Ar:piel Online Launching in Russia through Esprit Games

Esprit Games announced today that they have secured the publishing rights for the brightly colored anime MMORPG Ar:piel (why does it have a colon in the name?) in Russia / CIS (central Europe). Prior to the Russian launch Ar:piel was only available through Nexon Korea. No word on whether the Russian version will have IP blocks in place or not, but Esprit Games teased that their localized version will feature exclusive content as well as a unique game mode. No word on an exact release date yet.

It's good to see Ar:piel getting licensing deals outside of South Korea. Perhaps the next big announcement from Ar:piel will be about an English launch. The core gameplay in Ar:piel is quite similar to Kritika Online or Soul Worker, as much of the gameplay takes place in instanced stages.

Update: According to Esprit Games the Russian version will NOT have any IP blocks, but it will only be in Russian. This version should be a lot more accessible for those outside of Korea as you don't need a special KSSN or local phone number to make accounts on Russian websites the way you do for Korean ones.