Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Officially Launches On June 9

After nearly a year of waiting, Sega has finally revealed the exact release date of Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, the highly-awaited Phantasy Star Online 2 expansion/sequel. The announcement comes by way of a maintenance schedule update on the official site:

“Due to the PSO2:NGS launch, the scheduled maintenance that would have occurred on June 9 (Wed) will be moved forward by about one or two days. [. . .] Due to the change in the maintenance schedule, there will be changes to the dates and the content of the “The Road to NEW GENESIS Event” countdown login bonus event. We will hold campaigns to celebrate the launch, so be sure to check them out!”

New Genesis, which was announced last summer, will introduce better graphics, new systems, and new quests to the original game. The character creator and benchmark tool is now available for download for those who want to start tweaking their avatar’s looks and make sure that the game runs smoothly on their rig.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis Features:

• Free to play!
• Huge wide-open battlefield environments! Explore a whole new world featuring broad, expansive playfields filled with ferocious enemies waiting for you and your team. Traverse wide-open environments, speed and soar across the giant landscape and skies with new special abilities. Transitioning into a new area is as simple as walking into it -- no loading screens.
• Enhanced character models! Create your identity with any character you can imagine in PSO2:NGS using the powerful creation engine. Adjust every imaginable characteristic to create your one-of-a-kind avatar.
• Redesigned graphics engine! Witness lush environments, amazingly detailed player characters, and monstrous foes in razor-sharp resolution. Watch spectacular new lighting and particle effects as weapons clash with armor. See the world as you've never seen it before.
• New multi-weapon system and abilities! Combine 2 types of weapons for smoother weapon switching. Battle at lightning speed using a variety of weapons and techniques.
• Connects with PSO2! Move easily in-game between PSO2:NGS and PSO2.
• Cross-platform! PC and Xbox One players can play together side by side.