Warner Bros. Entertainment is tapping Inplay Interactive to make a new entry in the F.E.A.R. franchise. The new game, dubbed F.E.A.R. Online, is a free-to-play team-based horror shooter. Publisher Aeria Games, which operates free-to-play titles like Dynasty Warriors Online and Battlefield Heroes, will publish and oversee F.E.A.R. Online in the United States.
“We are thrilled to present the next entry in one of the most popular horror franchises of the last decade,” Aeria Games vice president of PC games Tom Nichols said. “F.E.A.R. Online will bring back the tense, heart-pounding action that the series is known for and make it accessible to a huge online community of competitive players.”
Players can sign up for the F.E.A.R. Online beta program now, but Aeria isn’t providing any details about when that testing period will begin.
F.E.A.R. is a series of first-person psychological-horror shooter games. The original title debuted in 2005 for PC and had players taking on spirits as part of a U.S. special forces team called “First Encounter Assault Recon” (or F.E.A.R.). Several expansions and sequels followed including F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin in 2009 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 and F.E.A.R. 3 in 2011.
F.E.A.R. Online will feature several team-combat modes and 10 different atmospheric maps. It will tell a new story that runs parallel to the events of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.