New MMO studio in Bulgaria, Masthead Studios has announced a new game called Earthrise is on the horizon, which is a sci-fi MMO set in a post-apocalyptic world where mankind is struggling for its very survival. With a skill based character development system planned, and extensive PvP combat, the hope is to fill a void in the current MMO marketplace by offering something not widely available to gamers. And the game will hopefully be entering a beta phase sometime later this year, and a planned launch in 2009.

Here is a brief excerpt from the site:

In the aftermath of the Third World War, mankind has managed to survive and build a new society: the prosperous city of Sal Vitas. Cloning, nanotechnology and quantum engineering are part of a new reality. Thanks to these technological advances, the human species has become immortal; each individual's consciousness is stored in a data vault, ready to be uploaded into a cloned body as necessary. New energy sources have been discovered. There is a unified government that takes good care of those citizens who abide by its strict laws. Paradise, it appears, might really have come to Earth, and the people have embraced it.

But not everything is as perfect as it appears. By exercising full control over the cloning process, Sal Vitas' government decides who will live and who will not, playing the role of God on Earth. Insurgent forces have accused the city's rulers of crimes against humanity. Armed factions fight for resources and power within the new system. And from the waves of discontent, a rebellion has fomented and formed a shadow government: Noir.