14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Jagex announces that its upcoming Transformers Universe video game is no longer an MMO, but will introduce a mix of genres that will be known as a MOTA when it launches later in the summer of this year.
Mark Gerhard, the chief executive officer of the studio, states on the official site of the game that, “We’ve built a massively online, tactical action game, or MOTA as I like to call it. Transformers Universe offers fast-paced, battle centric, tactical action with a selection of game modes for core gamers, casual gamers and Transformers enthusiasts alike.”
The new MOTA label means that gamers will become a commander of a Transformer faction, able to recruit, train and maintain a squad of robots that will battle other crews in unique arenas.
The company is not yet willing to offer names for the recruitable units, but it says that the title will offer a “unique collection of Transformers warriors created in collaboration with our friends at Hasbro.”
This might mean that only second line characters will be used and that the best-known Transformers, who have recently also turned into movie stars, will only make special appearances and will probably be unavailable for direct control.
The overall theme of an Autobots versus Decepticons war will still be included in the MOTA and each faction will have its own play style, weaponry, upgrade options and specialties.
Jagex says that it will offer an in-engine trailer for Transformers Universe in the coming weeks and that it will then announce an official beta period and start sending out invitations.
The game was initially expected to arrive using a more traditional MMO formula in 2012, but it was delayed in order to find a unique vision for the franchise.
It will be interesting to see whether the final release will compete with MOBA titles like DOTA 2 and League of Legends.