Sony Online Entertainment officially reveals the sequel to its first-person action MMO, PlanetSide. The new game, PlanetSide 2, will feature many of its predecessor’s popular features such as large-scale multiplayer battles, empire-based factions, and massive continents to explore, conquer, and defend.

"For years we've talked about creating another PlanetSide game, and we're thrilled that technology has caught up with our vision," said John Smedley, President of SOE. "I'm incredibly impressed by what our team has done with PlanetSide 2. They've made everything as big, bold and brutal as possible. PlanetSide 2 is truly representative of what a next generation MMOFPS will look and feel like."

Players will once again be able to choose from three different empires - the Terran Republic, New Conglomerate and Vanu Sovereignty. Each offers a unique set of character classes, weapons and vehicle load-outs. The game will also offer a new mission system that will teach new players the ropes, easing them into the hard fight ahead.

The only real serious changes relate to how long battles can last and the underlying technology SOE is using to build the game. Now that the world is of a more persistent nature, SOE claims that battles can last days or weeks. SOE also said that PlanetSide 2 will harness the power of its next-generation Forgelight MMO engine.

While it sounds like PlanetSide 2 isn't that far removed from the gameplay of the original, we can expect that the game will be more refined in all the right areas. SOE has not announced a release date for the game or whether it will be subscription based or free-to-play.