Utilizing the technical prowess of the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Xbox Live!, Digital Extremes, the developers of Unreal Championship in conjunction with Epic Games and Atari have completed the auto-update for the game. It will be available for download through Xbox Live! tomorrow, May 22 (thanks EvilAvatar). Read more for details ...

I saw on VE3D that Andy tossed up info about a E3 footage of Unreal Tournament 2004 on E3 Insider (there's a glimpse of the title screen in there too). To check out this movie click here, then 'Watch Floored' ..

Andy also let us know that Beyond Unreal also has following comment from Mark Rein:

Sorry I have not been able to visit the forum sooner but we've been extremely busy showing off UT2004 during the day and then meeting with licensees and potential licensees at night.

The reception to UT2004 has been great which is especially gratifying considering how early everything is. There are so many cool things going into UT2004 that aren't in showable shape yet. But regardless of that people are really liking the parts they're seeing and we know they're going to be even more delighted in a few months when everything comes together.

I see many of you are discussing the topic of UT2004 pricing. Atari has not yet set the retail price of UT2004 however they have told us that all along they've been planning to have some sort of deal for existing UT2003 owners who buy UT2004. The game is still many months away so there's plenty of time to figure this out and let people know.

I have guests here in my suite and I need to get back to them now. I'll try (no promises) to post more tonight and possibly get on IRC again sometime in the next few hours to answer peoples' questions.

Atari is bringing Unreal Tournament 2004, the newest edition of the definitive virtual blood sport, to personal computers this Fall. Unreal Tournament 2004, like its predecessors, is being co-created by Epic Games Inc. and Digital Extremes. The game will be shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, May 14 - 16, in Petree Hall, room 4003.

Factornews seems to have gotten their hands on some information regarding various Unreal titles. According to some E3 booth schedule Unreal Tournament 2004 will indeed be shown at E3, as well as an Unreal 2 Xbox version and Unreal Assault (formerly known as Reloaded) for the PS2. The Unreal 2004 title is scheduled for the second half of this year (thanks VE3D). I guess we'll find out more at E3...

Unreal 2 is an intense gaming experience that immerses players in an epic story-driven adventure featuring superb graphics. As a Terran Colonial Authority Marshall, you’re patrolling a sector of the frontier with three crew members when an interstellar war erupts about you! Rumors of powerful and ancient alien artifacts have driven rival factions to war in an attempt to find and control the objects. You must locate these artifacts, determine their purpose and restore order to the sector - before it’s too late. Legend Entertainment has finally released a playable demo of Unreal 2: The Awakening. No specific details as to what it contains are available reight now. Read more for download links ...

Just noticed on VE3D that GameStop has updated their site today with a new game page. The addition is Unreal Tournament 2004 and the game is listed as being released 18th November 2003. Can we expect announcement of this game at E3? It was stated before the release of Unreal Tournament 2003 that there would be a yearly update a la Fifa, so this could very well be!

At last the eagerly-anticipated release of the new patch for Unreal Tournament 2003 has been released. This upgrade brings your retail copy of the multiplayer first-person shooter by Digital Extremes and Epic Games to v2225. This patch can be applied to any previous version and has a buttload of gameplay tweaks and fixes, HUD/menus, AI, networking, mod support, D3D/OpenGL, audio as well as demo recording and playback. Read more for detailed fix list and links where to grab it ...

Unreal 2: The Awakening incorporates the same absorbing story-driven gameplay, cunningly ferocious enemies and nail biting tension that made the original title the top choice for first person action fans worldwide. Developed by Infogrames' Legend Entertainment, Unreal 2: The Awakening uses next-generation Unreal technology created by the masterminds at Epic to deliver intense life-or-death action in the most breathtaking scenery ever displayed in a computer game. Legend has finally released the announced update patch bringing your retail copy to v2001. This upgrade increasing performance, fixes EAX and various other sound related issues. Read more for detailed fix list and download links!

In a continuing effort to give back to the fans that have made Unreal Tournament 2003 one of the most popular multiplayer action games of the year, Epic Games and Atari have released the second official - and completely FREE - bonus pack for the game. The downloadable pack includes three new game types, 10 new maps, two new adrenaline combos, new announcer voice options and an in-game music manager. Read more for details and download links ...

Since this is turning out to be a boring news day, why not dig up some mod stuff. Noticed on HomeLan that UnrealSpeed, a racing mod for Unreal Tournament 2003, has been released. Drive a car, gliding through the twists and turns to win the race. Your car is (optionally) heavily armed, so shoot your opponent into pieces if he isn’t letting you get past him. Or drop a mine behind you to get rid of people that are trying to overtake you. UnrealSpeed uses on a lap-based system, the track goes in laps. All you need to do is drive smarter and faster than your opponents. Read more for download links ...

Legend's Craig Lafferty made another post to the official boards, this time posting the huge list of Unreal II patch changes (thanks GameSpy). Read more to check it out, TONS of goodies ...

Infogrames Entertainment reports that Unreal 2 : The Awakening PC pots excellent sales in the main european territories. Unreal 2 : The Awakening reigns as number 1 selling title in United-Kingdom, France and Italy since its release in February 7, 2003 (sources : Chart Track, GFK, Media World Chart). Developed by Legend Entertainment (an Infogrames studio) in conjunction with Epic Games and published by Atari, the game incorporates the same absorbing story-driven gameplay, cunningly ferocious enemies and nail-biting tension that made the original title a landmark event and the top choice in action for millions of fans in PC gaming.

Infogrames has released an updated version 2206 of the demo for Unreal Tournament 2003, Digital Extreme's UT sequel. In addition to being updated to the latest Unreal-engine codebase, the new demo also adds another level. The updated demo includes five maps, four gameplay modes, a pair of mutators, etc. (thanks Bluesnews) A Windows as well as a Linux version are now available. Read more for download links ...

