Despite an interview at Gateworld where Brad Wright hinted that the game didn't have much of a future by saying "They had an opportunity and they got our support, and they obviously had significant funding, and it didn't happen," Balentine (the Manager of the GateWorld project) says that progress is still moving forward with the MMO.

On the World site, he address Wright's interview, saying:

Our official response is that the lights here are still on and the development team is working hard every day to get this game built.

I've been asked from many corners lately to provide an official response to a story circulated by Gateworld.net. I spoke with Darren Sumner, the author of the story, soon after it was posted and gave him a detailed response to the article which he decided not to publish.

Our official response is that the lights here are still on and the development team is working hard every day to get this game built. Team members are in the office seven days a week to deliver Stargate Worlds. Brad Wright is the Stargate expert and a creative consultant on Stargate Worlds who advises us on the story; unfortunately we had not recently updated him on our progress or the impact from the current global economic crisis, and he was not fully aware of the continuing progress on our game.

It's true that the production of Stargate Worlds has been significantly impacted by the greatest worldwide economic downturn in decades, but we are still raising enough money from angel investors to keep the dev team working.

We are currently negotiating several deals that will cover our financial responsibilities and fund the remainder of development. When we sign those deals, you'll hear about it. Until then, we'll keep building Stargate Worlds, because right now, that's the only thing that matters to us.

So that's good news because from the concept art we've seen, it looks pretty gorgeous for an MMO. I hope this project sees the light of day, for the sexy alien ladies alone.

The release date is still just 2009, with no more specifics, but it's nice to see that the designers are taking great care in each character and alien. The concept art for this MMO is really piling up and hopefully all of the work they're putting into the many characters and worlds will make Stargate Worlds longer lasting then some MMOs.

Some of the stills were taken from Computer and Video Games. To see more of the new action shots, check out the gallery they have set up there.

[Stargate Worlds]

In Stargate Worlds, you'll be able to form a squad of online friends, or venture out into the Gate-verse on your own. You can also decide whether or not you want to be a good guy or a baddie (myself I'd rather be a soldier over a System Lord). The game will be released December 30, 2008.

[Stargate Worlds on WarCry]