to make Neverwinter a really intriguing place to be, and make it a place where you go and come back to and go and come back to and have it really be a center for the game," Urquhart said. The game's story, while still revolving around the city of Neverwinter, would be unrelated to Neverwinter Nights. Instead of starting the game as a powerful, important character, players would begin Neverwinter Nights 2 as nobodies. Obsidian wanted realism in the game and concrete consequences for the player's actions. The story would be centered on the player character, who would have to gradually earn the respect of Lord Nasher and the city of Neverwinter. Instead of the henchmen system used in Neverwinter Nights, Obsidian overhauled the game's party format to mimic Knights of the Old Republic II. Like the Neverwinter Nights expansion Hordes of the Underdark, the player would be able to recruit more than one party member. Each character could be directly controlled, but party members would also be able to come to a player's aid even when not controlled, such as summoning a rogue to open a locked chest. Companions would have distinct personalities and their own agendas, but it would be possible for the player character to influence them. Characters can leave the party permanently under certain circumstances. Other changes from the first game include the addition of prestige classes and more exotic races, like planetouched and Elven subraces. In 2012, GameSpy, the company providing multiplayer support for the game, was purchased by Glu Mobile. After the purchase, Glu Mobile raised the fees being charged to publishers to provide online services for their games. The new owners then shut down a number of the online services for different games, including Neverwinter Nights 2. GameSpy claimed that the developers had allowed their contracts to lapse, and, after providing free services for a time, were no longer willing to continue. Release Neverwinter Nights 2 was ready for mass production on October 17, 2006, and was released on October 31 in the United States, on November 3 in Europe, and on November 16 in Australia. The Electron toolset was available early for consumers who pre-ordered the game through GameStop or Best Buy, as well as exclusive class-specific special items. Alongside the standard version, Atari also published a special edition. The United States and Australia "Limited Edition" contained several physical items like a