Ubisoft manager Rand Miller has announced that the multiplayer portion of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is no more. "Even with all of the time, money, resources, code, people, sweat, and heart that were poured into Uru Live, we needed a certain number of subscribers to pay the bills. We didn't get there. Uru Live is innovative and unique; its online universe is one of the most beautiful and complex ever built, anywhere. The idea of ongoing content was dramatic and forward-looking, but it required a substantial continuing effort to sustain. We were just not able to sign up the number of subscribers (even for free) necessary to pay for that effort." Cyan Worlds plans to release new content for the singleplayer part of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst somewhere in March 2004, the first expansion "To D'ni", will be free.

Russian developer Burut has announced that they started working on the "GoldenLand :Cold Heaven" localization (means translating for non-Russian distribution). While the original game is not even available in English speaking territory, the addon has already gone gold in Russia and is expected to appear in stores soon. Rumor has it that both titles might ship at the same time (maybe as a package deal?) in English speaking territories. Read more to check out two new screens ...

Russian publisher Buka has revealed the first details of their new upcoming FPS 'The Stalin Subway' (under development at G5 Software, previously known for Fair Strike, Red Shark). The Stalin Subway is a realistic first-person shooter which is set in Stalin's Moscow of fall 1952. Iosif Stalin, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of USSR is now 72 years old. A group of military officials of high rank decides that the Generalissimo is weak and the power can be taken away from him. But the fear of the Father of the Nation is still strong, and conspirators choose unusual weapon which can produce huge destructions and mass deaths... Read more for details and early screens...

EA has released another patch for Black Box's street racing game Need For Speed Underground. This update #4 (Euro/US editions available) will correct the black screen NOS effect with certain video settings. Read more for download links ...

Jowood has announced a new Spellforce patch is expected to go online by the end of this week, containing –apart from the usual bugfixes- substantial additions and changes that are mainly following requests by the community. There will be an additional difficulty level for experienced gamers, item sort functionality and improved hero equipment management. On top of this, we have added over 30 new bindstones to the game, making travel that much quicker and easier. With these changes SpellForce will remain a challenge even for experienced gamers. Read more for some new screens ...

Majorem Ltd. and Sanctum Entertainment, a producer/publisher of innovative entertainment software, today officially announced the anticipated Beta launch of the upcoming massively multiplayer real-time strategy game 'Ballerium'. The Beta will be closed for up to 5,000 players to subscribe to the fully 3D Massively Multiplayer game. Sanctum Entertainment is said to launch the game's closed Beta while displaying it on TGS, February 6-9 2004

LucasArts has released a new patch for BioWare's sci-fi 3D RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. This update brings your retail game to v1.02 (contains the English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish editions all in one) and adds control options, GUI features, 1280x1024 res support, and the usual gameplay tweaks, bug fixes, etc (thanks Blues). Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Stormregion, who have previously developed highly acclaimed S.W.I.N.E., made massive tanks a crucial element in this tactical combat action title set in World War II. Russian, German and Allied troops fight in three campaigns and more than 30 breath taking single player missions. Over a hundred authentic 3D vehicles are at disposal as well as a wide range of ground troops. Panzers developer Achim Heidelauf has updated his website, read more to check the new screens...

iEntertainment Network announced today that WarBirds online subscription price has also been reduced by 44% to encourage access to players all over the world. “By reducing the subscription price of WarBirds so aggressively, we hope to gain more players from all over the world with our new servers, new features, and new pricing. We are now both the best online flight sim and the most aggressively priced, “ says Wild Bill Stealey, IENT’s CEO.

Star Wolves is a 3D space RPG with strategy elements. The game thrusts players into a world of freelance space hunters in the XXI-XXII Century A.D. during a time of political crisis for the all-powerful Empire and the three mega-corporations that control all the known worlds. Star Wolves is being developed by Xbow Software and published by 1C. Read more for some new screens ...