Developer Rebellion will release a follow-up to world domination simulator Evil Genius later this year. Evil Genius Online, the studio announced today, will bring the super-villain sim to Facebook and Zynga as part of a simultaneous launch.

The successor to 2004's Evil Genius (pictured) will incorporate social features available on Facebook and Zynga.com, letting players "form evil syndicates, send spies to rival lairs and share rare and crucial items in the form of bribes." Rebellion promises to stay true to the original's simulation aspects and sense of humor, letting players construct underground lairs and command armies of evil minions in their attempts to conquer the world.

"As an independent developer, it's crucial that we really explore free-to-play beyond mobile games," Rebellion CEO and creative director Jason Kingsley said in an announcement. "We challenged a small team here in our Oxford studio to create a social game that was not only compelling, but technically impressive and we just kept coming back to Evil Genius — the lair construction, the strategy, the humor — it was just a perfect fit."

Rebellion will hold a closed beta of Evil Genius Online this fall. Players interested in honing their super-villain skills can register for the beta, which is limited to 500 participants, through an online survey.