Freelancer can be viable as a commercial multiplayer product. Whereas massively multiplayer online games such as EverQuest have thousands of players in a vast playing area, Freelancer can accommodate only up to 128; the loneliness of playing in such a sparsely populated virtual world gave UGO concern as well over the longevity of Freelancers multiplayer mode. Overall, reviewers acknowledged Freelancer fell short of the promises initially made by Roberts; however, it demonstrated a high quality of work in its implemented features. The various concepts were well meshed together to form an entertaining product. It never broke or raised the bar of its genre, but boasted a high production value, and has been said to be well worth the money. The game, however, was an anti-climax for those who were hooked by the touted and promised initial concepts, many of which were never realized. Freelancer was a "hugely ambitious game", as admitted by Chris Roberts, for a company to develop without the necessary capital and resources. The editors of Computer Gaming World nominated Freelancer for their 2003 "Shooter of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Call of Duty. They wrote, "Freelancer dazzled us with its immersive interstellar world, wild combat, and ambitiously open-ended design, but it can't compete with the cinematic spectacle of Europe at war." Sequel There were reports that Digital Anvil and Microsoft Game Studios worked on a Freelancer sequel called Project Lonestar for the Xbox 360 until Digital Anvil dissolved in 2006. References External links Freelancer at MobyGames 2003 video games Lua (programming language)-scripted video games Microsoft games Multiplayer and single-player video games Science fiction video games Space trading and combat simulators Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Andrew Sega Video games scored by James Hannigan Video games set in outer space Video games set on fictional planets Windows games Windows-only games