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Sony is teaming with Virgin Comics to create a new MMORPG based on the Indian-themed Ramayan 3392 AD comic book series.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it plans to develop a new massively multiplayer online game based on the Virgin Comics series Ramayan 3392 AD. Developed in part by Deepak Chopra and Shekar Kapur and launched just last year, Ramayan 3392 AD places stories based on some of India's epic myths in a futuristic setting; Sony's MMO game based on the series will initially be offered for the PC, and will feature input from the same creative team which created the comic.

The move may mark a cultural shift in gaming content developed by major publishers: to-date, MMO games have typically been based in Western-derived science fiction universes or fantasy worlds unabashedly derived to some degree from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. A game based on Ramayan 3392 AD would offer many gamers a chance to explore an entirely new mythos, touching on universal themes, but also uniquely Indian elements.

"Virgin Comics approached us with a portfolio of amazing comic properties based on Indian lore," said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. "We particularly love Ramayan 3392 A.D., as we feel Virgin Comics' telling of The Ramayana is particularly gripping, graphically brilliant, and lends itself extremely well to an MMO."

The exclusive multi-year, worldwide agreement lets Sony develop and publish an MMO game based on the Ramayan lore; Virgin Comics will consult on the project, with Virgin Comics president Suresh Seetharaman and co-founder Skekhar Kapur both on board to offer guidance. Neither company offered any guess as to when a game might reach consumers, but the complete development of a MMO game can be reasonably expected to take a year or two.

"Ramayan will offer gamers a chance to experience a whole new universe of characters and archetypes derived from one of the oldest cultures on Earth," said Sharad Devarajan, CEO and co-founder of Virgin Comics, in a statement. "Our mission at Virgin Comics has always been to allow this generation of Indian youth to have a creative platform through which to speak to the world. Through this collaboration with the likeminded visionaries at SOE, our young Indian creators will make gaming history worldwide."