Hollywood actors unions have reached a contract deal with video game publishers, accepting higher pay instead of the profit-sharing they had demanded, the unions said Wednesday, removing the threat of a strike.

Activision today announced an agreement with Harrah's Entertainment to develop and publish "World Series of Poker" video games based on the widely popular tournament for the PC, console and handhelds. The video game is expected to be available at retail stores nationwide this fall.

Strategy First and developer Malfador Machinations are happy to announce that its science-fiction action RPG Star Fury has shipped to retailers nationwide.

Aurora Watching is a third person perspective stealth game taking place in the Arctic. During the mission, Sullivan faces many opponents, not all of whom are human and each of which can be defeated in many ways, Mini-games, puzzles, and hi-tech gadgets keep players excited from the very beginning to the end. Enlight Europe announced the July PC release of Aurora Watching, currently taking Europe by storm.

The waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, relating to the proposed GameStop-EB Games merger, has ended. The merger transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2005, although it remains subject to approval by stockholders of both companies and other customary closing conditions.

Hasbro and Infogrames jointly announced today that Hasbro has reacquired the digital gaming rights for its properties for $65 million. These rights were previously held by Infogrames on an exclusive basis as a result of a license agreement entered into concurrently with their purchase of Hasbro Interactive and Games.com from Hasbro in December of 2000.

Atari announced today that developer Frontier has completed RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, the first expansion pack for the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 PC game. Scheduled for a North American release on June 21 and a European release on June 24, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked! invites players to create and control their own water parks just as the summer holiday season gets underway.

Moscow to Berlin plunges the player into the most intense battles of the Easter Front. Through three campaigns and 20 single-player missions. Moscow to Berlin challenges players to plan combat strategies and relive some of modern history's most important military operations.

Take command in this dynamic turn-based game and test strategies that long-past generals and world leaders could only dream of: make it happen in Gary Grigsby’s World at War. The entire saga of World War II is yours to re-enact or to re-make in your own vision. The major emphasis for this update is fixing a few game bugs and rules that were causing minor issues with game balance.

As one of the "Other", tip the balance between the forces of Light and Darkness using your racing skills. Choose your side wisely as every vehicle possesses a unique magic power that may lead to victory or ruin. Anything goes in your rush to the finish line.

NIS America announced today its plans to release Generation of Chaos for the PSP. Generation of Chaos is scheduled to ship in North America in spring 2006.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, also known as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking!, is the only game to combine fighting and flying in wide open, destructible 3D environments. In the air, on the ground or under water, DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi gives players the ability to battle with unprecedented power and freedom.

Virtua Tennis World Tour will feature a playable array of internationally renowned tennis pros in addition to a make-your-own player mode, exclusive mini-games, and original courts. Wi-Fi gameplay is supported, encouraging up to four friends to play together.

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Battalion Wars - E3 2005 Trailer
• CustomPlay Golf - Trailer
• Echo: Secrets of the Lost Cavern - Trailer #2
• Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects - Trailer #2
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Paradox Interactive today announced that it will be publishing the sequel to Galactic Civilizations, Galactic Civilizations II, in Europe. The title is scheduled for release around Feb 2006.

A free-flowing game during which players can assume the role of multiple characters and experience the game from multiple viewpoints, Fahrenheit allows players' actions to affect the plot by offering a scenario driven interactive experience.

187 Ride or Die tells the story of a reluctant urban hero named Buck (L. Tate), a young man living a thug's life seething with money, fast cars and beautiful women -- with danger lurking around every corner. Set in the underworld of Los Angeles, Buck must defend the territory of his mentor Dupree (G. Black) from a menacing nemesis and his gang of bandit roughriders, led by Cortez (N. Gugliemi), who are determined to take control of the streets.

The European Commission found in March 2004 that Microsoft had violated antitrust laws by competing unfairly. It fined the world's largest software company a record 497 million euros ($613.1 million) and also ordered it to share information with rival makers of servers used to run printers and retrieve files, an issue known as interoperability. Microsoft announced today that it will release a version of its Windows operating system without the Media Player application on June 15 to comply with European Union anti-monopoly rules.

Vision is the next stride forward in the evolution of modern role-playing games. Exceptional graphics, true-to-life NPC behavior and a finely tuned balance between raw action and deep story development are the essential elements that will make the title irresistible to RPG fans.

With The Sims 2 Nightlife, players will be able to take their Sims out to hit all the swanky hot spots in the all new downtown location and spice up their lives with an all new dating gameplay and a new life goal focused on pleasure seeking.