Happy 10th anniversary, Anarchy Online! The world's first sci-fi MMO launched on June 27, 2001 and Funcom is celebrating this milestone with an in-game party this weekend. They've also added new content to the game, including a birthday raid, new vehicles, clothes, gear, action figures and pets.

Here's what Game Director Colin Cragg had to say about Anarchy Online reaching the 10-year mark:

“When Anarchy Online launched ten years ago nobody would have predicted where it would go, and that we would even see this day are all thanks to the dedication of our players and our community. I have so many fond memories from the years with Anarchy Online, and there are so many people to thank. The span of time and the way our world has touched the lives of so many is something we will always cherish. The fact that the kids of couples who met in AO are now playing our game says it all. I feel incredibly grateful to have been a part of Anarchy Online, and can't wait to see what the future holds in store for us all.”

Anarchy Online is free-to-play, so head over to the game's official site if you'd like to join in on the festivities.

It's hard to believe that it was just seven years ago that Anarchy Online, a groundbreaking MMO, first launched. 200-million hours later, and still going strong!

July 1, 2008 - Funcom is proud to announce that Anarchy Online celebrates seven years in operation. The original sci-fi MMO has been a groundbreaking game ever since it launched, and it still stand as a massive pillar of the MMO genre. As the game moves into its eight year it shows no signs of slowing down, with development continuing at full pace with an ever evolving virtual world.

The history of Anarchy Online is one of hope and innovation, and development started as early as 1995. The internet was reserved for a small population of "elite" users back then, and early design documents were even questioning whether the internet had a future. At first Anarchy Online was therefore a small research project, but as history shows it soon turned into a massive and extremely ambitious MMO.

Anarchy Online is celebrating 7 years online, today!  June 27th 2001 brought us a game that no one thought would last this long.  But Funcom has truly showed they can adapt and change, and they've made an amazing world that many love!

Gaute Godager, Morten Byom, Craig Morrison, Ragnar Tørnquist and Colin Cragg. Three Game Directors, one Storycreator and one Lead Designer sit down and discuss their experiences with Anarchy Online in this new video.

Sharing some of their memories, both from working in the development team and from playing the game themselves, this video takes a closer look at the passion and dedication that has gone into making Anarchy Online one of the most unique games in MMO history.

Download: Web | 480p | 720p

Congrats to the entire AO and Funcom team for their amazing work!

Anarchy Online has a letter from the game directors up for November!

Then, as I mentioned briefly last time, we are also going to be looking at PVP, and 17.8 will include the first stage of a total re-write of the PVP title system, and will introduce separate rankings for solo and teaming PVP as well as a true dueling system with its own ranks as well for those that prefer that style of PVP as well. We truly hope that we will be able to cater for all the PVP tastes as much as possible with these changes, and while some of the details are still be thrashed out, we will be sure to let you all know closer to the time exactly what the system entails and how it works, but we think it will be an important part giving people additional goals and incentives in PVP.

Now, I can guess one of the next questions! Will there be rewards beyond the ranks themselves? In the short term the answer is no, when we introduce the changes we won’t be adding any item rewards for reaching a given rank as we want to see how the system works on the live dimensions first, and be sure we get the chance to do a round of adjustments (as there always are some things players adapt in ways we don’t predict!) before we consider rewards. It is on the drawing board and we are definitely open to adding specific rewards for gaining these new PVP ranks, but we also want to be sure we have the progression correct first! Lastly on this one, you needn’t worry about your old ranks, when the new system goes live we plan to save your old rank and players will hopefully have the option of which of their ranks displays by their name, be it their solo rank, team rank, duel rank or their old ‘legacy’ rank.

Lots of exciting news for what's coming, so go read!  If you haven't yet played in Rubi-Ka, there's a free play opportunity, so go check it out!

Anarchy Online has posted their preliminary patch notes for this upcoming 17.7 release.

**New Content and Major additions**

- New Dust Brigade Quest line.

- High level players can seek out the new ICC Officer at ICC headquarters in Andromeda to embark on an ivestigation into the recent increased Dust Brigade Activity.

- Each profession can attain a new HUD / UTIL slot item that allows them access to 4 new improved nano formulas that can be found through rewards for the quest line.

- New Rubi-Ka Quest lines.

- Mid level players can visit the new outpost built around the old Bronto Burger stand in Holes in the Wall to find a variety of new quests.

- These quests come in a number of level ranges. Starting at level 60, then from 80 onwards and lastly for those above level 120 - there are no max level restrictions either, so you can go back and do them with higher level characters if you wish

- New weapon upgrades now available.

- A new series of tradeskills have been added to allow some of the older classic weapons to be upgraded and improved.

Some really great looking changes coming!

Testing of sorting part 2!

Square Enix is providing us with a significant number of beta accounts for our premium members to try out their new MMORPG Final Fantasy XI.  I've been playing it a while now and I think you are going to enjoy getting into this beta.  The giveaway is only open to residents of the US and Canada and you need to meet the system requirements, and of course you need to be an Allakhazam Premium Member to enter.  Use this link if you are interested in signing up.  Signups for the giveaway will close on Monday, so be sure to enter now.

Oslo, Norway—July 01, 2003 –Shadowlands is the highly anticipated expansion pack for Funcom’s award-winning massively multiplayer online game, Anarchy Online. After 18 months in development, Funcom reveals 26th of August as final release date. Shadowlands will bring lots of unique and creative elements to the online role playing genre. With an impressive amount of new features the expansion pack almost doubles the content in the game, one of many reasons the gaming press has been very positive in their previews. The approach taken in crafting this unique world is based on two years of experience running an online world, and the expansion is tailored to both new and existing players. “We wanted to make something totally unique and original” says Game Director Gaute Godager, “with graphics, depth, ambience and game play like no other online title”. Feature Highlights

20 new playfields across seven distinct themes

Hundreds of new monsters with improved AI

Two new professions; Shade and Keeper

The floating city of Jobe

Thousands of new weapons, armour and items

Enhanced graphics

Faction system

Hundreds of Perks, a way to specialize your character even further

Increased level cap, 220

Shadowbreed, unlock your inner powers

New music and audio

And much more…

The expansion pack will include the full version of Anarchy Online, Anarchy Online - Notum Wars and Anarchy Online – Shadowlands, as well as one month of included game-time for new accounts. Suggested retail price is 29.99 US Dollars \ Euro. Customers who pre-order Shadowlands are entitled to an exclusive luxury apartment in the floating city of Jobe. For more information, images and features, please visit www.anarchyonline.com/shadowlands.

It looks like this may become a every Friday thing for CZ, and I think the community likes it. As for this weeks addition:

Look for open beta applications for Shadowlands as early as next week.

14.8.2 is still going up on the 21st, expect a 3 to 4 hour downtime.

14.9 (new high level zone) should be ready 5 to 6 weeks from now.

New Bulletin Board setup has been well received. Possible new forums to be looked into after Shadowlands launches (guild, level based etc.)

Other items are on hold right now with things in full swing for Shadowlands.

Full story here.

They have renamed most of the forums, added more, and divided the forums into two categories. (Basically player ran and Funcom ran) These changes should greatly enhance the usefulness of the forum system. New player ran forums include "The Rubi-Kan Markets", "The Buzz", and "Life on Rubi-Ka" So if you got some time to kill head on over and have a look around. Click Here.