Random House has announced that it will be releasing "Black Crown", a free-to-play online game next month.

After successfully attaining a short hold on the publishing industry, Random House is looking to expand its horizons, and gaming seems to be its next area of interest. The book publisher has announced the launch of "Black Crown", a free-to-play online game which will be its first "free to play online narrative game". Though registration for the game has begun, Random House rep Dan Frankin stated that the game will not be fully functionally until May.

Franklin said that paying for content in Black Crown will "expedite story strands" and "unlock premium narratives." There will also be a social aspect to the game, which will allow players to compete for "status. Once you register for the game, you'll be asked to a set of questions about your gender, age and preferences regarding 19th century epidemiologists.

According to a report by Wired.com, the game has something to do with an infectious disease, given that the insignia for the game is a gas mask.

Franklin said the aim was to run the project for a full year online, if successful, with the publisher aiming for "thousands rather than hundreds" of users to register before launch. He said that "there was a possibility that it will become a book and an e-book" later down the line.

More details, as well as who the author of Random House's Black Crown is, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.