Atari and Cryptic Studios yesterday announced the development of Neverwinter for the PC. The game is set to return players to the world of Dungeons and Dragons and the famous city of Neverwinter.

Neverwinter Nights and its sequel gained cult status among role-playing gamers and the new title is sure to have more than just a few D&D fans excited.

During the game players will be able to choose between one of five classic D&D classes and will be able to team up with friends or the computer to form raiding parties and co-op groups. An innovative content creation system, codenamed ‘Forge’ at this stage has also been hinted at.

This will reportedly allow gamers to create their own unique quests and storylines in the game.
Not much has been revealed regarding the storyline as of yet, but we do know that it is inspired by acclaimed fantasy author R.A. Salvatore’s upcoming book trilogy. The first book in this series, entitled Gauntlgrym, is set to be released on the 5th of October and will lay the groundwork for the games’ storyline.

Neverwinter is scheduled for a PC release date of Q4 2011 (still some way off) and forms part of a multi-platform launch by Wizards of the Coast to release the game, a new tabletop role-playing game and Salvatore’s novels.

"We're beyond thrilled to develop a brand new version of Neverwinter. It's been years since the original became a gaming icon and we're honored to work with such a great franchise," said Jack Emmert, COO of Cryptic Studios. "We've been working closely with Wizards of the Coast and R.A. Salvatore to create an authentic D&D adventure filled with compelling fiction and exciting gameplay."