Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted

Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted
Developer(s)Virtrium LLC
Publisher(s)Virtrium LLC
Designer(s)Jason Murdick, Franck Arnoux
EngineIntrinsic Alchemy
Mantrid Engine[4]
Platform(s)Windows
Release
Genre(s)Massively multiplayer online role-playing
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by American studio Virtrium and originally released by developer Artifact Entertainment and publisher Atari as Horizons: Empire of Istaria.[5][6] Tulga Games, LLC acquired the game and all related assets on January 25, 2005 and sold them to EI Interactive in July 2006.[7] On July 18, 2007, Virtrium LLC (Vi) acquired the rights to the game.[8]

Set in a sword and sorcery world, the game allows players to be adventurers, crafters, or both, and features a struggle between the "living races" (including the players), and "the Withered Aegis", an army of the undead seeking to destroy all life.

Istaria is unique among MMORPGs in that players may choose a dragon for their avatar. Istaria allows players to build non-instanced player communities with either multi-level underground dragon chambers or ground level communities.

  1. ^ Keeler, John (December 5, 2003). "Horizons: Empire of Istaria Preview". IGN. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "Horizons - Layoffs". IGN. January 12, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Horizons: Empire of Istaria". Atari Australia. Archived from the original on March 1, 2004. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  4. ^ MMO Development Platform - www.virtrium.com
  5. ^ "Virtrium LLC Changes Name Of Game Product Horizons To Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted" (Press release). Virtrium LLC. April 14, 2008. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008.
  6. ^ "Struggling MMO Horizons renamed "Istaria"". Massively. 2008-04-15. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  7. ^ MMORPG.com - Horizons sold to Entertainment Interactive
  8. ^ Interview - Rick Simmons - MMORPG.com