Today Silverlode Interactive revealed their latest project Captains of DarkTide, which has been in stealth development for the last year. Known for their innovation in the MMORTS space with SAGA, Silverlode is once again breaking new ground by releasing a free-to-play browser-based 3D MMORPG. Unlike previous Pirate games, CoDT takes place in the SAGA fantasy universe, complete with elven longboats, mighty flying fortresses and fantastic mythical beasts.

Beta signups begin today at www.playdarktide.com, where players who register will be among the first to preview Silverlode's new fantasy world. By joining the Captains of DarkTide Facebook page, gamers will have first access to DarkTide news, exclusive screenshots and development notes, and frequent chances to win priority Beta codes. The CoDT facebook page will also give players waiting for Beta to influence game design by participating in polls and giving feedback on proposed features.

Unlike other pirate titles, Captains of DarkTide is set in a fantasy realm, combining magic and gunpowder, dragons and steamships, elves and orcs… Through questing and crafting, players will acquire fire-belching or lighting-spitting cannons, and can crew up with everything from orc snipers to dwarven bombardiers to dragon-summoning dark elves; and for all you undead fans, yes, even the lich and his minions are included.

Silverlode has not yet released how long Closed Beta will last or how many players will be admitted initially, but they have revealed that the game will be hosted on Amazon EC3 servers to scale quickly as Beta progresses. All players who sign up will be admitted at some point in Beta testing. Initially, only US-based realms will be accessible, but Silverlode has indicated that they will admit EU players to the US servers; EU servers will be launching soon for an EU Closed Beta.