Shanda (SNDA) has inked an agreement with South Korea's NHN Games Corporation for an exclusive license to operate ArchLord, a 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) in China.

"We are very pleased to add ArchLord to our diversified MMORPG portfolio," said Tianqiao Chen, CEO of Shanda. "ArchLord is a fresh take on the MMORPG genre, mixing unique new features with already popular elements. We believe this game will appeal to both new and established MMORPG players in China, thus broadening the user demographic base for our home strategy."

The game is expected to enter closed beta testing in China during the second quarter of 2006.

NHN Games commercially launched ArchLord in Korea in January 2006.