NCsoft Corporation announces the beginning of its pre-order retail box campaign for Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle and City of Heroes in North America. The boxes will begin to appear on store shelves this week at computer game retail outlets throughout the United States and Canada. Both games are expected to launch commercially this spring.

Vivendi Universal Games and Radical Entertainment today announced a worldwide development agreement under which Radical will exclusively develop products for VU Games. The two companies will collaborate on the development of six multi-platform titles based on new and existing entertainment franchises. VU Games will also obtain a royalty-free license to Radical's proprietary game development technologies, as well as an option to purchase the company during contract's term. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Resolution Interactive has acquired full rights from Daydream Software to computer games Clusterball and X-Team Racing, and the game concepts Scarcefreak and Billion Dollar Disc. The agreement includes code, design and community servers, as well as customer databases. One exception is South America, where Daydream keeps the Clusterball and X-Team Racing rights for 3 years in order to complete unfinished business. Daydream is also allowed to use existing Autobahn code in its future production.

In "Dead Man's Hand," players will step into the boots of El Tejon, a master gunslinger riding with one of the roughest gangs in the West, known as The Nine. When the ruthless leader of The Nine betrays El Tejon, El Tejon turns to a life of vengeance, vowing to put every member of his former gang six feet under. Through an epic single player story of vengeance and betrayal, the player will travel the American Frontier, experiencing bar fights, shoot outs, stagecoach chases and other definitively Western scenes.Read more for some new screens ...

Chronos is Saber Interactive’s, previously known for PC shooter Will Rock, new first person action game under development for the PC, Xbox and PS2 that is built on the second generation of the Saber3d Engine. Its’ cinematic quality graphics, immersive storyline and intense gameplay promise to make it one of the best games in the genre (thanks Homelan). Not much details are available yet, but read more for some interesting looking screens ...

'Crimson Sea 2' features over 60 missions and 3 two-player modes. Work together to bring down the enemy and clear a stage in "Co-op" mode, battle head-to-head "death match" style in "Versus" mode, or try to outscore your human opponent in "Competition" mode. Read more for details and new screens ...

GarageGames announced today the launch of Aerial Antics from Leadfoot Productions and 3D Mahjong from GameShapers both for Windows based PCs. Read more for details on both titles ...

Disclosed in this Team 17 forum thread, Martyn 'Spadge' Brown revealed that they are currently working on an all NEW game in the long runninf Worms series. No specfiic details were revealed, although it was made in reponse to a "Worms RTS" thread, which i will NOT be. 'Spadge' did say that the game is due late 2004, and the first details (including the name) would be announced somewhere this month (Feb 2004). Stay tuned, we'll have more coverage as this unfolds ...

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. on Thursday said it has signed a deal with comic book publisher Marvel Enterprises Inc. to develop a series of fighting games pitting newly developed EA characters against Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man.

CDV Software Entertainment today announced that March 23 is the North American release date for the PC title "BREED." A sci-fi tactical shooter featuring amazing visual effects, "BREED" is a fast-paced action title offering an incredible amount of freedom on land, air, and space.

JoWooD Productions Software AG has completed it’s turnaround following difficulties during the business year 2002. The positive result for 2003 confirms the company’s successful restructuring and repositioning The preliminary EBIT increased to EUR 7 million (2002: EUR –42.8 million). The preliminary group result after minorities increased to EUR 3.7 million (2002: EUR –28.6 million). JoWooD has, thus, managed to achieve a sustainable profitability increase through a successful strategic and structural reorganization of the company.

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...

Cenega Publishing is proud to announce a new title for their PC line-up, releasing in the fall of 2004. Creature Conflict: The Clan Wars (previously known as Animal Planets), by the Hungarian developer Mithis Interactive, is a turn-based combat strategy game, heavy on the humor! The game takes place in a galaxy populated by four different animal clans, each faction battling for control over all the planets.

During a press conference held today, Blizzard Entertainment announced plans to build a local World of Warcraft team in Europe. The team will be responsible for community relations, customer service, and technical support for the game. Additionally, they will manage the distribution and hosting of World of Warcraft on local European servers. With a regional team in place, Blizzard intends to affirm its commitment to the European game community by delivering a massively-multiplayer experience of unparalleled quality.

