Neverwinter launching June 20, first free expansion coming this summer

Neverwinter, Cryptic Studios' free-to-play fantasy MMO, will leave open beta and finally launch on June 20, publisher Perfect World Entertainment revealed in a press release today.

The role-playing game has been in open beta since April 30, allowing players to tackle all of the game's classes, quests and content for free; fortunately, all progress made in the beta will be rolled into the final version of the game.

Later this summer, Cryptic will launch the first free content expansion — which it refers to as a "module" — for the game, titled Fury of the Feywild. According to the press release, the add-on "chronicles an attempt by Fomorian Giants to seize the Elven city of Sharandar." Players will be tasked with thwarting their advances. Other details about the expansion are slim, but players can camp out on a recently launched teaser site for the module to learn more.

For more on what sets Neverwinter apart from its top-down RPG predecessors, check out our interview with Cryptic senior producer Andy Velasquez.