Portal Knights MMO is in development and F2P, 505 Games publishes

The successful sandbox action RPG Portal Knights is getting a free-to-play MMO. Development is being handled by Duoyi Network, a major Chinese development studio from China, while 505 Games provides key support. Keen Games, the creators of the original Portal Knights game don’t seem to be involved.

The Portal Knights MMO will expand on the concepts from the original game. It will retain elements and mechanics such as the sandbox world, building and role-playing, while adding the MMO aspect. Portal Knights allowed four-player cooperative play, but the MMO will surely ramp up those numbers. Players will be able to join guilds, navigate self-created maps and challenge other cities in the familiar vibrant universe of Portal Knights. Comparisons to MapleStory 2’s visual style wouldn’t be out of place.

The upcoming Portal Knights MMORPG will use a freemium business model, which is saying that it will be free-to-play with microtransactions.

Duoyi Network is going to publish the MMO in Greater China, where the Portal Knights game was a big success, with over one million copies sold across mobile and PC platforms. 505 Games will publish the game in the rest of the world.

“This is an exciting milestone for the worldwide growth of the Portal Knights IP,” said 505 Games CEO Raffaele Galante in a press release. “Our relationship with Duoyi Network has been crucial to the game’s expansion into China, and now the partnership is providing an opportunity for further growth and depth of the IP by bringing a well-rounded and enjoyable MMO experience to the Portal Knights community.”

We’ll be able to have our first look at the free-to-play Portal Knights in the next few days, as it will be showcased at China Joy from August 2 through August 5, 2019. China Joy is one of the most important game shows in the world and some major announcements are likely to be made.