The list of yearly co-op tasks in City of Heroes just got a little larger! In addition to previous years events, this year we can look forward to two brand new holiday missions as well as  new badges and temporary powers.

The first new mission is available for characters above level 30, and revolves around the infamous Red Widow, Lord Recluse's long-deceased love. Completing this mission rewards you the Widow Maker badge! And of course it wouldn't be Valentines day without love letters, but sadly a few letters have been lost throughout Paragon City. It's up to you to find and deliver them to the right recipient... or if Valentines Day just isn't your holiday... feel free to misdirect the letters as well!

For more information on these quests and their valuable rewards, check out the news post on City of Heroes website here. The Spring Fling event begins Wednesday, February 8, at 7am PST and ends on Monday, February 27, at 7am PST.

It's not too often you hear of an MMORPG killing off its iconic poster-boy but, then again, City of Heroes is not your average MMORPG. With the death of City of Heroes' Statesman, the City of Heroes team notes that this was their big opportunity to declare that "City of Heroes [had] grown up and left the nest from which it was born." For those that don't know, the Statesman was the character of Jack Emmert, lead designer of the original City of Heroes that launched almost ten years ago (well, eight).

It's obvious, of course, that the team put a lot of thought and effort into killing off this symbolic character, and Paragon Studios' Matt "Positron" Miller has even written a touching eulogy for the Statesman. Farewell, Statesman!

City of Heroes Issue 22: Death Incarnate, the first major free update to City of Heroes Freedom since going free-to-play will bring a massive amount of new content including:

• New powers
• Costumes
• VIP-member content
• Endgame trials

With level +50 players participating in co-op gameplay, a horrifying new Power Set for Controllers and Dominators, and more content for all levels, Death Incarnate is brining a lot to the table. For detailed information on all the latest you can find in Issue 22: Death Incarnate be sure to visit City of Heroes website for a complete list of the upcoming content.

Paragon Studios has unveiled their next six months of "Statesman Loyalty" items for the next six months. If you maintain your VIP subscription from December 1st, 2011 all the way to March 31st, 2012, players will be eligible for the following items on April 18th, 2012:

• Tempered Through Fire, a new account-wide badge.
• The Helm of Zeus and Helm of Tartarus.
• Paragon, a new chest emblem.
• The Inner Will costume change emote.
• A non-combat companion pet.
• The Battle Fury Aura.

In their latest dev blog, powers designer Jeff "Arbiter Hawk" Hamilton discusses some of the challenges that come with designing new powers for City of Heroes' Incarnate system. In particular, Jeff notes that the team needed to be thinking far outside of the box in order to introduce powers that players would want to try out, while still keeping the game as balanced as possible.

If you're interested in seeing what sort of new powers might be on their way with Issue 21, take a read on the City of Heroes website!

NCsoft is celebrating Halloween in Aion, Lineage II, City of Heroes and Guild Wars. Here's the schedule:

• Aion's Harvest Revel.Oct. 26 to Nov. 9. This year the Harvest Revel stars the witches of Sanctum and Pandaemonium, tasking you with harvesting souls. Reward bundles for these quests include Sugarcrook’s Sack, Witch’s Sack, Witch’s Hoard, Witch’s Surprise and more. Each bundle contains a number of possible prizes – including Halloween costumes, scrolls, amulets and Harvest Ale.
• Lineage II's Halloween Treats. Begins Oct. 26. Your highest level character per server, per account will receive a Halloween Hat, a Halloween Gift Box and a Golden Jack O’Lantern Mask 7-Day Pack.
• City of Heroes – Dr. Kane’s House of Horror. Through Nov. 2. This event will add even more panache to the existing Zombie Apocalypse and Deadly Apocalypse, as you venture into a nightmarish mansion full of danger. Take on the doctor’s zombie horde as you make your way through this terrifying house of horror. Will you be able to stop the doctor from creating a zombie army?
• Guild Wars – The Mad King Thorn. Through Nov. 2. Once a year, Mad King Thorn and his spooky cohort visit the land of mortals for a creepy celebration full of holiday quests, the Costume Brawl PvP event, Halloween-themed guild vs. guild battles, two new costumes, and lots of other tricks and treats.

Paragon Studios has released the first episode of its new Signature Story Arc ViDoc series. In this episode, the team discusses the "Who Will Die?" story arc that will culminate in the death of one of the greatest heroes of Paragon City. They also talk about their future plans for City of Heroes Freedom, including monthly content updates.

To learn more about the game's newly launched free-to-play option, check out our interview with Executive Producer Brian Clayton.

City of Heroes Freedom officially launched yesterday, which means all players can now try out the 7-year-old superhero MMO for free. As if that wasn't enough, Paragon Studios also released Issue 21: Convergence at the same time to add a ton of new content to the game.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Executive Producer Brian Clayton to talk about the beginning of a new era for this veteran MMO. Keep reading after the jump to learn all about City of Heroes Freedom and Paragon's ambitious update schedule.

City of Heroes Freedom is now live, which officially makes the 7-year-old superhero MMO free-to-play for everyone! All Free players can now reach level 50 at no cost (with some restrictions) and choose to purchase additional items and content from the Paragon Market. You can also become a Premium player by returning to the game or purchasing Paragon Points to get some additional perks. Of course, you can always choose to subscribe to the game to become a VIP player and gain access to everything the MMO has to offer.

The launch of Freedom also brings with it the release of Issue 21: Convergence. This update features a new zone, an Underground Incarnate Trial for up to 28 players, new power sets and costumes, the debut of monthly Signature Story Arcs, new rewards, and a new starting experience.

If you're a new player who's been meaning to check out City of Heroes or a former player who would like to return, now's the perfect time to log into the game. Watch the launch trailer below to see what's in store for you in City of Heroes Freedom.

Paragon Studios just announced that it will begin reactivating all inactive City of Heroes/City of Villains accounts this weekend, which will effectively turn them into City of Heroes Freedom Premium accounts! It will take a few days to reactivate all of the accounts, but all of your old characters will be waiting patiently for your return.

If you don't already have a City of Heroes account, Paragon will be opening the doors to new free players next week! Active subscribers have been trying out the free-to-play features and Issue 21: Convergence since the VIP Headstart kicked off on September 13.