Anarchy Online takes place over 27,000 years in the future. Not surprisingly, humanity has achieved many advances, one being the ability to traverse the vast, empty reaches of space. As a result, great numbers of distant planets have been discovered and explored, primarily in search of various resources. When they have been found, colonization has inevitably followed, no matter how inhospitable the environment. Rubi-Ka holds rare deposits of precious Notum, the substance that powers nanotechnology. The huge Omni-Tek Corporation began terraforming and mining operations millennia ago. However, it's an arid desert world located on a distant frontier of the galaxy. As such, even after all this time, only a small portion of its bleak surface is inhabited. Part of that is controlled by insurgent clans that the company has never been able to eradicate. 

Our connection with the title essentially dates from the time when it was announced, which means we've tracked it through almost its entire history. We followed its pre-release development and the early growth of its community very closely, so we were very familiar with the potential it displayed and the amounts of attention it attracted. We're also aware of the issues that arose when the game went live, and the negative image that, unfortunately, still persists in some people's minds today, even though that perception became inaccurate and outdated long ago. In fact, the team turned things around dramatically, and the endeavor became an award winner. Since then, the game and its approach to market have been worth watching. We had the chance to ask Game Director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison, a Vault alumnus, about the recent addition of item sales.

Jonric: How would you summarize the state of Anarchy Credits? How does it attract players in today's market, and has having a steeper learning curve than newer releases affected its appeal?