Darkfall release pushed back

Darkfall Online, the intimidatingly strict player-versus-player MMO from Greece, has had its release pushed back from next week to next month.

Originally announced for 22nd January, developer Adventurine has now said that date will see the start of a free trial period and "stress test" (a beta, by any other name), with the commercial release pushed back to 25th February.

With 200,000 applications to test the game exceeding Adventurine's capacity to accommodate them, the free trial period won't be accessible to everybody. "Interest in Darkfall has surpassed all our expectations to the point that we may need to manage our release differently," said the developer.

Pre-orders will open up in mid-February, giving priority early access to the game and priority for the launch itself if demand is so great that Adventurine has to go for a "staged release".

The developer provided many endearingly honest reasons for the delay in its post, including: "We underestimated the effect the holidays would have on our preparations. While we worked through them, the world around us seemed to stop." No kidding.

Details on pricing, pre-order information and how North American players (and, we're hoping, press) will be able to access the game will follow soon. We'll bring you more on Darkfall as soon as we get our hands on it.