NOTE: this information applies to players of HKO Europe ONLY!
Updated schedule: HKO Europe will reopen on April 21, 2010. Servers will remain offline until then and we ask our European players to be patient while we finish the transition. Read the rest of the announcement below to learn more.
Sanrio Digital (the developer of Hello Kitty Online) is pleased to announce a new strategy to self-publish and operate Hello Kitty Online Europe & SanrioTown. This mutual decision was the result of cooperative discussions between Sanrio Digital and Burda:ic GmbH, the formerEuropean publisher of HKO.
On April 7th, 2010, Burda:ic has stopped all HKO service in order to hand over the day-to-day operations of HKO Europe to Sanrio Digital. After a short transition window HKO Europe will reopen on April 21, 2010 under Sanrio Digital management for an Open Beta that will introduce new services and features.
During this beta period the DreamShop item mall will be unavailable.
Users will be able to retain item inventory and their balance of Coins and Sanrio Loyalty Points (for information on how to transfer your Cash Points balance, please click here). The DreamShop item mall will reopen later in April, after the Open Beta Phase.
This transition will bring Sanrio Digital closer to the HKO community and Sanrio fan base in Europe and allow direct management of the game and brand strategy. Players can expect the following:
- European players will receive information and announcements directly from the developer of HKO. Game patches and updates will be delivered from the developer directly to the player.
- Previously, Burda:ic acted as intermediary between Sanrio Digital and the players; after the transition, Sanrio Digital will have a finger directly on the pulse of the European HKO community.
- Centralized one-stop Game Master and Community support in English will be available on April 15th, immediately after the transition, with French and German support to follow.
- All future financial transactions related to HKO will occur between players and Sanrio Digital.
- The goal is to offer a smooth transition. Users will keep their login details, item inventory, email and blog accounts.
- For detailed information on transferring your Coins balance from Burda:ic to Sanrio Digital, please click here.
- Updated Terms of Service will apply to HKO and SanrioTown after the transition to Sanrio Digital.
More updates will be posted soon, so please check back regularly. Sanrio Digital would like to extend its gratitude to Burda:ic for having done a fantastic job publishing and operating Hello Kitty Online Europe. We look forward to a closer relationship with our European players!
The HKO Team
