K2Network, Inc. (www.K2Network.net), a global online entertainment and community management company, announced today at Austin Game Conference 2005 that its flagship game title, Knight Online (www.knightonlineworld.com), has been listed as the most popular massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) on CNet's download.com.
Since the official launch on December 2004, Knight Online has experienced a steady increase in user registration and successfully reached over two million registered accounts and is quickly reaching forty thousand concurrent users. In response to its rapid growth the company added three new worlds, tripled its operation and support staff and completely revamped the game with a major upgrade called "Return of King" (a.k.a Empire Patch), exceeding customers' expectations.
Furthermore, the company will launch its sixth world named Olympia during the first half of November, 2005. In conjunction with the new server launch the company plans to run its first ever class-based tournament "Tower of Might" to determine the best in each class. Thus, a total of four tournaments will be run to determine the best player in each class in a full PvP (Player vs. Player) setting.
"We are thrilled about CNet's recent recognition of Knight Online as the most popular MMORPG title on Download.com. We believe this success has been achieved largely through our intense focus on PvP features and the ground-breaking Free2Play pricing strategy that no other major fantasy MMORPG in North America has tried on a large scale. It represents K2 Network's commitment to offering what today's gamers want and an approach to innovation and creativity." said Joshua Hong, Chief Executive Officer of K2 Network.
He also added "We put our gamers first because we are grateful for the overwhelming success of Knight Online. We will continue to listen to our fans and strengthen close relationships with them by making Knight Online the destination for MMO gamers who want the world's most exciting, heart-pumping PvP events"
Knight Online is the critically acclaimed medieval fantasy adventure game with perpetual war servers operating with local language-support in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and North America. Since its first introduction in Korea three years ago, Knight Online has been enjoyed by millions of players from over 80 countries.
With constant improvements to the game and aggressive marketing, K2 Network expects to grow its global English speaking player base to 3 million by early 2006 for its North American servers.