Skylanders Spyro’s Universe MMO Announced & Beta Begins

A Skylanders Spyro’s Universe MMO has been announced that will enter beta soon and expands the hit Skylanders game from console and handheld into the realm of PC MMO.

Offering a vast virtual world for kids to engage with, Skylanders: Spyro’s Universe offers a fantasy realm of floating islands designed to encourage world-building, exploration and friendly competition.

Kids can craft and customize their own Skylands, play mini-games like Sheep Shot, Sky Defense and Castle Assault, meet together online with their friends and investigate Skylands far and wide, or manage their toy collection and earn Achievements. The game is playable whether you own any of the toys or not, but if you do you can bring them to life and interact with them online in new ways separate from the console and portable Skylanders games.

Players who already own the game or figures can input the code supplied with each interaction figure, or use the Portal of Power to bring them to life inside the MMO universe. Those who don’t can join the fun simply by creating a free online account. Eon, the helpful Skylanders guide, will provide new visitors with a digital starter kit and an array of new adventures to discover over time.

Here is the debut trailer for the Skylanders: Spyro’s Universe MMO.

“We conceived Skylanders as a unique, multi-platform experience from the beginning, simultaneously grand in scope yet incredibly easy for kids to embrace,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “You can play with friends in the real world or on consoles, Nintendo 3DS, Mac or PC, and now on the web in Skylanders Spyro’s Universe. If there’s a screen where kids play, we want the Skylanders to come to life there. This also further enhances the play options of every Skylander character.”

Here’s an in-depth video actually showing gameplay from the beta (recorded by a kid, beware).

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS, PC and Mac and is swiftly becoming one of the holiday season’s must-have gifts for the younger set. The game has been featured on the Toys “R” Us “Holiday Hot Toy List”, Amazon’s Holiday Toy List, the Time to Play “Power Ups” holiday toy list and Toy Insider “Hot 20” list, and is being touted as one of the most exciting and inspired entertainment properties of 2011.

Skylanders looks awesome. I can only imagine how excited I’d be if I was a kid, either way it looks like great fun. And this MMO should really go a long way towards turning the game into a successful franchise.

Thanks to BseagullMC for the video.