Cyanide and Focus are pleased to announce that Wintersport Pro 2006, aka Winter Challenge, has reached the Gold Master stage. Wintersport Pro 2006 is based on the upcoming Olympic Wintersports in Torino, and will feature 16 disciplines (skiing, bobsled, skijumping etc.) and over 700 athletes from 29 countries, as well as multiplayer.

Matrix Games and Playnet/Cornered Rat Software are pleased to announce a 14 day free trial of Battleground Europe. Experience the thrill of realistic World War II combat, complete with air, sea, and land units. This two week offer comes with no obligation to purchase, so come join the virtual battlefield and starts Friday Jan, 27th at 1700ET.

Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War will challenge players to develop their high-flying reputations while facing off against rival pilots in white-knuckled dog fights. Read more for details and screens ...

Epic Games announced it is looking to bolster its technology team to manage its exponential growth in the engine licensing business. Epic is creating a new position for Lead Engine Programmer, which will head the Unreal Engine team.

Square Enix is working on a new expansion pack for its MMORPG Final Fantasy XI which will introduce new maps, monsters as well as several new classes such as the much anticpated Blue Mage. Read more for some new screens ...

After a life of small-time jobs and petty thefts you've been accepted into America's most famous criminal organization, the Corleone family. Now it's up to you to carry out orders, earn respect, rise through the ranks, and make New York City your own. Play your cards right and you could even be running everything as the next, and most powerful, Don.

SunAge is an RTS game developed by vertex4, where the player can experience 3 different races with each there arsenal of units, buildings and upgrades. The game is taking place in a futuristic setting across 2 different worlds, ranging from a lush alien planet to desolate wastelands, and industrial cities.

Lighthouse Interactive and developer Third Wave Games today announced that their mech shooter War World: Tactical Combat, has reached gold status and will begin shipping throughout Europe on February 17th, 2006. War World is the battleground where ancient enemies must settle age old conflicts through clashes of mechanized warriors in a unique combination of all-out action and active strategy.

Control the fate of the galaxy in LucasArts' RTS game Star Wars: Empire at War. Set a few years before the events of Episode IV: A New Hope, the game will let players rewrite history as well as experience the aftermath of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the creation of the Rebel Alliance, and Darth Vader's rise to power.

IncaGold is pleased to announce the signing of Meteor Blade for its mass-market PC brand from leading Taiwanese developer, Interserv. IncaGold has acquired the world-wide rights outside of Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.

El Matador is a third person action game with stealth elements set in the environment of the Central and South America. It takes proven features of the genre and enhances them with the latest technology, to provide the player with an opportunity to experience the excitement of espionage first hand.

Crave Entertainment's next installment in the popular street racing series, Tokyo Xtreme Racer DRIFT features race real production cars on real mountain courses, during the day or night, any weather condition, and race for pride or upgrades.

German based Radon Labs announced that it has received Nintendo DS Dev-Kits and is now included in the circle of official Nintendo-Developers. Develop on its own original game ideas for Nintendo DS and port in the Nebula2 Engine are in full swing. In the near future the DS-Port for the NEBULA2 Engine and the "NEBULA2 toolkit for Maya" will be commercially available additionally for other developers. This extension prepares for further ports to next-generation consoles (X360, PS3).

Ford Street Racing, developed by Razorworks, moves the action from the racetrack to the streets of LA, control 3 team cars, give orders, switching on the fly, and will feature eighteen officially licensed Ford vehicles.

Gravity Drive puts the player as a Test Pilot who unwittingly becomes the hero in a dangerous coup attempt! Battle through dangerous levels, dodge turret fire, avoid deadly molten steel, and save your country from a diabolical menace deep underground. Features exciting side scrolling shooting action, a wide range of cool weapons, and deadly A.I.

Marc Ecko and Atari are giving you the chance to show off your graffiti and art skills to the world with the All City Graphics contest. By submitting a piece of original work, you will be entered into a contest (Jan.24 - Feb.14) where the best piece will be decided by fellow artists through a voting process, and get a chance to win a NY trip for 2 people for 3 days and 2 nights, the video game, and an Ecko clothing package.

Race to the finish line as you live all the fun and excitement of the next Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation Studios film, Cars. Play as all your favorite characters as you help Lightening McQueen capture the coveted Piston Cup Championship.

A survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates reveals 35% of American parents play computer and video games, out of which 80% claim that they play video games with their children, and two-thirds (66%) feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.

The countdown has begun to the release of 24: The Game on PS2. Set to become the biggest action adventure game of the year, 24: The Game lets gamers take control and live a 'brand new day' in the life of Jack Bauer and the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU).

Stardock and TopWare announced they have reached an agreement to bring many of TopWare’s games to the TotalGaming.net online distribution service. Titles like Earth 2160 and Xpand Rally will be sold at a significant savings over the shrink-wrapped boxed games, and will become available at regular intervals in the coming weeks, starting with Earth 2150 Trilogy and Chrome SpecForce.