Sigil Games Online, Inc. today announced that Kevin McPherson, one of the first programmers assigned to the original "EverQuest" team and author of the "Ruins of Kunark" back story and setting, has accepted the position of Senior Programmer with the company. With over seven years of experience in the game industry, McPherson adds his expertise to Sigil's growing team of all-star massively multiplayer online game developers.

Encore today announced that Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror for the PlayStation2 has reached gold master status and is expected on store shelves before Thanksgiving. Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror blends first-person shooter (FPS) and fighter genres in a hunt for terrorists and other criminals; in one of the key missions, players track and capture Osama bin Laden - America's most wanted terrorist.

Namco Hometek Inc. announced today that its popular 3rd person action adventure character-based game, I-Ninja, has been approved for manufacturing for the PlayStation2. The game is scheduled to swing into action with a late November release. I-Ninja will also ship for the Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox later this year.

Square Enix U.S.A., Inc. announced today that 'Final Fantasy X-2' for the PlayStation2 will ship to North American retailers on November 18, 2003, weeks earlier than the originally scheduled December release date. 'Final Fantasy X-2', the first female-led FINAL FANTASY game in the franchise’s history, is the sequel to FINAL FANTASY X, one of the best-selling PlayStation 2 titles. Released in December 2001 in North America, 'Final Fantasy X' has sold over 6.4 million units worldwide to date.

While there is no official word from Namco yet, we have received an email from French publisher LSP Games revealing a PC version of this just released console title is in the works and coming to PC (no developer mentioned though). Kill.Switch is an innovative 3rd person action adventure military shooter that delivers true-to-life cover tactics and explosive firepower, offering players a totally new combat experience to rival the fast-paced arcade shooters of old. Dead To Rights is another Namco console title that is due to be released on PC this week, so a port/conversion of Kill.Switch is not really a surprise. Stay tuned for more details SOON!

Yahoo! Games and Marshall Field’s today announced the Digital Master Sweepstakes and Game Tournament. Four lucky sweepstakes winners will win a collection of Yahoo! branded gear and have the opportunity to test their skills and compete in a two-day online video game tournament hosted at Marshall Field’s State Street location (111 North State Street, Chicago, IL) on Monday, November 24th and Tuesday, November 25th. Read more for details ...

Championship Manager: Season 03/04 will be released on PC on 21st November. Other new features and improvements include four new leagues, a pre-game database editor (enabling you to keep data updated), the ability to view previously saved matches, updated players, team and competition data for the 2003/2004 season. Championship Manager Season: 03/04 has everything from the stress of dealing with feuding players to the ecstasy of winning the league.

Encore today announced that SpellForce for the PC is scheduled to ship in February 2004. Co-published with JoWooD Productions Software AG, an Austrian game publisher and developer, SpellForce is the first true strategy role-playing game that seamlessly blends the tactics of army building with the storyline and character development of role-playing. Read more for details & screens...

Forgotten Hope Beta 0.5 is about 50% complete and features a huge number of planes, tanks and battleships - not only beautifully modelled, but also simulated in a very realistic way. To top it all off there is a choice of new maps as well. The FH Mod team has released a new hotfix bringing their BF1942 mod to v0.5ed. This patch will update your Forgotten Hope modification to be compatible with the Battlefield: 1942 v1.5 Patch. You'll need to patch previous patches first then apply this patch. Read more for download links ...

The world has seen all kinds of weapons of mass destruction: nuclear, chemical and biological. Now the threat is digital. A virus, simple in concept yet catastrophic in effect, has been developed. Its target is the communication systems of the world. It will shut down all digital entertainment, economic trade and cripple the military, causing breaches in all security systems and global mass chaos. There is only enough time to send one operative. His codename: Raven. His mission: to find the virus, copy it and then destroy the research lab where it is located. A new batch of screens just arrived ...