Ah, the wait is finally over! All you Anarchy Online users who have remained loyal shall now reap your reward, because Funcom has just announced that the Lost Eden expansion pack is now up for grabs!

Lost Eden packs in tons of new features for all level ranges and is only available digitally, so don't even bother checking your local stores, alright? So anyway, before you download the expansion at Funcom's site, surely you wanna know the stuff that's included in the expansion, right?

Features:

• All-new orbital battle stations take PvP combat between Clan and Omni players to new heights.
• Enter the heart of the organic alien motherships! Unleash your powers inside the terrifying alien invasion fleet while exploring mysterious and challenging in-door environments.
• Go to war with missile launchers, gun turrets and call upon devastating air strikes! It's time to fight for Notum tower control in a whole new way.
• Add your experience points to planet-wide research and gain terrible weapons of war such as orbit-to-ground laser cannon attacks and upgraded battle-mechs.
• Master and use devastating new battle-mechs! Unleash their potential for death on massive player-versus-player battlefields, in space and on the ground.
• Conquer a whole new range of weapons and armor as you battle across Rubi-ka in its darkest hour! "Lost Eden" brings you on a journey ever closer to Armageddon.
  

Apologies for the very enthusiastic high-on-happy-pills features description, but there ya have it, those are some of the things that you'll be getting in Lost Eden. Oh, and another cool thing is that when you purchase Lost Eden, you'll also automatically get the classic version of Anarchy Online and the following expansion packs: Notum Wars, Shadowlands, and Alien Invasion.

The new Lost Eden expansion is now up for grabs at Funcom's site and costs US $ 29.95. Just click on the read link below and you're all set.

Being around for quite some time now, Anarchy Online helped pave the way for the MMORPG genre especially for those set in the world of science fiction. With 16.4 patch coming out at the end of this month and expansion Lost Eden around December, one can't help but wonder what's the secret behind developer Funcom's success.

"AO is doing very well, better then ever in fact. The free offer means that the game has a constant stream of new players into the game, and they integrate very well with our existing community as well," shared Community Manager Craig Morrison. He then added that the 16.4 update will definitely improve the game's client performance, aside from graphical resources and animations.

Morrison then talked about the planned character transfer system for the game. The official explained, "We are still investigating how we might use the feature on our live servers but are examining it with a view to some form of paid character transfer." Currently, the company is doing an in testing so players can copy their characters to the test dimensions.

Furthermore, one can not talk AO in-depth without any mention of IGA or in-game advertisement. While Funcom was one of the firsts to introduce such feature, the company still gets flamed by fans from time to time. Regarding the matter, Morrison answered that "the advertising system is always evolving. The optional nature of the system for paying subscribers and the flow of free players into the game means that the advertising works towards maintaining the game in a way that just wouldn't be possible otherwise."

These past few weeks, the MMO world was plagued by hacking incidents with titles FF XI and others being affected. Fortunately Morrison disclosed that the matter is rather minimal for AO. "There are actually very few cases where we have found any evidence of a virus or otherwise malicious program stealing passwords. 99% of all 'Hacking' incidents are actually the player not being secure with their password."

In the end, Morrison couldn't help but provide some advice on how AO made it to more than five years: "I think it's really two very distinct things coming together. Yes, we provide new content and new things to see and do, but it is the interaction with the players around them that really defines your experience in any MMO."

Anarchy Online (AO) may have been released back in 2001, but it's still going strong, gathering a new batch of faithfuls with the upcoming release of the latest expansion Lost Eden.

AO's success (and longevity) may be attributed to its unique take on a genre dominated by the more common fantasy setting. Let's forget about the "Snafus" that nearly ruined the game upon launch. Funcom's damage control certainly saved the game from bowing out of the MMO arena.

The science fiction MMO's story revolves around two factions (Omni-Tek and the Clans) who are fighting for control of planet Rubi-Ka. In Lost Eden, the game's third expansion pack, focus will be on PvP elements. We should also be expecting new features including player-controlled mecha and orbiting space stations. But we're really excited about the giant organic alien motherships that Funcom promised to deliver.

While we wait for the release of the expansion, let's feast our eyes on these new screenshots to get a glimpse of what Lost Eden has to offer.

More screens await after the jump.