NCsoft, the current publisher, and Paragon Studios, the developer, have announced that they plan to release a major new expansion for City of Heroes, called Going Rogue. It's the biggest addition of content for the MMO since the 2005 launch of City of Villains. The main concept behind Going Rogue is the idea that heroes and villains will no longer be so neatly divided as they are at the moment.

The aim is to blur the morality line between good and evil by introducing a parallel universe and by changing the way the alignment works in City of Heroes. New missions and various choices presented to the players will allow the hero to become a villain and vice versa. This basically means that some villains will not be able to see and experience the content from Paragon City while heroes will be able to visit Rogue Isles.

To exemplify how alignment changes are working, the MMO is set to get two new primary characters: Desdemona, a villain specialized in summoning demons, who has crossed to the light side, and Maelstrom, a sharpshooter that has joined the forces of evil.

In addition, Paragon Studios is also introducing a parallel game universe, called Praetoria, which is ruled by someone known as Tyrant, a warped version of the Statesman that dominates the primary universe of City of Heroes. In this new area, players will have to search for the Tyrant and for his famed Praetorian Guard, while also completing a wide array of new missions.

Brian Clayton, who is the general manager and executive producer at Paragon Studios, stated that “City of Heroes has brought a fresh perspective to the MMO stage with its foray into the super-powered hero comic book genre, and we are excited to present gamers with even more innovative content in Going Rogue. For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain. Now, we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges.”