Originally scheduled for earlier this year, the demise of publisher Lighthouse Interactive has now delayed the game to mid 2010, with a closed beta to commence late Jan. or early Feb. and an open beta planned for April 2010.

In Dawn of Fantasy, you will follow the path of an impoverished country squire, Lord Harthram, as he joins the King's army in search of a simple wage, only to discover a desperate and bloody war with the Orc realm of Gokkholm is about to erupt. The human kingdom of Teria is led by an untested, self-absorbed nobleman, Prince Erian the 3rd. As The War Without Kings spirals out of control, Prince Erian must pass through the fires of youth into manhood under the tutelage of his father's military adviser, a rough-necked knight, and a profane half-dwarf soldier. Meanwhile, a mysterious conspiracy leads the Three Orders of Wizards to the distant realm of dragons, while human traitors, elven allies, and rogue pirate clans all contribute to the cataclysmic conclusion.

Developed by Reverie World Studios, Dawn of Fantasy's core production team is built around members of the prominent game development professionals behind the critically acclaimed commercial hits, Empire Earth, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World, and Rise and Fall: Civilization at War. Dawn of Fantasy is the next evolution of fantasy RTS games, featuring MMORTS simulation, in addition to the familiar RTS environment. The game immerses players in an intense story-driven experience built on a deep history and rich tapestry of mythology.

Dawn of Fantasy also features an epic single player campaign that covers all three races, and spans over 30 hours of narratives in 10 expansive scenarios. With the amount of scripting and cinematic details often seen in the FPS genre, Reverie World Studios brings new standards in level design, scripting and cinematic appeal to the RTS genre.

Key Features :

• Vivid 3D World – Advanced rag-doll physics and bloom effects with 100+ different objects and environments
• Epic Fantasy Battles – Proprietary game engine supports thousands of units per screen, packed with top of the genre RTS tech, including wall-walking, map technology, and LoD
• Day/Night Combat – Brings contrast in gameplay and overall strategy
• Three Distinct Races and Civilizations – Elves, Orcs and Humans
• Intense Single Player – Innovation and showmanship delivered in 30 hours of non-linear narratives
• Competitive Online Skirmish – Up to 6 players, with various gameplay modes with guild and user-made scenario support
• Persistent MMORTS Simulation Mode - Never-before-seen in the RTS community, this original MMORTS concept creates a new kind of MMO experience, similar to the questing & PvP structure of MMORPG games, but with RTS gameplay at its core
• Powerful Editor – Advanced and Basic design modes scalable according to each player's skill level
• Mount, Swim, Run… – Character behaviour and units' abilities are no longer restricted
• Character Development and Emotions – Characters come to life displaying an array of complex emotions through individual character AI
• Mighty Magic – Powers acquired through character development; burn down cities and bring down whole armies
• Innovative Naval Combat – Possibilities fully explored with beautifully animated ships that act as floating fortresses filled with players' units
• Siege Innovations – Siege oriented gameplay emphasised removing hassles typically oriented with siege gameplay
• Original Base-Building Approach – Tedious micromanagement aspects of base-building replaced with stronger emphasis on players personalizing each of their buildings
• Army Camps – Allow players to setup temporary camps anywhere
• Complex Economic Model – Combines the complexity of over 10 gathering possibilities with automated simplicity, allowing players the option to micromanage their economy
• Corpse Looting – Recover the majority of a unit's cost from corpses and recycle resources… gameplay takes on a whole new image