Back in 2000, Cyberlore Studios' Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim took a novel approach to the PC empire-building strategy genre with its hands-off emphasis on heroes, and soon established itself as a cult hit. The game received an expansion the next year, but Cyberlore never got around to making a sequel, and put its rights to the series up for sale after shifting its focus away from game development.

　　A view of the empire. Now, eight years after the game first hit shelves, Majesty is finally set for a sequel. Paradox Interactive today announced that it is planning to release Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim for the PC in the first quarter of 2009. Calling it the biggest title the company has published to date, Paradox executive vice president Fredrik Wester said in a statement the team is trying to rekindle fans' passion for the series while also broadening its audience.

　　Development on the game has been entrusted to 1C: Ino-Co. In an interview with GameSpot, the game's producer, Alexey Kozyrev, explained the approach the studio is taking to the game.

　　"Our goal is to reinvent as many aspects of the original game as possible, to bring them up to date, while keeping the charming atmosphere and sense of humor that was such an essential component of the original Majesty," Kozyrev said. "We also want to keep the core concept of indirect control that made the original Majesty what it was."

　　For more on what Paradox and 1C: Ino-Co have to live up to, check out GameSpot's review of the original Majesty.