Glen Dahlgren, Designer/Producer @ Legend Entertainment posted up a quick update on Infogrames Unreal II forum about what's going on (thanks Blues). Here is the full clip:

I wanted to give you all a quick update about what's happening on the home front. While we Legend guys haven't been posting here as much as we'd like (things are still pretty crazy here), I assure you we have been reading your comments and concerns, and we take them all very seriously.

As you may have read in the forum already, we're planning on releasing a patch sometime soon. It should address a number of the issues that people have raised in these forums. As well, we're going to be releasing a demo, especially targeted at those of you who want to 'try before you buy'. It should be a great benchmark to see how the game runs on your particular system.

In a later post, I'll try to get you some specifics about both of these, but it shouldn't be too long until you've actually got them in your hands.

Thanks to everyone for your support.

The official boards for Unreal II is updated with some info regarding an upcoming video demo instead of a real demo for Unreal II. Here you have the cut and past:

As much as we'd like to create a 'true' demo, it's simply not possible. Legend have moved on to other projects and the production of a demo - even from already existing levels would require time and effort that we just don't have. It would then have to go through QA - another organization that is working on other projects and cannot dedicate time to a UII demo. It's all about the allocation of 'assets'.

However, as I mentioned above, we plan to put something out that as you say - will allow people to see what the game looks and plays like without any editing or 'tricks'. Raw gameplay.

It's going to be hard to get this video out before launch (the game will be on shelves on the 4th (USA), 7th (Europe)), but I hope that we have it online before too long. We'll try to spread it as far and wide as we did the UT2003 demo.

Right Hemisphere, a creator of 3D graphic production solutions for games, film and broadcast, web content, and industrial design announced today that Unreal Tournament 2003, which picked up year-end awards for Best Graphics and Best First Person Shooter, utilizies Right Hemisphere's Deep Character technology for a full-featured customization utility which ships with Unreal Tournament 2003. A huge community of hardened warriors are experiencing UPaint, a 3D painting application that lets Unreal Players paint directly on their character. UT2003 Players can even import a digital photograph of their own face and put it directly on an Unreal Tournament 2003 Warrior.

Easily one of the most anticipated games of 2003, Infogrames send out word that Legend Entertainment and Epic Games' "Unreal II: The Awakening" has reached gold status and is to be expected in stores early February. For previously posted screens, trailers and other goodies, check here

J.P.Eekels Lead Designer @ Digital Extremes posted up some information at the Infogrames forum, regarding 'Unreal Championship' Update.. Here is a small clip from his posting:

I just wanted to drop you guys a note on the planned update (fixes for exploits) and thereby opening an option for other fixes as well that we have for you.

Although Unreal Championship can be patched to fix exploits, this is not by all means an easy task. I will not go into detail here other then saying that it is not the same situation like updates for PC based games. I will also go on and say that we do listen to our public and are in fact working hard to make sure that you have an awesome time playing our games.

So, I will have you know that there is some substantial work put into the upcoming patch that will fix some exploits that people have listed on this board. Some things were known (stats for instance) and some things just came up through the woodwork.

Follow this link to see what they currently working on! (thanks GameSpy)

Digital Extremes Press Officer, Maven Meridith Braun send out following information about the upcoming bonus pack for Unreal Tournament 2003..

They're still working hard on it. The team was a little worn out before the holidays so unfortunately they didn't get it completed in time for Santa to deliver to all the good boys and girls but they art testing this week and next and hopefully it will be out before the end of January.

I saw on the official Unreal 2 forum that "Unreal Brand Manager" from Infogrames posted up some information about release date for Unreal 2.. Here is the clip:

Soon is the day it hits the shops - Feb 4th here in the US of A and I think the 7th for the excellent Europeans.

Unreal II is an intense gaming experience that immerses players in an epic story-driven adventure featuring superb graphics. As a Terran Colonial Authority Marshall, you’re patrolling a sector of the frontier with three crew members when an interstellar war erupts about you! Rumors of powerful and ancient alien artifacts have driven rival factions to war in an attempt to find and control the objects. You must locate these artifacts, determine their purpose and restore order to the sector - before it’s too late. Check the new batch of Unreal-istic screens as well as the in-game action packed trailer !!!

The Strike Force team has partnered with Jolt Online Gaming to produce Strike Force on the Unreal Tournament 2003 engine. Work will begin this week and continue until they have a playable version to release sometime early in 2003. This new version of Strike Force will bring the award winning mod to the best engine on the planet; Unreal Tournament 2003. The team has spared nothing and hired the best of the best in their field to produce this hardcore mod for the community.. Find out more below!

Jolt.co.uk public forums let us know that the alpha mod version 1.80 of Strike Force for Unreal Tournament is available for download. The alpha release is about 80 MB, and performance and graphics tweaks are included along with gameplay alterations. (thanks Blues)

In conjunction with the launch of Xbox Live, the broadband service for the Xbox, Atari has shipped the hotly anticipated game, Unreal Championship to retail stores this week. Exclusively for Xbox, Unreal Championship is the latest addition to the award-winning and top-selling Unreal franchise, known for its intense first-person action, fine-tuned gameplay and awe-inspiring graphics.

Unreal Tournament 2003 thrusts gamers back into bloodthirsty, action-packed arenas as the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future. Using the latest in Epic's Unreal technology, the game redefines multiplayer action with up to 32 players in a server with lightning fast net code. The technology is augmented by the advanced and renowned Karma math engine for in-game physics that simulates true-to-life character movement and environmental interaction. Brutal victory or brutal disappoitment? Read more and find out!