Citadel Studios Publishing New "Seasonal" MMO CODEX

This is another one of those, "we don't know if this will be free-to-play or not" things, but it's interesting enough to let you know about it. It seems that Citadel Studios -- makers of Legends of Aria -- is dipping its proverbial toes into the publishing pool. The company announced on Twitter over the weekend that it would be publishing Corp Por's "seasonal" MMO, named CODEX. According to the tweet, this is their first go at publishing and the first game created using Citadel's Shards Engine. Corp Por licensed the engine in 2020 in order to create the game.

We are publishing a game! Our first published title and first Shards Engine game. We look forward to sharing the release date and launch announcement. https://t.co/tCFxatcYTd

— Citadel Studios (@Citadel_Studios) June 20, 2021

So, you might be wondering what "seasonal" means when referring to the MMO. Think of something akin to seasons in MOBAs or battle royales -- only with less focus on competition and ladder ranking and more on telling a complete story in one go. CODEX's seasons consist of "epic massively multiplayer adventures, each taking place over a limited time", or season. During each season, players can level multiple classes, explore, craft, trade, and even decorate their homes. When each adventure ends and the next one begins, players will be able to carry over specific rewards and cosmetics as proof that they were there.

While there's not an official launch date for CODEX, a prologue season is already on its way and, according to the Corp Por site, will be available in the coming weeks. The prologue is an early development build and players will apparently be able to play for free until level 5. This leaves me inclined to think the game will not actually be free-to-play when it officially launches, but I could be wrong.