DC Universe™ Online Celebrates a Year of Epic Battles

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) today celebrates DC Universe™ Online's one-year anniversary. The award-winning, free-to-play, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game launched last January, becoming the first MMO available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the first MMO based in the DC Universe. 

"We broke a lot of new ground with last year's launch of DC Universe Online, both by successfully creating the first PS3™ MMO community and adding true action combat to the genre," said Lorin Jameson, Executive Director of Development, Sony Online Entertainment. "The free-to-play transition at the end of last year is a proof point that our community is stronger and larger than ever. We are very proud of what we've accomplished thus far and look forward to continuously striving to improve the game."

Since January 2011, DC Universe Online has steadily increased its content with downloadable content (DLC) packs and game updates. Players have gained countless in-game items and have been introduced to Ra's al Ghul, The Fortress of Solitude, Larfleeze, amongst many other notable DC Universe characters and storylines. Along with this, The Flash and Green Lantern have also joined the team, delivering their electricity and light powers to players through paid DLC packs.

"2011 established a foundation for the larger-than-life stories we can tell in-game, and this milestone will kick off a storyline through free content updates and paid DLC that will blow your minds," said Jim Lee, executive creative director of DC Universe Online and co-publisher of DC Comics.

Since launch, DCUO has seen:

• More than 3.5 million Heroes, more than 2 million Villains
• More than 1.8 million registered players on PC, and more than 2.3 million registered players on PS3™
• 3.6 million days of playtime total by all players in-game
• More than 1,200 new NPC characters added since launch
• More than 200 new quests added since launch
• More than 2,500 new items added since launch
• More than 15 new zones added since launch
• More than 1,800 new encounters since launch

To celebrate the game's one-year anniversary, players will receive a special one-of-a-kind One Year Anniversary Cape that features a number "1"on the back.  The cape will be granted to players through their mission journal on January 11. The character must exist on the 11th to be eligible to receive the mission. However, players do not need to log in on the 11th; as long as the character exists on the 11th, players will receive the mission the next time they log in.

DC Universe Online is licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on behalf of DC Entertainment. For more information about DC Universe Online, visit www.DCUniverseOnline.com.

For press assets, including box art, trailers and screenshots, visit: http://bhimpact.gamespress.com/product_page.asp?i=903.

About DC Universe Online

Lex Luthor has traveled back through time with news of a dire future: While the heroes and villains spent years battling amongst themselves, Brainiac has been feeding on their powers, building strength to return to Earth and destroy humanity. To change the future, Lex has come back to set off a device that bestows super powers to thousands of every-day citizens and give humanity a fighting chance. Can Brainiac be stopped, or is this another nefarious Lex Luthor plot?

For the first time, players and fans will be able to enter the DC Universe as an active force for good or evil. A massively multiplayer experience, DC Universe Online delivers unparalleled high-energy, physics-powered combat that brings the player's extraordinary powers to life.

DC Universe Online was created in the artistic vision of legendary comic book artist Jim Lee, and set within a world created by famous DC writers including Geoff Johns and Marv Wolfman.

Rated T for Teen with Mild Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence, DC Universe Online is available for PC and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. DCUO Legendary access is available for a $14.99 monthly fee.  For players of the PC version of the game, Legendary access to DCUO is included in the all-in-one SOE All Access subscription.

About SOE

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games. Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®,Clone Wars Adventures™ and DC Universe™Online, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for a variety of platforms. SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of online worlds through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.

SOE, the SOE logo, EverQuest, Champions of Norrath, PlanetSide and Free Realms are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About DC Entertainment

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner.  DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games.  Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.

SOURCE Sony Online Entertainment LLC