IDV announced today that it has added eight more developers to its growing list of SpeedTree customers. Midway, People Can Fly, Koei Canada, CD Projekt and several others have gone on record as users of SpeedTree for its wind effects, foliage editor, and dynamic LODs. SpeedTree 4.0 was also released, promising a host of new features. Read more for details ...

Left Behind Games has signed Chance Thomas, the man behind the music of games like King Kong, X-Men: The Official Movie Game and Vivendi's Lord of the Rings series - to provide the score for Left Behind: Eternal Forces, its upcoming RTS.

The Sims 2: Open for Business will revolve around setting up businesses and making money. You will need to strategically place employees, or fire useless workers, in order to keep your customers happy. EA has released a new patch fixing various problems with the addon.

At a hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, ESRB President Patricia Vance revealed that it will fine companies up to $1 million for the most egregious offenses. Repeat offenders could get their rating services suspended, heavily impacting sales as most big retailers refuse to carry unrated titles

Ritual Entertainment informed us that it is looking for a Senior Level Designer for a multi-platform next-generation AAA action title. Check out the complete list of requirements for the position, or check out the submission information.

Rush for Berlin is a tactical RTS game, set on the European battlefields of World War II, where you have to capture the German capital, as either the British/US/French alliance or the Red army of the Soviet Union. This v1.1 is suitable for ALL languages and fixes various bugs, crashes, multiplayer issues, and adds a few new features.

Atari and Melbourne House are pleased to announce a closed public beta test for Test Drive Unlimited on the PS2. Accepting North American entries only, the purpose of the beta is to receive consumer feedback on tuning and balancing, assessing online stability, and general functionality testing.

Verizon's FiOS Grand Tournament has broken new barriers, becoming one of the largest video game tournaments to ever hit the Web. More than a month before finals, over 5,000 people have already signed up in an attempt to win $100,000.

MGame USA is distributing 1.000 cdkeys for the closed beta of the asiatic MMORPG focused in martial arts Hero Online. The first 1.000 users of JuegaEnRed.Com/MMOGInfo.Com will get their key and create a game account, activate the game with the key and download the game client and then play starting June 12th 2006.

DFC Intelligence's latest report indicates that the online game market will grow from $3.4 billion in 2005 to over $13 billion by 2011, driven by the increase in broadband households, higher PC penetration and more connected console video game systems. During this time period North America is expected to challenge current market leader Asia as the leading region for online games.

Joint Task Force is a story of modern war where players match superior tactics and military technology against dangerous unconventional forces around the globe.

Last weekend America’s top gamers competed in the inaugural World Cyber Games US Open at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, an invitation-only tournament, to determine who would qualify for a spot in the WCG US National Final. When the dust settled, 36 gamers won trips to the WCG US National Final this September.

Barely out in stores, Deep Silver has already announced that Stormregion is working on an addon titled Rush for the Bomb, scheduled for released Q4 2006. No further details were provided, details are to follow in the near future.

For Liberty! is a turn based computer strategy game for the PC, covering two wars of independence - the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the Rakoczi War of Independence in Europe 1703-1711.

Left Behind Games has signed an in-game advertising deal with Double Fusion for its upcoming RTS. Set in New York City, Left Behind: Eternal Forces is a RTS game based on the Left Behind book series, about life before and after the Apocalypse.

Falcon 4.0: Allied Force features extensive improvements in all areas including artificial intelligence, graphics, multiplayer, terrain and of course the stunning real time, fully dynamic campaign engine. This patch brings your retail game to v1.0.7 and improves multiplayer and various other fixes and tweaks.

In SpellForce II you take over both roles, Commander of your troops and also a front fighting hero, solving quests and overcoming obstacles as in classical RPGs, but also leading armies as in an RTS. Your character is supported by up to 5 heroes who can be summoned at special monuments - these will become available in stronger versions as you progress and reveal more of the epic storyline.

While already announced late last year, the stand-alone expansion for CDV's RTS, Cossacks II: Battle for Europe, will feature three new nations, along with a variety of new battlegrounds, campaigns and battle scenarios, both historical and hypothetical.

Ford Racing 3 allows gamers to "drive" 47 Ford vehicles, ranging from futuristic concept cars to classic cars, as well as off-road vehicles and pure-bred track racers. Empire has released a tiny fix for the installshield addressing an issue when you had FR2 already on your system (thanks 3DGamers ).

As promised, EA has released The Battle for Middle-Earth 2 v1.04 patch addressing a crash, a few multiplayer desync issues, as well as modifying the Palantir button order on several units.

SteelSeries announced today a new partnership with BullGuard, specialists in user-friendly PC & Mobile security solutions. The two brands are together creating the world’s first dedicated security solution for online gamers.

Bungie has released some technical information about the upcoming Halo 2 port for PC. While it will require Windows Vista, it will not be needed for player to have a DirectX 10 compatible gfx card, as Halo 2 will work on DX9 boards as well. PC and Xbox gamers will not be able to play against each other, as Bungie thinks the two-year time frame between launches would be too big and not level the playing field. It will also pose a technical problem, as the PC version will have exclusive maps, and a map editor allowing the mod community to make their own material.

The Sims 2: Open for Business will revolve around setting up businesses and making money. Construction company, restaurant, nightclub, or simply decide to work from home, it will all be possible. You will need to strategically place employees, or fire useless workers, in order to keep your customers happy.

Def Jam Fight For NY: The Takeover lets you experience the ultimate hip hop fighting game anywhere you go. Featuring new fighting moves and new venues, players can gain respect by winning fights and rising among the ranks of the crew, and 1-on-1 death matches using PSP's wireless functionality.

Xbitlabs is reporting that according to ATI Technologies’ software developers relations chief Richard Huddy, Microsoft will not release DirectX 10 for WinXP, and will instead keep the new API strictly for the forthcoming Windows Vista, despite earlier assumptions about DX 10 for the XP.