch next month as Microsoft Store exclusive

apps.60072.14501600885888434.e91249ca-acb8-4ea5-853c-ac9eac8b6e79.jpg

Those waiting years and years to play Phantasy Star Online 2 in an official format on PC won't have to wait much longer. Following the release of the Xbox One version of the game, SEGA has announced that the PC version will be releasing at the end of May. Though, despite previously announcing that Phantasy Star Online 2 would be available on Steam, it has been confirmed as a Microsoft Store exclusive, where it will have crossplay with the Xbox One version.

Tokyo, April 15, 2020 – SEGA announced today the official launch of Phantasy Star Online 2 on Xbox One in North America. Players can download the free-to-play game now on the Microsoft Store. SEGA also announced today that PSO2 will make its North American debut on PC in late May, exclusively in the Microsoft store. Cross-play between Xbox One and PC will begin at that time. Other announcements accompanied the official release as well.

ARKS (soldiers of the Oracle colony fleet in the Phantasy Star Online 2 series) are invited to join together online to explore numerous worlds with friends and experience PSO2's unparalleled action combat and character customization. Choosing from four unique races and nine classes, players can join forces with up to eleven other operatives at a time to experience unforgettable battles and boss fights.

"Phantasy Star Online 2 changed the history of Online Action RPG's; the sci-fi story, characters, and gameplay has resonated with gamers worldwide and now we're excited to bring North American players this special game -- for free," said Fred White, PSO2 TEAM North America's Head of Marketing. "Our player community is the heart and soul of the game and we couldn't have done it without their ongoing support and passion. Now that it is officially launched on Xbox One, we look forward to kicking off a fun-filled future of events, collaborations and expansions in the years to come!"

The North American launch includes fully localized text and character voices in English, spanning three years of content. In addition to the immersive original PSO2 story, the NA version also features the most-up-to-date balancing and quality-of-life improvements from the Japanese service. Players will be able to choose from four races and nine classes while tackling various missions and collecting Xbox One Achievements. They can also take a break from questing by playing one of the many Casino mini-games, chilling in the Alliance Quarters, or attending all-new live stage events. All progress from the betas will be carried over.

To celebrate the full launch of PSO2, SEGA has a number of surprises lined up for players in North America:

  • Every day between April 15th-23rd, ARKS Operatives will receive a special log-in bonus when they report for duty! The Half Scape Doll is able to sacrifice itself to revive players automatically if they become incapacitated on the battlefield – a real boost when fighting the Falspawn.
  • ARKS who join an Alliance with at least four members before April 28th will receive a SG20 Ticket (x1). And members of Alliances that have earned at least 5,000 Alliance Points before April 28th will receive the collectable emote #269: Impromptu Tea Party!
  • Two new Urgent Quests: "The Cunning Black Winged Vanguard" & "The False Champion: Luther the Fallen" begin this week.
  • PSO2 Diva, Quna, returns for live concerts on Saturdays and Sundays!
  • The Cherry Blossom season is coming to Phantasy Star Online 2 with a new look to the renowned Franca's Café! Certain ARKS Ship lobbies will also change their appearances periodically.
  • PSO2 is one of the first games to be included in Microsoft's new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks program! All PSO2 players with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription will receive extra special goodies after their first log in, including an Xbox jacket and Xbox Controller accessory for their character to show off in-game. Additional Perks will be made available every month, such as bonus Half Scape Dolls and more.
  • The ever-expanding catalog of outfits and accessories to collect and mix-and-match continues to grow with the introduction of the Heroic Wanderer AC Scratch Ticket.

:arrow: Source: GBAtemp Press Inbox
 

eriol33

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2014
Messages
1,250
Trophies
1
Location
Amsterdam
XP
3,259
Country
Netherlands
a free MMO but exclusive on microsoft store, but not on steam or epic? I am thinking maybe because microsoft gives a better cut compared to steam or epic. They will monetize this game with microtransaction right?
 

Kioku

猫。子猫です!
Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2007
Messages
12,018
Trophies
3
Location
In the Murderbox!
Website
www.twitch.tv
XP
16,180
Country
United States
I'm insanely sad that this release is so damn late. The people I had planned to play it with have since moved on. My interest is still hit or miss. They're bringing it to the Windows Store for no explainable reason. Unless you count the game pass crap. I mean, they can release it on Steam and tie in the Xbox services.

