‘Phantasy Star Online 2’ Finally Heads West

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Phantasy Star Online 2” is one of Japan’s biggest online role-playing games and it’s finally coming to North America on , Microsoft announced during the Xbox E3 2019 press conference on Sunday.

The Sega MMO first launched in Japan in 2012. The western version includes all previously released content and stories, Microsoft said. It will also feature some form of cross-play. Like the Japanese version, it’s free-to-play with optional microtransactions. There are no limitations on game experiences such as the class level cap, Sega said, and high-tier weapons aren’t available for direct purchase.

“PSO2” players are members of research expeditions called “Arks,” Sega said. The Arks belong to a fleet of interplanetary cruising ships tasked with exploring a variety of different planets.
As they visit each new planet, the players embark on quests on auto-generated maps, where they’ll encounter gigantic monsters and sudden events. Up to 12 players can band together simultaneously.

“Phantasy Star Online 2” launches on Xbox One in Spring 2020. There’s no word yet on whether or not it will be included in the Xbox Game Pass or if it will eventually come to PC.

 2019 is coming to Los Angeles on June 11 through 13, and we’ll cover all the highlights of the event here at  Variety  as well.