Leading massively multiplayer game publisher NCsoft has announced its first European developer partnership, signing a deal with Spanish firm Digital Legends Entertainment to create an arcade football game which will be sold online.

The game, Soccer Fury, is a three-on-three multiplayer title which will form a part of NCsoft's forthcoming PlayNC.com offering - a portal which will feature a variety of fully-featured PC games designed to be played over the Internet.

Originally unveiled for the Korean market at the G-Star 2005 trade show in Seoul late last year, PlayNC is the spearhead for NCsoft's move into the more casual gaming market, although titles on the portal are closer in quality to boxed PC games than to traditional "casual games" found on other gaming websites.

The PlayNC portal is now being readied for a global launch, and is expected to be a major part of NCsoft's plan for the E3 trade show next month - with Soccer Fury likely to be a key title for the portal in Europe.

"We are really excited about our partnership with NCsoft and about pioneering a new segment of videogaming," commented Digital Legends founder and CEO Xavier Carrillo Costa. "Soccer Fury will be a key element of PlayNC's online games portfolio; integrating soccer, fighting and character evolution to appeal to a large audience."