Already revealed in yesterday's financial results, Ubisoft is excited to announce that the Xbox, PC and GBA versions of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, the new adventure from the world of Tom Clancy, is on track to ship for the end of March. Due to development issues, and the groups' commitment to making these versions the same high quality as the Xbox version, the PS2 and GameCube will launch at a later date. This date is still to be confirmed. There's a single player mode and an "incredibly addictive" online version.

Eidos announces it has optioned the film and television rights to its sexy and action-packed video game franchise Fear Effect to producer and director Uwe Boll and his production company, BollKG. Continuing Eidos' success in transitioning game content to film, the Fear Effect deal follows in the footsteps of bringing the hugely popular Tomb Raider video game to the big screen via Paramount Pictures. Additionally, Eidos optioned the multi-award-winning game Deus Ex to Columbia Pictures and producer Laura Zisken in 2002.

Electronic Arts today announced plans to publish BREAKDOWN from Namco Limited for the Xbox. Breakdown is the hotly anticipated first-person action adventure title that combines Namco's legendary fighting game experience with the best elements of traditional shooters. A thrilling science fiction storyline is revealed through its high-end, real-time rendered graphics, bringing an unprecedented level of realism to the gameplay experience. The game features intense hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat, challenging puzzles, surreal dream sequences, advanced A.I and massive, detailed environments for exploration.

Zuxxez has released a new patch for their 2000/2002 strategy games 'Earth 2150: Moon Project' & 'Earth 2150: Lost Souls' (at the time developed under the name TopWare). This v2.0 update (available for the German & English editions) was developed in cooperation with Playerliga.de and is completely rebalanced. This update adds tons of game tweaks/fixes and makes Moon Project & Lost Souls multiplayer compatible which will allow you to play both games on the Earthnet Server irrespective of which title you have. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

ESPN Major League Baseball raises the bar with Power Pitching, Online Gameplay and a stellar ESPN presentation featuring Jon Miller and Karl Ravech. A new name, a new season, a new way to play! ESPN Major League Baseball will include voice-chat support for the PlayStation2 and the Xbox, as well as the only complete online league experience for PlayStation2 owners. Read more for some new screens ...

Ubisoft today announced third quarter sales for the fiscal year 2003/04 in which they reveal that their sales increased about 30% over last year, mainly due to a 50% growth in Europe. Sales for titles such as XIII and Beyond Good & Evil were lower than expected, and their financial statement also revealed a sequel for the hit title Prince Of Persia is already in the works. Read more for financial details if thats your thing ...

High-tension Battle : The graphic concept of Lineage II is made up assuming that there is a tremendous siege by dozens of charaters which has the most advanced 3D details like those in fighting games. Rampart standing high in the way of surging forces, Plains overlooked by one riding on dragon high in the sky, Archers on the rampart sniping at the coming enemy from far place. These powerful scene will be produced with the latest 3D technology. Read more for some nifty screens & a very high res in game footage trailer ...

Microsoft today announced the launch of the Crystal Limited Edition Xbox, "clearly" aimed at gamers who crave some added style along with their fantastic Xbox game experiences. Available across Europe from Spring 2004, the "crystal clear" new console comes with two crystal controllers and will retail for €199/£139 (SRP). Read more for details and some screens ...

Steal your way through or fight head-to-head with hordes of Wolfens using original combat moves and magical strikes. Soar against various vertiginous wind currents on breathtaking flights. Slide down extreme entwined turbulent tracks, through challenging obstacles and lush environments. Journey through unbelievable acrobatic freefalls as you get closer to Kya’s quest to save her brother and defeat the Fortress of Brazul.

'Crimson Sea 2' features over 60 missions and 3 two-player modes. Work together to bring down the enemy and clear a stage in "Co-op" mode, battle head-to-head "death match" style in "Versus" mode, or try to outscore your human opponent in "Competition" mode. Read more for details and new screens ...