January 24^th, 2005 (1:33pm) - Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has announced that Champions: Return to Arms, the sequel to the Action RPG, Champions of Norrath, has gone gold. Champions: Return to Arms, available exclusively on the PlayStation 2, will ship to U.S. and Canadian retail stores on February 7, 2005.

"With the first game, Champions of Norrath, achieving ’Greatest Hits’ status on the PlayStation 2, the popularity of this series just keeps growing and we expect the momentum to continue with the launch of the second edition, Champions: Return to Arms," said Michael Lustenberger, vice president of marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "Champions: Return to Arms builds upon the features that made Champions of Norrath such a great game by offering players two new races, competitive play for both online and offline modes, a whole new storyline and much, much more content for players to enjoy."

Champions: Return to Arms combines the creative talent of Snowblind Studios with SOE’s expertise in developing fantasy worlds to create a unique visual style, immersive storylines, and highly interactive environments. Champions: Return to Arms introduces two new playable races, more character customization options, thousands of items, weapons and spells, beautifully detailed environments, the ability to import characters from the original game, a whole new storyline, an innovative medal system which unlocks secret gameplay modes, more online and multiplayer options and much more.

Champions: Return to Arms offers an online multiplayer component for no additional cost to players (players are responsible for providing a broadband internet connection and PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor for online play). Up to four players per game can adventure in Norrath via their broadband internet connection, using the PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor (sold separately). Players have the freedom to join an existing game or host their own through SOE’s matchmaking service, SOEGames.net. Champions: Return to Arms has both USB headset voice and keyboard chat support, allowing players to plan strategies during online play (USB headset/keyboard optional, each sold separately). Alternately, up to four players can use the Multitap (sold separately) to play together on a single PlayStation 2.