BioWare has revealed a new planet that can be explored in the upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. The icy world of Hoth will be featured in the game.

The Old Republic site describes Hoth in this era as a “massive starship graveyard”, where remains from a great Imperial-Republic war are scattered throughout the area. In the newfound peace, both groups visit the planet to scavenge among the wreckage, with the occasional small conflict still breaking out.

The timing isn’t too bad, either, as this week marks the thirtieth anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, which opened with Hoth.

Have a look at some of the concept art:

Star Wars: The Old Republic is currently scheduled for release in Spring 2011.

The June update to Final Fantasy XI will include the end of the Wings of the Goddess storylines, which have been gradually rolled out since the expansion’s release in late 2007.

The expansion, which offers three versions of its storyline, one for each of the nations of Bastok, San d’Oria and Windurst, will finally bring these stories to their epic conclusions. The Wings of the Goddess storyline opened up a link to the past of the game’s world of Vana’diel, allowing players to travel through time and experience an earlier, war-torn version of the FFXI world.

The next version update also introduces a level cap increase to Final Fantasy XI, as Square Enix begins the rise from the long-standing level 75 cap to a level 99 cap.

Final Fantasy XI is itself now in its eighth year of life since its first Japanese launch. The game also has three new “Abyssea” add-on scenarios going live in the near future, beginning with Vision of Abyssea, which will go on sale for $10 US alongside June’s version update.

A specific date for the update has not yet been announced, but Square Enix is targeting mid-June.

Square Enix has revealed new details about Eorzea, the world of its upcoming MMO, Final Fantasy XIV.

For one, the world map of Eorzea has been revealed:

Technically speaking, this is a map of Aldenard, a continent of Eorzea. You can expect that this map will expand as Final Fantasy XIV does — just like its predecessor FFXI gradually showed us more of Vana’diel.

We’ve also learned a little bit about the city-states where players may begin their FFXIV journey. Of course, they’re a bit reminiscent of the FFXI starting cities as well:

• Ul’dah is described as a “bustling commercial hub” in the middle of the southern deserts. The city itself is a fortress, with towering walls and guard posts surrounding a central citadel.  Despite this, the city is perhaps best known for its recreational uses: its wealth has lead to the building of battle arenas and gambling halls.
• The forest nation of Gridania can be found in the eastern lands of Aldenard. Wooden buildings can be found amongst the lush trees and rivers of the area. The Gridanians live a life in harmony with nature, participating in trades of their natural resources.
• Limsa Lominsa can be found on the western island of Vylbrand. The city itself actually expands over many small islands connected by bridges. This port town has the sea to thank for its wealth, both from the fishing industry and from trade and shipping to the other city-states.

Yoichi Wada has also recently commented that Final Fantasy XIV will be released in this fiscal year — which means sometime between now and the end of March 2011.

More on Final Fantasy XIV as we get it!

Cryptic Studios, the company behind Star Trek Online, is offering an alternative to the standard monthly pricing model that most MMOs run on. Instead of paying per month, or per year, would-be starship captains can put down a larger amount upfront, and guarantee their lifetime access to the game.

I’m saying “lifetime” a bit liberally here, meaning as long as Star Trek Online stays online, although there are probably enough Trekkies in the world to keep it alive much longer than Tabula Rasa, even if it turned out to be underwhelming.

Those who pre-order the game can sign up early and get the full lifetime membership for $239.99 US. Wait until after the game launches and the price will go up to $299.  The lifetime membership has the added bonus of offering two extra character slots above the monthly subscription, which costs $14.99 per month. These two slots are also available to annual subscribers, who pay $119 per year.

Unique to the lifetime membership, however, is the ability to play as a character who has recently been liberated from the Borg collective.

All subscription options are in addition to the purchase of the game itself, which will come packaged with a 30-day free subscription.

Star Trek Online launches February 2 in North America, and February 5 in Europe.

The upcoming MMORPG Star Trek Online has been given a release date. The game will be launched on February 2 in North America, and February 5 in Europe.

Star Trek Online will allow players to captain a starship in either Starfleet or the Klingon Empire. The game is currently in beta, with Cryptic working on ironing out the details for next week’s release. The game will be published by Atari.

Here’s the English version of the Final Fantasy XIV trailer shown at the Tokyo Game Show last week. Most of the content matches earlier trailers and screens, but it gives you a good feel of the FFXIV world atmosphere.

Final Fantasy XIV is due out sometime next year.