DCUO offers a dramatic online setting where players can enter the DC Universe and battle alongside or against their favorite DC Comics heroes and villains including such icons as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker, as well as many other fan favorites such as Green Lantern, The Flash, Catwoman and Martian Manhunter. The action and drama will play out in such well-known locations as Gotham City and Metropolis among others.

Award-winning writer Marv Wolfman has joined the creative team at WildStorm Productions that is working with SOE to bring the DC Universe to life on the PS3 and the PC.

Supporting the game’s distinctive, dynamic look is a physics-based combat system that makes traditional role-based massively multiplayer online games a thing of the past. With DCUO, players will have virtual powers that feel truly epic in scope from the get-go. Fly around, grab a bus, and toss it at your foes. Shoot energy blasts from your power ring as you dash with incredible speed along the side of a skyscraper. Or turn rivals into ice cubes and then lob them from atop the Daily Planet building.

"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.

Key Features:

• Based on the distinctive, acclaimed artwork and designs of comic book legend Jim Lee.
• Iconic DC Comic settings and characters, from Gotham City to Arkham Asylum, Batman to Blue Beetle.
• Players can enter a persistent DC Universe and fight alongside their favorite heroes and villains to play their own adventure in the mythology of these legendary characters and locales.
• DCUO will be an online world that stays true to the DC Comics property and allows players to feel and act like super heroes or villains.
• Physics-based fighting turns vehicles, streetlights and other players into weapons, resulting in dynamic combat scenarios that are different every time.