In the last couple of months we’ve made a lot of changes to Echo Bazaar - we’ve removed the action cap, updated the interface and improved crafting. We’ve added Living Stories that talk back to you, a clique system, new art, new content and so on. All these changes lead up to one really big one. Now at last, all can be revealed.

On Monday 26th March, just over a week from today, we’re going to relaunch the game.

It will have a new name: Fallen London. It’ll have a spanking new front page full of fog and tentacles. And most importantly, it will have feature that people have been asking about from the very beginning: the option to sign up via email.

Our reasons for this are partly commercial - we don’t want to put barriers up against potential players - but they’re mostly ethical. Alexis talks about this in more detail here. From the day we launch, new players won’t need a social media account to experience Fallen London, and existing players can easily link their existing accounts to a simple email sign-up. If you want to take part in our social stories, or collaborate and compete with your friends, or form cliques, you’ll still need a Twitter or Facebook account. But it’s entirely optional.

To celebrate the birth of Fallen London, we’re planning a week of celebrations. We’ll have free giveaways every day, some for existing players and some for new arrivals. We’ll be running a competition to win a rather excellent in-game prize. And we have a few more surprises in store as well.

Got questions? We got answers.

Why are you changing the name of the game to “Fallen London”?

A number of reasons. First and foremost, the majority of our players know the game as “Fallen London” already. For new arrivals, it’s a less confusing title for a world that can be a little overwhelming at first.

When is all this happening?

Officially, Echo Bazaar will become Fallen London on Monday 26th March. However, we’ll begin the process of change next week, and we expect to be up and running by the previous Friday afternoon, so we can monitor our email sign up technology over the weekend and fix any bugs. So do please pop along and test it for us.

What does Fallen London have that Echo Bazaar hasn’t?

Regular players will have already experienced most of the improvements, as detailed above: the interface, the crafting, the Living Stories and so on. The location banners will reflect our new name, and we’re in the process of sprucing up some of the older icons. And of course, there’s the email sign-up. But the game itself is the game you know and love, we haven’t messed with that.

Will existing players be affected?

Nope, not at all. Unless you’re lucky enough to win a prize :-). You can link your existing account to your email address from the friends tab, if you want to. You’ll still have all your social privileges if you do this and then sign in by email.

Will my bookmarks still work?

Yes, everything will redirect to fallenlondon.com

How come the Twitter account and Facebook page are still called Echo Bazaar?

Because they are the web presence of the Echo Bazaar character. Think of it as a jovial master of ceremonies, with Fallen London as its cabaret.