The retail pre-order for European players is scheduled to start December 12th. Customers who pre-order will receive:

• An invitation to the “Pre-Boarding Party” allowing them access to the live game up to 15 days prior to launch, and the ability to keep their characters, skills and equipment after launch with purchase of game and paid subscription (characters will have a level cap of 20 during this time)
• Captain’s Best Friend – a blue and yellow parrot
• Mighty Blades - Swedish Rapier, Old World Steel or Musketeer’s Matching Blades (depending upon which fighting style is selected)
• Original Game Soundtrack CD – 60 minutes of pirate themed music (comes in pre-order box)

Pirates of the Burning Sea open beta is scheduled to begin worldwide on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 5pm PST. Pirates of the Burning Sea European retail pre-order is scheduled to begin Wednesday, December 12, 2007.

Pirates of the Burning Sea will feature action for every play style, whether it’s epic ship combat, piracy, building economic empires or sword-swinging adventure. Burning Sea takes place in the New World circa 1720, a dramatic time of conflict and riches. Choosing one of four Nations – France, Spain, England or Pirate – players can set sail as a valiant naval officer, a devil-may-care privateer, a savvy merchant adventurer, or a fearless, rampaging pirate. With one thousand missions to play, dozens of ports to explore, and the entire Caribbean as their domain, players will find an online experience like no other.

Virtual buccaneers can engage in fierce ship-to-ship combat in real time, complete with the roar of cannon fire and the crunch of timber as masts and hulls are shattered, sending foes to the bottom of the briny deep or leaving them helpless and ripe for looting. Pirate games aren’t complete without the clashing of swords and Pirates of the Burning Sea delivers with three swashbuckling styles, from the deadly and formal Fencing, to the flashy dual-wielding Florentine, or the rowdy and treacherous Dirty Fighting. The combat system is fast and fluid with awesome swordplay and powerful finishing moves.

Pirates of the Burning Sea also features an economy completely run by players, who build their own empires across the Caribbean. Build your own forges, quarries, and rum distilleries and manage large-scale production and distribution in a cutthroat world of gold and galleons where profits are the dream and desperate measures the reality.

The game's Conquest system turns any port into a battleground, as rival players rack up points through PvE (Player vs. Environment) missions and combat culminating in a period of intense PvP (Player vs. Player) gameplay to determine who takes the port -- and the valuable resources it provides for economic gameplay. If you want the cannons, you have to capture the iron, making the Conquest system something that impacts the career of every single player.

Features :

• A game for serious gamers. Gorgeous graphics using the latest high-end hardware. Broadband connections required for smooth play. We're making this game for those who want the best experience possible.
• Make your own career. Your fortunes shift with the winds and your desires. Buy a naval commission and command a ship of the line. Turn traitor and work as a privateer for your former foes. Navigate the perils of war and weather as a merchant. You can do whatever your reputation allows - and your reputation is yours to create.
• Epic adventure on a human scale. You'll be on a server with no more than a few thousand players. It's a world big enough for constant adventure, but small enough that your reputation carries weight with the people you meet.
• Player-created content. We put the player community in the designer's seat. Using industry standard tools, you can create new textures and even 3-D models and submit them to the peer-reviewed web site for incorporation into the game. And you own what you create - if you design a new sword hilt or throne or sail design texture, you can make it freely available or charge for it within the game world. Earn in-game income from the sales of your designs! Or keep them to yourself and customize your own unique gear to the nth degree.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is scheduled to launch worldwide on January 22, 2008.