Atlantica Online recently won a Golden Plume Award for Best Foreign Online Game at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy) in Beijing.

Atlantica’s victory comes as the game is preparing to enter beta testing in China. Atlantica developer NDOORS Inc. signed a publishing deal with Chinese gaming leader The9, which publishes World of Warcraft in China, last April. Beta on the Chinese edition of Atlantica is expected to begin in early 2009.

The full press release is below.

Atlantica Online is launching a new server today!

The number of new players joining the Atlantica world is growing beyond expectations. The average number of concurrent players has increased by 300%, filling servers to capacity.

Therefore, to accommodate the rapidly growing player base, we will be opening up new servers very soon. And the first new one to come online will be Argos, on Saturday, Nov. 8, at approximately 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Named after the city-states of ancient Greece, Argos joins Sikyon, Mycenae, Thebes, and Macedon as the fifth server for Atlantica.

Players new and old can now start fresh on an even playing field with a clean economy, becoming the first to discover the secrets of Atlantis.

What a great testament to the popularity of the game!

Looks like Atlantica Online had a very successful launch week according to a press release that we just received. Check it out:

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Nov. 6, 2008 -- The official launch of Atlantica Online is exceeding expectations.

The strategic turn-based MMORPG, which sends players on a globe-hopping adventure around the Earth, has seen tremendous growth since its debut with the number of daily unique players doubling. The average number of concurrent players has increased by 300 percent since introduction and has filled servers to capacity.  NDOORS Interactive will be opening new servers beginning Saturday, Nov. 8.

"The response for Atlantica has been nothing short of amazing," said Peter Kang, CEO, NDOORS Interactive. "We understand that the foundation and lifeblood of every MMO is its community, and we can't thank our players enough."

Atlantica Online launches later today but not before Producer Kim Tae Gon get's in one more Developer Journal entry at Allakhazam. In his final journal he talks about the 'mercenary system' that just so happens to be a major part of your adventuring within Atlantica. You can start to hire mercenaries shortly after you create your character so pay attention!

You’ve Got Friends in Atlantica

In Atlantica Online, you'll always have friends. No matter what the rest of life is like, at least in Atlantica you can travel with your buddies around the world to places like Egypt, and very soon to California. If you like to kick some butt while seeing the sights, then the friends found in Atlantica that we call mercenaries will make for perfect travel companions. They've got some great travel gear swords, guns and some wicked spells.

When we created Atlantica, we wanted the mercenary system to really heighten the excitement and fun of the turn-based combat that we had envisioned and worked hard to realize. These two features together would make the game different from the normal single-character, real-time action found in most MMORPGs today. But it’s not different just to be different. We believe the combination of the two systems offers an exciting and fast-paced form of gameplay that will hopefully have players coming back for more. With multiple characters to control, each with numerous moves and magic to take advantage of, there are countless possibilities in how a player can fight a battle. We hope players will experiment and tinker with the many different options available to them.