Perfect World readies Legend of the Condor Heroes MMORPG

China-based Perfect World, an online game developer, will launch open beta testing for its 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Legend of the Condor Heroes (射雕英雄传), on September 25, 2014.

Adapted from Louis Cha's famous classic martial arts novel of the same name, Legend of the Condor Heroes is Perfect World's first action game to break away from the traditional "point and click" combat pattern. Running on Perfect World's new proprietary ARK game engine, the game can incorporate data from offline sports and other activities through selected wearable devices.

Robert Xiao, Chief Executive Officer of Perfect World commented, "Legend of the Condor Heroes is a high-quality title that incorporates a concept that we are calling, 'HiFuture!,' which promotes the idea that healthy gaming can be combined with healthy living. It is our view that the game industry will start to see a much deeper integration with other industries, and games in the future will incorporate features that promote a healthy lifestyle. With this exciting game, we look forward to providing another unforgettable world of entertainment for our players around the world."

Perfect World launched a MMORPG in the same universe based on the second book in the trilogy, Return of the Condor Heroes (神鵰俠侶), in 2012. A synopsis of the story by Cha, also known as Jin Yong, can be found on Wikipedia here.