As a sign of its zero-tolerance policy against cheating Blizzard just announced that it has just closed more than 36,000 accounts on Battle.net. More than 28,000 CD keys tied to these accounts have been disabled from Realm play on Battle.net for one month, and more than 3,000 CD keys have been permanently disabled from Realm play due to repeat offenses (thanks ve3d). Read more about it over here ...

Codemasters will launch an independently branded online gaming portal, Funsta.com in September to expand its presence in the online gaming market with a vast catalogue of games available for play through several distribution methods, including browser, download-purchase, subscription, micro transaction or via a dedicated gaming client, the Funsta Arcade.

Dreamlords is an MMORTS game currently in development over at Lockpick Entertainment. Scheduled for 2006, Dreamlords is a persistent world in which victories and hard work will not pass unnoticed. Everything gained will make the player stronger for the next encounter.

In Dragon Quest VIII, the first time on the PS2, old meets new, as classic gameplay is married to sumptuous graphics, delivering a sweeping adventure. Characters designed by Akira Toriyama are brought to life by "cel-shading," bringing gamers of all ages into a world straight out of Japanese anime.

EA Europe today announced plans to co-publish Namco's PS2 exclusive We Love Katamari in PAL territories, early 2006. We Love Katamari sees the return of the pocket-sized Prince and his merry band of multi-coloured cousins under the watchful eye of his Exalted Smugness, the King of All Cosmos.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding the latest update for Counter-Strike Source and Half-Life 2, mainly addressing a few mod issues and enabling low violence content. Read more for details, or just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

WarDevil: Unleash the Beast Within is an innovative next-generation 3D title with graphical style & visual look unlike any other current game. Drawing upon strong filmic narrative, a complex story unfolds, immersing the player into a vivd and complex world, far beyond that from conventional video games.

Blitz: The League exposes the harsh realism and troubling, behind-the-scenes stories of a fictional professional football league. Blitz: The League is being developed by Midway's Chicago in collaboration with a writer from ESPN's controversial "Playmakers" TV series. Blitz: The League goes behind the glitz and glamour of the game through a revolutionary campaign mode that explores the on-field violence, off-field fallout and front-office politics of professional football.

Take2's Serious Sam II multiplayer details announcement yesterday stirred up a bit of a ruckus due to the lack of any deathmatch support, and today fan site Seriously! received confirmation from developer Croteam it will release a patch after the game's initial launch that will add/enable multiplayer deathmatch. Whether this was initially plannend or due to fanbase pressure was not specified.

Dragonshard will incorporate classic role-playing themes, a powerful and dynamic real-time strategy engine all woven together with a rich storyline involving a global conflict for an immensely powerful artifact with the power to change the fate of Eberron itself. Already revealed a few months ago, Atari today official announced that it will release Liquid Entertainments RTS Dragonshard on September 20, 205.

Sid Meier's Civilization IV is a bold step forward for the franchise, with spectacular new 3D graphics and all-new single and multiplayer content. Civilization IV will also set a new standard for user-modification, allowing gamers to create their own add-ons using the standard Python and XML scripting languages. Firaxis producer Barry Caudill tells us more about the 'Great People' feature.

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo will offer fans of the multi-million selling franchise all-new single-player and wireless multiplayer gaming missions in four different Areas of Operation (AO). Players are tasked with completing 14 unique, realistic international single-player missions, including Chile, which is a unique AO only available in the PSP release. Previously listed as fall 2005, SCEA announced today operations start November 8, 2005.

The first in Liquid Games' series of quizzes for the PS2 - The Great British Football Quiz - has successfully been submitted, checked by Sony and has now gone gold ahead of schedule.

Rockstar has released the promised No More Hot Coffee patch. This update brings your European/Australian, North American or German retail game to v1.01 and not only disables the controversial mod, but also adds 720p and 1080i HDTV support, as well as a few gameplay tweaks and bug fixes. Read more for download links ...

Enter an all-new Evil Dead experience, as Ash finds himself arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to Sunny Meadows, an institute for the criminally insane. Though better than the madness he escaped hidden within the woods, he quickly learns the evil has only become more malevolent.

A South Korean man who played computer games for 50 hours almost non-stop died of heart failure minutes after finishing his mammoth session in an Internet cafe, authorities said Tuesday.

While already revealed by Kuju, Hip Interactive Europe confirms today that it will no longer publish George A. Romero's City of The Dead as as it had concerns over the quality of the development. Hip Interactive Europe confirms the continuation of its publishing and distribution businesses across Europe and confirms the upcoming releases, this Fall, of its line-up with titles such as Rugby Challenge 2006, and Garfield "Saving Arlene".

Vivendi today announced its September line-up of interactive games based on the latest additions to Mattel's successful Barbie and My Scene entertainment franchises. Inspired by the animated movie releases Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus and My Scene Goes Hollywood arriving on DVD/VHS this Autumn.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding the latest update for the original Counter-Strike and Half-Life 1, mainly addressing a few exploits, several bug & crash fixes, and a few game tweaks. Read more for details, or just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

Football Manager 2006 will offer fans of Sports Interactive's games an opportunity to experience the highs and lows of virtual football management 'on the go'. Today SEGA Europe and Sports Interactive reveal some new features for the PC edition.

Blitz: The League exposes the harsh realism and troubling, behind-the-scenes stories of a fictional professional football league. Blitz: The League is being developed by Midway's Chicago in collaboration with a writer from ESPN's controversial "Playmakers" TV series. Blitz: The League goes behind the glitz and glamour of the game through a revolutionary campaign mode that explores the on-field violence, off-field fallout and front-office politics of professional football.

Europe 1942. These are desperate hours for Allied forces as the Nazi war machine rages across a devastated European landscape. You are US Army Lieutenant William Holt, hand-picked by William “Wild Bill” Donovan to be the first field agent of the newly formed Office of Strategic Services­the OSS. Medal of Honor European Assault makes you the driving force in the struggle to liberate Europe.

Valve lastest Steam Update has a few new screens from a reworked SAS model for Counter-Strike: Source, and also brings news about the release of DOD: Source, Lost Coast, and Aftermath, all are in the final phases of development and being polished for release. One of the new features in Lost Coast, which will be ready in a few weeks, is a commentary system, where you'll be able to hear first-hand some of the background on the features and choices in Lost Coast from the team responsible for building it.

Blitz: The League goes behind the glitz and glamour of the game through a revolutionary campaign mode that explores the on-field violence, off-field fallout and front-office politics of professional football. Midsway has launched the official Blitz The League website, sign up for League Update newsletters over the next several weeks featuring player and coach interviews, new photos/videos from training camp and the latest news around the league as it breaks.

Enter an all-new Evil Dead experience, as Ash finds himself arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to Sunny Meadows, an institute for the criminally insane. Though better than the madness he escaped hidden within the woods, he quickly learns the evil has only become more malevolent.