As part of Blizzard's continuing commitment to keep World of Warcraft free from abuse, it has permanently banned more than 2500 accounts during the last several weeks which were involved in the use of cheats and/or hacks using third-party software or were otherwise violating our Terms of Use. Blizzard will continue to take an aggressive stance to ensure that the gaming environment remains an enjoyable place for its customers by actively pursuing those who would seek to violate the principle of fair-play, as well as breach the Terms of Use and policies in this way.

Icculus has now also released a new Win64 patch for Epic's sci-fi FPS Unreal Tournament 2004. This Windows 64 bit patch requires the previously released v3369 and addresses the usual slew of bug fixes, engine & network enhancements, and gameplay tweaks. This new patch is compatible with the ECE Bonus Pack (thanks Blues). Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Kuma Reality Games' latest installment takes gamers through the frenzied search through the town of Adwar, and the capture of Saddam Hussein by U.S. troops in the infamous "spider hole." Kuma's previous episode was a recreation of the events that led to Saddam's war crimes trial, currently in progress in Iraq.

EA announced today that EA SPORTS Rugby 06 is currently under development at EA Canada and HB Studios for the PS2, Xbox and PC. Rugby 06 will challenge gamers to compete in a host of the World's most prestigious rugby competitions including the Six Nations, Lions Tour, Tri Nations, Guinness Premiership and the Super 14.

CDV USA has secured the exclusive rights to distribute and promote GSC World Publishing's upcoming fantasy title, Heroes of Annihilated Empires, set to ship in 2006. The games will offer an extraordinary blend of RTS and RPG gameplay, challenging gamers to create a powerful leader and a dominant military force through battle, diplomacy and treachery in a rich fantasy world.

Activision and Nielsen Entertainment today released the results of a pioneering study on the effectiveness of in-game advertising that incorporates different levels of product integration. The research is the fourth component of an ongoing joint initiative between the two companies to establish standardized tools to measure the value of in-game ads.

SEGA announced it has licensed the next big international sporting event, The Olympic Games 2008. Titled Beijing 2008, SEGA has partnered with the Olympic Committee to bring the game not only to PC & consoles but also arcades, handhelds and mobile phones, and will feature more than 20 disciplines ...

Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble takes you back to the movies in a bid to become the greatest action hero of all time! Do you have what it takes to help Joe make it onto the big screen? The movie industry is a cut-throat business and Joe has to battle his way to the top by any means necessary. Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble launches across Europe on 24th February 2006.

Trackmania Nations ESWC edition is a fast-paced racing game involving precision and agility specially built for competition and will be free for download in Januari 2006. Trackmania Nations will feature new environment (Stadium), new car, new blocks and new gameplay. 54 countries will determine the outcome over 6 months with the finals to be played from 27th June to 2nd July 2006 in Paris - Bercy, for a grand total of $40,000.

Japanese studio Red Entertainment, known for titles such as Blood Will Tell and Gungrave Overdose, has once again become independent after a successful management buyout. The reason, according to producer Hiroi Ouji, is that the former SEGA development studio wanted to develop Xbox 360 titles, but since SEGA predominantly publishes PS2 titles, this was the only logical option. Hiroi also said that due to the lower development cost for Xbox 360 titles compared to PS3, there was not really a need to be part of a big establishment.