GungHo Online Entertainment
was a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their "Grandia" series. Although originally announced in 2004, the game was beset by a number of delays and lulls in development, eventually received a final retail release in Japan nearly five years later in August 2009. It was the first online multiplayer game in the series, as well as the first to be initially developed for the PC. It retains many features seen in previous "Grandia" games, including visual themes, characters, and a similar combat system. The game utilized the BigWorld Technology Suite to render its vast world, and featured music from series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare. Although the game did not require a subscription fee, optional in-game items were only available through paid microtransactions.