New online-only game being developed "from the ground up" at XLGames with assistance from Firaxis; no word on Western release.

Take-Two Interactive this morning announced a Civilization massively multiplayer online game for Asia. Currently titled Civilization Online, the game has been built "from the ground up" by South Korean studio XLGames with assistance from Firaxis Games. No mention was made concerning a Western release.

XLGames CEO Jake Song is leading development on the project. Song was a lead designer on the Korean MMORPG Lineage series and is working with a team of more than 100 developers on Civilization Online. According to Take-Two, the project is "one of the most ambitious" online games currently in development in South Korea.

Civilization Online is not Take-Two's first involvement in the Asian market. The company launched NBA 2K Online, a free-to-play NBA simulator, earlier this month in the region. Additionally, mobile social game NBA 2K All-Stars is currently available in Japan and has attracted 300,000 users in two months, Take-Two said.

Lastly, Take-Two is currently developing an online baseball simulator called Pro Baseball 2K for Korea. The game uses the same engine that powers 2K Sports' console baseball series and is set to enter a beta period during spring 2013.

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