Valve and Vivendi today announced the settlement of a pending federal court lawsuit filed by Valve in August 2002. The parties have resolved their differences, and the settlement provides for the dismissal of all claims and counterclaims. VUG will cease distribution of retail packaged versions of Valve's games, including Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source, effective August 31, 2005, and notify distributors and cyber cafes that were licensed by VUG that only Valve is authorized to distribute Valve games to cyber cafés and grant cyber café licenses. All previous license agreements made by Vivendi are being terminated. Needless to say, settlement or not, this is a huge win for Valve.

Already revealed a few months ago, Nival Interactive today officially announced Hammer & Sickle, a new tactical role playing game set in the Silent Storm universe. The game is being co-developed by Novik&Co and Nival Interactive.

Cyanide Studio today announced the development of their latest cycling title, Pro Cycling Manager. PCM will have more detailed animations, an experience system, stage editor and also several multiplayer modes. Cyanide Studio is using the GameBryo engine, and the Paris-based developer of Chaos League has also recently licensed SpeedTree for use in Pro Cycling Manager. Read more for the first screens ...

SWG: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees adds a whole slew of content taken directly from the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith movie, including the adventure planet of Kashyyyk, home to the Wookiees. We sat down with LucasArts producer Julio Torres and had a little chat, new screens included ...

The newest PSM issue reveals the first details about Activision's latest Spider-Man game. Several big changes over the previous Spider-Man 2 title have been made. First off, the game graphics will be more true to the actual comic book style, referred to as 3D comic inking, and include cinematics via a "comic panel" presentation. Ultimate Spider-Man will have a less expansive game world, but Treyarch made up for that by increasing the detail of the environment, adding a "threat assessment" feature which forces you to prioritize tasks, added more mission variety and a new combat system, and allows you to play as Spidey and Venom. The game story is written by comic book author Brian Michael and picks up after issue #39.

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

• Black & White 2 - Trailer
• Dungeon Lords - Trailer
• Grandia III - Trailer
• Pariah - Trailer (Part 1)

Phantasy Star Universe is being developed for both the PS2 and the PC, offering two complete RPG experiences - a single-player action adventure spanning multiple planets, and a robust online multi-player component.

The game will provide players with extremely dynamic gameplay of fast and tough combats, where players are to oppose dangerous and wise enemies, a large set of multifarious weaponry, possibility to control various machinery, incredible detailing and game world interactivity, story-driven single player with original team gameplay, a well-balanced multiplayer with numerous modes: DM, CTF, Co-op, various team games and much more.

Bet On Soldier is an FPS which presents something considerably different in order to stand out from the crowd. With a corporation-takes-over-the-world-style plot, Bet On Soldier allows players to do exactly what it promises with its title - that is, bet on the outcome of encounters with specific enemies. Before entering battle, players can wager on which particular enemy soldiers they are going to kill. Originally planned for April, then June release, Kylotonn announced it is now scheduled for September 2005 (thanks GameKult).

A wet, wild and totally soaked new expansion pack to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will ride into stores this June. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, the first expansion pack to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will let players create and control their own water parks for the first time. Read more to check out some more new screens ...

Namco announced today it will be adding a new "take no prisoners" street fighting game, Urban Reign, to its line-up of fighting titles. Urban Reign will be available exclusively for the PS2 this fall. Read more for details and screens ...

It is with great sadness that Elixir Studios today announced it is to cease day-to-day operations, effective immediately, and will seek the orderly sale and re-use of all its remaining assets and IP. Read more for details ...

EA today announced the latest installment in the widely successful James Bond videogame franchise, From Russia With Love, starring Academy Award-winner, Sir Sean Connery. The highly anticipated game is scheduled to ship this winter on the PS2, Xbox, and the GameCube. Read more for screens & ingame trailer...

Prepare to rain hell from the skies above in World War II's fiercest aerial battles as Codemasters today confirms it has secured the PAL co-publishing and distribution rights to Heroes of the Pacific for PS2, Xbox and PC. Coming this September, Heroes of the Pacific puts the player in the boots of the courageous men who fought like heroes in incredible aerial and naval conflicts from the Pacific Theatre, 60 years ago.

Square Enix today revealed the appearance of the top Japanese vocalists Emiko Shiratori and RIKKI and the return of MC James Arnold Taylor at the highly anticipated concert, "More Friends -- Music From FINAL FANTASY®." The concert starts at 8PM on Monday, May 16th at Gibson Amphitheater.

Frontier Developments Ltd. announced today that it has been collaborating closely with Aardman Animations Ltd. ('Aardman') on the development of a major new console game, "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit", starring the much-loved, Oscar-winning, claymation duo Wallace & Gromit.

Publisher Strategy First and developer BattleGoat are pleased to announce that Supreme Ruler 2010, the groundbreaking economic, political and military strategy game for the Windows PC, has gone gold. Supreme Ruler 2010 will be available at all major retailers on May 10, 2005.

Namco announced today that Namco Museum 50th Anniversary is coming this August to the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, and PC. In honor of the company's 50th anniversary, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary introduces 14 exciting, classic games from the 70's and 80's to a new generation of gamers.

The world is being overrun by colored blocks, which are coming from deep underground in the colorful, fast-paced puzzle game Mr. Driller 2. In the game, Mr. Driller meets his competition, Anna Hottenmayer, in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Mr. Driller.

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

• Jak X: Combat Racing - Trailer (2)
• Far East of Eden 3 - Trailer

Eidos announces that Championship Manager 5 will be released on Xbox and PlayStation 2 on 13th May 2005. Championship Manager 5 features 25 playable national leagues with 59 divisions and a massive database of footballers from around the world.

Turner Broadcasting System today unveiled GameTap, a broadband entertainment network that offers games-on-demand plus original programming via a broadband connected PC. GameTap will launch fall 2005, monthly subscriptions will be anywhere from $10-20, and so far 17 publishers have signed up for over 300 titles.

Perpetual Entertainment announced today an exclusive preview of its upcoming massively multiplayer game (MMG) Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising at this year's E3 Expo.

Electronic Arts and The University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering today announced that they are partnering to co-sponsor the first-ever scholarship opportunity to the USC Interactive Entertainment Summer Camp. Open to any female high school junior or senior, the scholarship will assure an aspiring female game designer a coveted spot in the unique summer program.

Nevrax, developer of massively multiplayer online role-playing game The Saga of Ryzom, announced the addition of Jessica Mulligan as Executive Producer of The Saga of Ryzom.