A few months back EA's Mark Skaggs took an extended leave of absence after completing Battle for Middle Earth, and now it seems he won't be coming back, at least not to EA. Together with EALA Vice President Rick Giolito (Medal of Honor) and VUGames' Michael Pole, Mark Skaggs has licensed the Unreal Engine 3 technology and got indie funding for its new Santa Monica, Calif. based development team Trilogy Studios.

Microsoft today announced that more than 400 pieces of downloadable Xbox Live Marketplace content, including free interactive demos for games like FIFA 06, Kameo, King Kong, NBA LIVE 06, NFS Speed Most Wanted, as well as new music videos, will be available to Xbox 360 fans starting November 22nd.

Sony announced today the release of the EyeToy: Operation Spy, exclusively for the PlayStation 2. EyeToy: Operation Spy presents players with an immersive spine tingling narrative, where they join the SIA (Strategic Intelligence Agency) in order to take down a sinister global network of master criminals.

Galactic Civilizations II takes place in the distant future, when mankind has become a space-faring civilization and must contend with other extraterrestrial powers for domination of the galaxy. The sequel is a true evolution for the series, with rethought fundamentals and exciting new changes.

The new season for multiplayer online baseball simulation, Sim Dynasty begins Wednesday, Nov. 16. Players can signup now at the official Sim Dynasty website. More than 3,000 players already control teams, but there is always room for more in this multiplayer online baseball simulation.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is an action-packed thriller set in a large and varied game world mixing gritty reality with imaginative fantasy. The game features three worlds, three distinctly different playable characters, and exciting action-adventure gameplay wrapped in a mature, exhilarating, and innovative storyline.

Area 51 is set in the U.S. government's most top-secret and secure facility located in the Nevada desert. Players take on the role of Specialist Ethan Cole, a hazardous biological waste specialist sent to investigate. Midway has released some new patches for the Euro, US and German editions of the game, addressing various graphical glitches, copy protection iussue and smooth sniper scope. zooming (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Already revealed during last weeks Battlefield 2: Special Forces announcement, today EA offiically took the wraps off its Steam like content delivery system.

Midway Games today announced that Earth 2160, the sequel in the EARTH series of real-time strategy (RTS) titles, has shipped to stores nationwide and is available for play on the PC.

Microsoft today announced that 18 Xbox 360 games, and 13 Xbox 360 accessories will be available in North America on Nov. 22, while Europeans will be able to pikc up 15 Xbox 360 games, when the system launches in Europe on 2 December. Read more for details ...

Valve lastest Steam Update has a few details on what to expect in the near future regarding C-S Source and DoD Source. Over the next few weeks Valve'll have updates coming for both aforementioned titles, starting with one new level for each. Last week it was announced that an updated de_nuke will be making its return to Counter-Strike, and this week Valve revealed a new DoD Source map, named Argentan. Valve also said a new game is coming to Steam, with an official announcement due soon.

Culpa Innata is a story-driven, third-person game uses a proprietary 3D engine with dynamic cameras and other technologies developed by Momentum AS. Using the classic mouse in a point and click interface, the game features a wide variety of organic obstacles ranging from logic puzzles to hi-tech gadget manipulation to dialogue and inventory challenges.

Paradox has released a new patch for its strategy game Hearts of Iron II. This update brings your retail game to v1.3 and polishes multiplayer experience, improves AI for warfare, production and more, as well as adding additional events, new ministers and tech teams. Read more for download links ...

Legion Arena has shipped to stores and releases today! All you eager gamers in Western Europe can now buy the game. You can either order direct from the Slitherine Online Shop, or go to your local store and pick up a copy. The US will have to wait 11 more days, until the 22nd November, or if that seems like too long to wait, order from our shop and we'll ship it off to you now!

Heart of Empire: Rome leads the player through 14 huge missions as they actually build & control ancient Rome in glorious real-time 3D. From simple beginnings, they must quickly build housing for their growing population; start to meet their increasing desires for food, goods and entertainment.

Developed by Gusto Games, Championship Manager PSP is a fully portable version of the best known football management simulation, and also boasts a wealth of new features. Eidos today confirms Championship Manager on PSP, will be released on December 9th, 2005.

Heaven vs. Hell is an RTS putting you in command in a battle over the souls of humanity and determine their eternal existence. Built around the concept of resource and force management, as well as battlefield strategy, Heaven vs. Hell features a riveting story, beautiful 3D graphics and breathtaking sound effects. According to this listing on the Wikipedia encyclopedia web site, all offices have been closed down since August (thanks GameCloud). An official statement was never released although its former CEO Will Golby is now CEO of Gamavoo, an Irish game developer.

After LucasArts cancelled Sam & Max: Freelance Police in 2004, the game has been in limbo, until a few months ago Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, currrently working at Pixar, has come to an agreement with Telltale Games to work on the next Sam & Max title. Telltale has launched a Sam & Max product page, and although it holds little concrete information, it does state : Will Telltale’s game be based on the cancelled Sam & Max Freelance Police game? Cancelled Sam & Max Freelance Police game? What cancelled Sam & Max Freelance Police game?"

Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition consists of 28 arcade games including all of the games from Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3. This 4-disc compilation set will be available for the suggested budget price of $19.95.

EA today announced that Hugo Weaving will expand his involvement with The Lord of the Rings franchise as he assumes the role of lead voiceover talent in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. Additionally, concept artist John Howe of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is on board to design entirely new creatures and locations of Middle-earth.

To better cope with the World of Warcraft's population growth Blizzard has just opened six brand new realms for the game in North America. These realms give players eager for a fresh start a chance to create new characters and begin adventuring in a new copy of the game world, and also gives first time players an opportunity to do so on equal footing with other players.

Microsoft today announced that retailers nationwide are beginning to sell various Xbox 360 games, accessories, and Xbox Live retail offerings in advance of the November 22 console launch. Eager fans are encouraged to check with their local retail stores for information regarding specific Xbox 360 product availability. Reports have come in that PGR3, Perfect Dark Zero, and Kameo are available left and right.

SCEA announced today that its PSP exclusive SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo is available in stores, offering brand new single-player and online gameplay which supports up to 16 players battling together in Ad Hoc and Infrastructure modes for maximum online gaming, an "Instant Action" Mode for short single-player mission replay options, and interoperability with its big PS2 brother SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs.

Blizzard today announced that its subscription based MMORPG World of Warcraft has officially launched in the region of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Players in these territories can now purchase the game at retail or download it, create their accounts, and then log on to experience the epic adventure of the Warcraft(R) series in an immersive and continually evolving online environment.

Atari and Epic Games today announced that Atari has obtained the rights to use the Unreal Engine 3 and tools for games on next-generation platforms in a multiple-licensing agreement.