Today Ubisoft reached an agreement with Atari and Reflections Interactive to acquire the intellectual property and rights to the Driver franchise, as well as most of the assets and all of the personnel of Reflections Interactive. The acquisition will be completed for a cash price of €19M ($24M US) and is subject to customary closing conditions.

In Company of Heroes gamers will experience the journey of the brave men of Able Company in a deep single-player campaign that begins with the invasion of Normandy through their fight across Europe, all set against the most dynamic, and completely destructible, battlefield ever seen in a game.

TotalGaming.net and Nival Interactive announced a deal today to bring Nival’s acclaimed titles Etherlords, Etherlords II and Evil Islands: Curse of the Lost Soul to Stardock Entertainment’s digital-distribution service.

Ubisoft has released a v1.01 patch for the downloadable version, not the CD/DVD version, of Might & Magic V adding some new features, fixing bugs and crashes, as well as tweaking the game.

THQ has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Gas Powered Games for its RTS game Supreme Commander. Chris Taylor is known for his work with Total Annihilation under Cave Dog, and Supreme Commander will mark his return to a genre that he helped popularize.

Bigfoot Networks today introduced the Killer Network Interface Card, offering gamers better ping times and experience more Frames Per Second (FPS) while they play games online - even on high-end gaming PCs with top-of-line graphics cards and other peripherals.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is an MMORPG with a vast, seamless, immersive virtual world filled with elements of familiar High Fantasy, including traditional themes and more, all depicted using cutting-edge graphics technology.

ATI Technologies announced today that Microsoft has chosen ATI's H.264 decoder for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, bringing users sharper, more true-to-life visuals and smoother playback of high-definition content, up to six times the resolution of traditional DVDs all on a single disc.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• Medieval II: Total War - Overview Trailer
• Darkstar One - Dev Diary #2
• Joint Task Force - Hero Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Cyanide has released the first patch for its cycling title Pro Cycling Manager 2006. This v1.0.0.2 beta patch adds a db editor, fixes a few race & career mode issues, various other tweaks and optimizes multiplayer.

When Overmatch, currently in late beta, is released later this summer, it will debut several new features. America's Army has been focused on objective-based, multiplayer gameplay, but with Overmatch two new missions will be added that will pit Rangers and Special Forces against an overwhelming force of Enemy AI Soldiers and Vehicles. Read more for details ...

Load Inc. has signed a worldwide agreement with American e-solution leader Element 5 allowing it to strengthen its global policy, and bring Mad Tracks closer to the final user.

Third Wire Productions has released a new patch for its combat flight sim Strike Fighters: Project 1, as well as the Gold Edition. This v07.10.06 patch includes all previous service packs and many new and exciting features, fixes, and improvements.

Third Wire Productions has released a new patch for its flight sim Wings Over Vietnam. This v07.10.06 patch includes many new and exciting features, fixes, and improvements.

Wings Over Europe: Cold War Gone Hot is an air-combat game that delivers the excitement of a visceral, seat-of-your-pants dogfight experience -- flying in some of the most legendary jet fighters in history!

Histwar: Les Grognards! is a revolutionary Napoleonic strategic and tactical war game that thrusts you into the thrilling and challenging role of the Commander In Chief of one of the many powerful Napoleonic armies between the years 1805 -1814 including the mighty French, Austrian and Russians.

The latest Famitsu issue gives the first details on Monster Hunter Portable 2, sequel to what is known in North America as MH Freedom. Borrowing various elements from Monster Hunter 2 on the PS2, the handheld sequel will feature ad hoc and online multiplayer, as well as new weapons and new locations such as snow covered landscapes. No release date was mentioned but surely more information will be released at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show.

An evolution in open world gaming, Saints Row provides an unprecedented amount of freedom to experience the game as the player sees fit. The game, based in the fictional urban surroundings of Still Water, is action adventure with its core as a third-person shooter.

In “Painkiller: Hell Wars,” gamers play the role of Daniel Garner, who after an unfortunate car accident is trapped between Heaven and Hell. To escape purgatory and find his salvation, he must fight mobs of hellish monsters to stop an imminent Unholy War.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• Pro Stroke Golf: World Tour 2007 [PSP/PS2/Xbox/PC] - Trailer #2
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

The University of California, Santa Cruz, said Monday it approved a new major in computer game design, the first of its kind in the UC system. The new major, leading to a bachelor of science degree, provides students with a rigorous background in the technical, artistic, and narrative elements of creating interactive computer games.

Bethesda keeps on rolling out the extra downloadable content for its action RPG, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The Vile Lair is an underwater hideout providing your infamous character with safe haven. Those willingly inflicted with vampirism will find a means to feed, and if necessary, a means to cure their infliction. Hire evil minions, pray to the dark god Sithis, and a host of other functions awaits.

Dreamcatcher announced today that Painkiller: Hell Wars has finally gone gold. You play the role of Daniel Garner, who after an unfortunate car accident is trapped between Heaven and Hell. To escape purgatory and find his salvation, he must fight mobs of hellish monsters to stop an imminent Unholy War.

EA announced today that actress Emmanuelle Vaugier will star in Need for Speed Carbon. Developed by EA Black Box, Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of adrenaline-filled street racing and challenges players to face the ultimate test of driving skill on treacherous canyon roads.

Originally planned to end in 2003, Microsoft announced that as of today, it will no longer provide customer support or issue security updates for Windows 98/SE and WinME. Analyst firm IDC speculates that currently more than 70 million users are still using the older OS and will thus be affected by this policy change.