Epic Games makes its debut on Steam today, delivering the Unreal franchise to Steam gamers everywhere, including Unreal Gold, Unreal 2: The Awakening, as well as Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition, Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor's Choice Edition, and the recently released Unreal Tournament 3. For the ultimate Unreal experience, nab the Unreal Deal Pack, for just $59.95.

During the keynote address at this year's GDC, Microsoft promised to soon allow Xbox LIVE members to play, rate and share community-created games, introducing a new, open distribution service quickly doubling the size of the X360 game library.

So Blonde, written by Broken Sword's Steve Ince, is an adventure game based around beautiful (anti-)heroine Sunny Blonde, featuring jet black humor that goes far beyond trite clichés, gorgeous cartoon graphics, puzzling riddles and a ton of gameplay surprises.

Wizards of the Coast, known for Magic The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons, announced an agreement with UK developer Stainless Games to produce an exciting new online downloadable game.

Medical News Today has published a research paper based on tests of 2,500 kids by psychology professor J. Ronald Gentile and his son Douglas Gentile, assistant professor of psychology and director of research for video game critic National Institute on Media and the Family. The document claims that frequently playing violent video games produces hostile actions and aggressive behaviors.

Competing against more than 700 gamers from a record 74 countries, the United States overcame the stiffest competition in World Cyber Games history to capture three gold medals, two silver medals, a bronze medal, and the overall team title at the Grand Final in Seattle.

Deadline Games has concluded a major three-year deal with game publisher EIDOS to develop ten titles based on cartoon characters from the Hanna-Barbera studio licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Are you a sports trivia nut? Think you know more sports facts than anyone else? Get ready to prove it! EA Sports GameShow is a new online sports trivia game giving players the opportunity to compete against sports fans from around the nation with a live game show host.

SouthPeak Games, in co-operation with German distribution partner Flashpoint, announced its product line-up for this year’s Leipzig Games Convention, including its first entries into the PS3 and Wii markets, as well as an increased focus on handheld formats.

EA has signed the worldwide rights to create digital games based upon an array of Hasbro's intellectual properties, including Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Nerf, Tonka and Littlest Pet Shop, to name a few, with the first games scheduled to launch in calendar year 2008.

A new pan-European games ratings initiative has been launched to make online gaming safer and to help boost parental confidence in the online games industry. The PEGI rating system is now to be expanded to include games playable online via consoles, PCs and mobiles.

Former EA and Black Box Games industry veterans announce the newly formed independent development studio Atomic Robot Games!

AI middleware provider Kynogon, and Deadline Games, known for Total Overdose and Chili Con Carnage, announced today that Kynapse would be used as the AI solution for their next generation engine.

Valve announced that Sid Meier's Railroads! ($19.95), as well as Railroad Tycoon II and Railroad Tycoon III now available for purchase on Steam, separately or, you can purchase all three titles as a package for $29.95. Golden oldie X-COM: Terror from the Deep is now available for purchase on Steam for $4.95.

Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii.

Electronic Arts plans to make an equity investment in Korea-based online gaming company, Neowiz Corporation, and expand the existing co-development and publishing relationship with that company.

EA announced that starting today the music from its best-selling games, from Madden to Need for Speed, will be available for purchase from the iTunes Store, including exclusive mixes, non-album cuts and previously unavailable international tracks.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston, who also worked on Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, has joined Big Huge Games to create a to-be-announced role-playing game.

Virgin Games and Game Domain International announce the completion of the world’s first tests on A World of My Own, a 3D Virtual PC games world platform, paving the way for a lucrative new market in the $25 billion games industry.

Zoo Tycoon developers Blue Fang Games announced that award winning game designer Steve Meretzky, known for creating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is joining its team as Senior Designer.

Gathering of independent developers IDEA Games announce the launching of its own online distribution system, Sprocket. The first titles available from launch are the first two games of ALTAR Games' sci-fi trilogy - UFO: Aftermath and UFO: Aftershock, and Black Element Software's fantasy action game Shade: Wrath of Angels.

The Grand Final of the World Cyber Games concluded after four days of intense gaming, with Team USA bringing home the gold in Project Gotham Racing 3 on the X360, but the Grand Champion title for the World Cyber Games 2006 was awarded to Team Korea, who reclaims the title after four years.

Earlier this month Vivendi finally pinned down a release date for Scarface: The World Is Yours, currently set for Oct. 3, 2006. Hollywood writer David McKenna ("Blow," "American History X") wrote the script for Radical's movie adaptation, but has mixed feelings about Hollywood's dipping into the archives for games.

Check out the following new screens from IDEA Games' Games Convention 2006 lineup:

• Armed Assault - Screens
• Rock of Pariahs - Screens
• Fish Fillets 2 - Screens
• Alpha Prime - Screens
• UFO Afterlight - Screens

United States District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly ruled yesterday that the state of Illinois must pay the video game industry $510,528.64 in attorney's fees for its unconstitutional effort to enact a law banning the sale of violent video games.