Warhammer: Age of Reckoning release date announced

Electronic Arts has announced the release date for its much-anticipated MMO Warhammer: Age of Reckoning - it will launch on September 18 in North America, Europe and Oceania, a window which will put it head-to-head with World of Warcraft's next expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.

The publisher also announced that the Collector's Edition of the game had sold out in North America, while the game's monthly subscription rate was also unveiled - the game will cost USD 14.99 per month to play in the US, while 3-monthly subscriptions and 6-monthly subscriptions will also be available at monthly equivalent rates of USD 13.99 and USD 12.99 respectively.

The game has been labelled by some as the best chance for a realistic challenger to Activision Blizzard's all-conquering MMO World of Warcraft, which recently announced an active subscriber base of 10.9 million players.

Meanwhile Activision Blizzard today announced that it would refer to its former NASDAQ listing code of ATVI, erasing the additional 'D' that has been added following the merger with Vivendi Games.

UPDATE: Pricing plans for the UK and Europe have been announced as follows: EUR 12.99/GBP 10.31 per month as standard, or 3-monthly and 6-monthly subscriptions will also be available at monthly equivalent rates of EUR 11.99/GBP 9.51 and EUR 10.99/GBP 8.72 respectively.