A few hours ago, Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley tweeted two very important links for PlanetSide fans that point readers to the new PlanetSide 2 site and Facebook page. According to the counter on the site and the welcome message on the Facebook page, we can expect to hear "classified information" regarding the game on July 7 at 7 p.m. PDT.

So what's happening at that time? That's when Smedley is giving the Community Address at Fan Faire! Looks like we'll be getting a major PlanetSide 2 announcement at the convention this week, and members of the ZAM staff (including yours truly) will be there to cover it all! Stay tuned to ZAM for PlanetSide 2 details straight from the Fan Faire floor.

PlanetSide Universe noticed that Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley recently made an interesting comment on Twitter regarding PlanetSide Next. Here it is:

"For all you Planetside Next fans stay tuned for a big announcement at our upcoming Fan Faire in Vegas!"

It's short and sweet, but it's certainly piqued our interest. We'll be keeping an eye out for this "big announcement" at Fan Faire, which is being held from July 7-9 at Bally's Las Vegas.

PlanetSide Universe has gotten an exclusive sneak peek at at a PlanetSide Next producer's letter from Executive Producer Andrew Sites. He starts things off by mentioning his work on EverQuest, EverQuest II, Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures before diving into some PlanetSide news:

"With Planetside now approaching its 8 year anniversary, it’s still easy to look back and see just how it set the bar for Massively Multiplayer FPS games. It was fun, fast-paced and most importantly, it offered truly MASSIVE FPS combat that hasn’t been recreated since. When we started designing Planetside Next, our goal was to build upon the original foundational elements that made it unique, while focusing heavily on the large-scale combat that set it apart from the competition. We’ve got some big shoes to fill, but as we begin unveiling the details, I think you’re going to be VERY excited to see what we have planned."

He goes on to mention that the team has significantly increased in size over the past several weeks. Sony Online Entertainment announced the closure of three studios and the elimination of 205 positions on March 31, as well as the death of The Agency. SOE stated at the time that the game was discontinued so the company could focus resources on the development of PlanetSide Next and EverQuest Next.

Stites promises to release more PlanetSide Next information in the coming weeks and months. Until then, check out his full letter over at PlanetSide Universe.

For the third time this month, Sony Online Entertainment has given fansite PlanetSide Universe an exclusive look at a new image from PlanetSide Next. The first two screenshots gave us a sneak peek at the Reaver and Mosquito, but the latest one actually reveals the first character model for the game! Ladies and gentlemen, meet PlanetSide Next's Terran Republic Soldier.

PlanetSide Next is the working title of the upcoming PlanetSide sequel. Smedley said last month that SOE is looking at a late first-quarter, early second-quarter 2011 release for the game.

Last week, Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley gave PlanetSide Universe an exclusive look at PlanetSide Next's Reaver. Today, SOE has given the fansite a high resolution model screenshot of the Mosquito.

In addition, PlanetSide Universe hinted that it will share another exclusive on its Auraxis Global Network live broadcast on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. EST. If you're anxiously awaiting more PlanetSide Next news, you may want to tune in on Saturday.

PlanetSide Next is the working title of the upcoming PlanetSide sequel. Smedley said last month that SOE is looking at a late first-quarter, early second-quarter 2011 release for the game.

Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley recently tweeted a couple teaser images from PlanetSide Next. For the latest image, Smedley skipped Twitter and went straight to fansite PlanetSide Universe to give them an exclusive look at the new Reaver. Here are the details from PSU:

"This is one of the higher resolution shots we have seen so far! John let us know that this is without any particles effects and no pilot."

PlanetSide Next is the working title of the PlanetSide sequel. Smedley said last month that SOE is looking at a late first-quarter, early second-quarter 2011 release for the game.

Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley has posted another PlanetSide Next image on Twitter. Last week, Smedley tweeted an image of what appeared to be a New Conglomerate Vanguard. This time he posted an image of the Galaxy model, along with the comment, "I love me some Galaxy!"

According to PlanetSide Universe, Smedley said "the Galaxy plays an even more pivotal role in the new game." Smedley also noted that this is a model and not an in-game screenshot.

PlanetSide Next is the working title of the PlanetSide sequel. Smedley said earlier this month that SOE is looking at a late first-quarter, early second-quarter 2011 release for the game.

Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley's Twitter feed has been quite informative lately. Not only did he announce over the weekend that DC Universe Online is SOE's fastest selling game, but he also posted what appears to be a PlanetSide Next screenshot!

The team over at PlanetSide Universe noticed the tweet and believe it looks like a New Conglomerate Vanguard. What do you think?

It's important to note that Smedley gave no confirmation in his tweet that this screenshot is indeed from PlanetSide Next, which is only a working title. However, he did say in an interview with Eurogamer last week that SOE is looking at a late first-quarter, early second-quarter 2011 release for the game, so it wouldn't be surprising for him to post this preview image now.

Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley has shed some light on the release schedule for the company's upcoming games. In an interview with Eurogamer, Smedley said that that the game codenamed PlanetSide Next doesn't have an announced release date tied to it yet, but SOE is "looking at late first-quarter, early second-quarter [2011]."

Smedley stated in his blog last month that SOE will make announcement about the PlanetSide sequel early this year, followed by a beta. He also apparently let it slip to the Escapist's Greg Tito last month that the game may be coming out in March 2011.

Smedley goes on to confirm to Eurogamer that The Agency is still expected to come out late this year, but declined to give a specific date since SOE wants "to make sure it's as good as it can be." He also said that he expects Free Realms to arrive on the PlayStation 3 next month in North America and in March in Europe. He emphasized that those time frames are only a guess and have not been confirmed.

Smedley ended the interview by hinting that SOE has "a lot" of unannounced projects in the works. "We're constantly in development on things. We are a company that wants to make new experiences for players so needless to say that we're working on that hard," he said.

Last week, Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley apparently let it slip to the Escapist's Greg Tito that the PlanetSide sequel may be coming out in March 2011. While his comments to Tito were nothing concrete, the team over at PlanetSide-Universe.com noticed that Smedley posted some very interesting PlanetSide Next news on his blog today:

"In other news - early next year we will have announcements about Planetside Next followed by a beta. I can say this - it's coming along awesome. I can also say that the first beta testers are going to be current Planetside subscribers. I've gotten a lot of email from current players offering to help test the game and we're going to take them up on it."

There's some solid PlanetSide Next news for you. Are you excited for the upcoming announcements and beta test?