Empire Of The Eclipse Is An MMO For Your iPhone

New developer Zarksoft is crafting an outer space strategy MMO that will premiere on iOS early in 2011. That's according to a recent press release posted to the developer's website.

"As long time fans of games like Civilization and Master of Orion, we've worked diligently to make a game that lives up to the standards set by those milestone titles," explains president of Zarksoft Lee Dotson in the release.  "Empire of the Eclipse also brings accessibility and massively multiplayer capabilities to mobile devices."

The game will support play for up to 1500 players per game, in which players will vie for control of the stars through economic and military superiority. Hundreds of planets will be available to explore and conquer. Players will also be able to build up their empire's strengths through 40 diverse skills. The developer is also assuring that players will have no way to "purchase their way to victory", a welcome promise for gamers sick of microtransactions that ruin the competitive play experience.

The team at Zarksoft is made up of veterans from Unreal, Diablo, and Star Trek Online. It'll be exciting to see how this ambitious project shapes up in the coming months.