Action RPG Pagan Online announced by Wargaming for a 2019 PC release [updated]

Update: Pagan Online won't be free-to-play; according to Venture Beat, it will be a paid game.

World of Tanks developer Wargaming has just announced a new action RPG for PC called Pagan Online. In development at the Serbian studios of Mad Head Games, it is planned for a 2019 launch (“first on PC”) and will place players in the middle of a “demonic dystopia based on pre-Christian mythology.”

Described as a brutal Hack-and-Slash with fast-paced combat, it is said to follow in the footsteps of classic dungeon crawlers, but reinventing combat in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of MOBA-style games. Apparently this approach is going to please both MOBA and RPG players.

Pagan Online offers missions of “pre-biblical proportions” with hordes of savage enemies and vengeful gods. Missions are described as highly replayable, with several competitive game modes and difficulty levels, as well as a single player mode (and co-op) that will be regularly updated with episodic expansions called Battle Chapters.

You can sign-up for the current private beta… I mean, for the Trials at the official Pagan Online website. There is no word on the business model yet.

“Mad Head Games are passionate, talented, and have a ‘go broke’ mentality to do whatever it takes to make their game as awesome as it can be,” said Jacob Beucler, Product Director, Wargaming. “We’ve taken Mad Head under our wing because this mentality reminds us of the early days at Wargaming when we put everything we had on the line to launch World of Tanks. Pagan Online is one of Wargaming’s most exciting opportunities yet — we’re helping bring these devs’ passion and skill to PC gamers everywhere.”

“With Pagan Online we’ve modernized how combat in a top-down action RPG works, taking cues from MOBAs to create something that’s fast-paced, overwhelming with enemies, and super challenging,” said Uros Banjesevic, Co-founder and Creative Director of Mad Head Games. “It’s a thrill to finally be able to share this game, the product of our blood, sweat, and tears, with the world!”