I had a blast playing the Japanese beta back in what... 2012? Now I just feel like it'd be a waste of storage. Seriously, Sega... You're a day late and a dollar short on this one.
 

Vivisector

Well-Known Member
Newcomer
Joined
Jan 13, 2019
Messages
75
Trophies
0
Age
29
Location
Western Washington
XP
191
Country
United States
Literally nobody likes the Microsoft store. Did MS put some money in to this or are the devs/publisher just clueless as to what PC users want? I feel like MS isn't even pushing the Microsoft store that hard with their releases coming to Steam or the Xbox Gamepass app just kinda bypassing the Microsoft Store UI.
 

Kadji

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
198
Trophies
1
Age
35
Location
Germany, NRW
XP
1,450
Country
Germany
I did not expect to ever see an official english release, thank god Sega came to their minds...and with Covid-19 the timing is perfect, I have more than enough time for a big mmorpg now.

That beeing said:
I have never used the MS Store on Windows 10.
Is the Store Region Locked on PC or will I be able to "buy" (I know, it's F2P) the Game from an european (German) Account?

And I wonder how likely an european release is after this anouncement.
Should I wait longer and hope for a local release or start playing on the american version?

Tough decisions :/
 

Kioku

猫。子猫です!
Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2007
Messages
12,018
Trophies
3
Location
In the Murderbox!
Website
www.twitch.tv
XP
16,180
Country
United States
No one can really complain if that's the case.

Debatable. Sega could have made a killing had they stuck to their initial release window. Not saying they won't make something out of this, considering it's free. Still...
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
2,586
Trophies
2
XP
3,816
Country
United States
Literally nobody likes the Microsoft store. Did MS put some money in to this or are the devs/publisher just clueless as to what PC users want? I feel like MS isn't even pushing the Microsoft store that hard with their releases coming to Steam or the Xbox Gamepass app just kinda bypassing the Microsoft Store UI.
Well, it was Phil Spencer's idea to bring the game over and the XBOX division of Microsoft invested heavily in the localization and provided the Azure cloud servers for hosting. Closed and open beta were exclusive to XBOX One, and the game actually officially released last week on that platform as a timed exclusive until next month. It can be played right now if you have an XBOX One, there is no need to wait until May.

I highly recommend it. Much more faithful to the lore of the original Phantasy Star series than PSU was, and has combined the best game play elements of PSU and PSO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sj33

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @mthrnite, Cheetah Girls, the sequel to Action 52's Cheetah Men.
    +2
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Pokemon Black I played that one a lot
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Honestly never messed with Pokémon on ds much
  • mthrnite @ mthrnite:
    I played pokemon once, was bored, never tried again
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Oh Dragon Quest IX
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Spent like 5 hours on switch one never touched it again
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    Sentinel of the stary skies
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Ds is 20 years old this year
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    So MJ no longer wants to play with it?
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    He put it down when the 3ds came out
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @K3Nv2, RIP Felix does great videos on the PS3 yellow-light-of-death.
  • Jayro @ Jayro:
    Eventhough the New 3DS XL is more powerful, I still feel like the DS Lite was a more polished system. It's a real shame that it never got an XL variant keeping the GBA slot. You'd have to go on AliExpress and buy an ML shell to give a DS phat the unofficial "DS Lite" treatment, and that's the best we'll ever get I'm afraid.
    +1
  • Jayro @ Jayro:
    The phat model had amazingly loud speakers tho.
    +1
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    @Jayro, I don't see whats so special about the DS ML, its just a DS lite in a phat shell. At least the phat model had louder speakers, whereas the lite has a much better screen.
    +1
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    They probably said "Hey, why not we combine the two together and make a 'new' DS to sell".
  • Veho @ Veho:
    It's a DS Lite in a slightly bigger DS Lite shell.
    +1
  • Veho @ Veho:
    It's not a Nintendo / iQue official product, it's a 3rd party custom.
    +1
  • Veho @ Veho:
    Nothing special about it other than it's more comfortable than the Lite
    for people with beefy hands.
    +1
  • Jayro @ Jayro:
    I have yaoi anime hands, very lorge but slender.
  • Jayro @ Jayro:
    I'm Slenderman.
  • Veho @ Veho:
    I have hands.
    Veho @ Veho: +1