Massively multiplayer role playing games have enjoyed a great amount of success throughout most of the world. We are all familiar with successes in the US, Western Europe and Asia. However, there are other parts of the world where gamers are just becoming exposed to the genre. Such an area is Eastern Europe, and leading the way is Russian developer Nikita with their MMORPG Sphere.

Sphere recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. The game has already seen expansion and there are plans for moving to other platforms such as mobile phones. Nikita’s efforts in pioneering a Russian language MMORPG have been rewarded with a solid player base that continues to grow. The game was recently acknowledged as the Best Multiplayer Game of 2004 at the Gameland Awards in Moscow. We spoke with Yan Udras, PR Manager of Nikita about the game, its success and Nikita’s plans for the future.