THQ Inc. and Sega Corporation today announced a co-publishing agreement through which the companies will release two new Nintendo Game Boy Advance adventures based on one of the biggest videogame icons of all time, Sonic the Hedgehog. The games are scheduled to ship in North, Central and South America in the first half of 2004. The companies previously released two other Sonic-branded games for the Game Boy Advance that boast combined sales of approximately a million units.

Mutable Realms, Inc. and Themis Group announced today the beginning of the highly anticipated Wish Beta. This round of Beta is scheduled to run through the end of February, 2004, quickly scaling to 20,000 users.

Cinemaware/Capcom have released the another patch for their recently released 3D action strategy Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.02 and merely addresses 1 minor issue, being "Initial archery sequence bug that prevented progress with low-end PCs." Read more for details and download links ...

Enlight announced today the highly anticipated space simulation game X²: The Threat has shipped to retail stores across North America for the holidays. Under development for two years, X²: The Threat has received numerous praise for its stunning in game graphics and open-ended gameplay.

Have you ever wanted to design a video game? Or ever played the award winning 'EyeToy: Play' and thought of a fantastic idea that would make a great mini game? Well here's your chance to do just that and get to see your idea come to life on the next 'EyeToy: Play' compendium!

Empires: Dawn of the Modern World represents the only truly global RTS where players control unique civilizations across a timeline that spans from the Middle Ages to the modern era. Gamers lead their nation's economic growth and military campaigns in their effort to dominate the world. Each civilization has its own historically accurate units and abilities to be used as players command battles over land, sea and air. From a cavalry charge to a surprise air strike, gamers will know what it truly means to rule one of the world's greatest empires.

Developed by Rockstar North, the Grand Theft Auto franchise has long been applauded and praised for its expansive and open-ended gameplay, cinematic scripts, and epic soundtracks. Since its introduction in 1997, the franchise has received countless awards of excellence and universal critical acclaim. With sales of more than 25 million units worldwide, Grand Theft Auto is one of the most recognized franchises in the history of the videogame marketplace. Rockstar Games has finally brought the award-winning Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a "double pack" to the Xbox. Read more for the full review ...

Jagex Ltd. is pleased to announce that the public beta of RuneScape 2 goes live today. RuneScape 2 is a completely updated version of the hugely popular online adventure game RuneScape, where players have monsters to skill, map to explore and quests to complete. RuneScape 2 features vastly improved graphics and a completely new game engine... Read more for details!

Cyclone Circus is a global arcade racer that introduces the functionality of sail-trim as an acceleration interface. It is the year 2078, and the climate has changed dramatically because of global warming. Antarctica and the North Pole have seen their mass reduced by 80%, resulting in a huge rise of ocean levels. This rapid environmental change has caused extremes in weather patterns, such as the abundant increase in wind velocities. Boasting high speeds in high-tech wind-propulsed vehicles, the mastering of the sail trim, unique vehicle physics and over the top trick system are key elements in becoming World Champion.

Joan of Arc showcases a brand new state-of-the-art graphics engine. With rich, detailed terrain, the game allows real-time control and command of legions of military units, realistically depicting the mayhem and severity of medieval warfare. Joan of Arc will contain a series of individual battles as well as massive strategic campaigns between French and English troops. Read more for some new screens ...

Massive Assault is Wargaming.net's upcoming 3D global domination strategy game. Take the command of "Axis-of-Good" forces and defeat the secret alliance of "Shadow Clique" on one of 6 distant planets. The rebels decided to seize the power on Earth by first conquering the space colonies, which provide vital energy resources to A.O.G. The war for global domination will unroll on continents, at sea and in the air. Lead your divisions, fleets and air squadrons against those, who dared threaten our freedom and democracy!

Strategy First has released a never-before-seen exclusive single-player level, LicenceH24 for their recent sci-fi FPS title, Chrome. After installation to play this mission choose in main menu: Custom Missions, LicenceH24 and click Start (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Players will step into the shoes of a young man in the year 2024 as he arrives in the Independent State of California to pursue his dreams of road domination and capture the Californian cargo transportation market. There are miles of highways to conquer and cities and towns to reach as he becomes the greatest trucker on the highways. But for now, he's starting small. With only a small amount of cash and his huge desire to rule the road. Read more for some truckin' good screens...

The Bloody Magic is single and multiplayer, 3rd person RPG for PC where the weapon of choice is magic. The game is set in a richly detailed medieval-style world, allowing the player a wide variety of choices both in individual quests and character development. The Bloody Magic is different from most other popular RPG titles in that the player characters are all of one type: magician. There are over a dozen different fields of magic, allowing players many choices for specialization. Check a few new screens...

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will - for the first time on next-generation console systems - allow players to become the Terminator Series signature icon, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the original Terminator. This marks the first time Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice and likeness has ever appeared in a home videogame. Just released on all platforms in Europe and the US, Atari has issued a pre-made interview with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines senior producer Peter Wyse. Read more to check it out!

High-speed race set in futuristic moody environments. A player will collect different items during race and he will be able to use the collected weapons to stop opponents. Cars used in the game are a tuned version of characteristic cars from motorization history. (Special shields and utilities are added.) Many tracks guided through futuristic industrialized towns and tunnels providing full-strain amusement for many hours. High speed, sharp turnings and crazy pursuits. You have this all the time. High speed and quick feedback are more important then gun-wielding.

With Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ubi Soft and Jordan Mechner are channeling their combined talents to breathe new life into the action/adventure genre. They’re creating rich characters, white-knuckle action and a plot with more twists than the exotic, elaborate castle featured in the game,” said Serge Hascoët, Editor in Chief, Ubi Soft Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to move forward with the legendary Prince of Persia brand and eagerly await the launch of the next masterpiece from our world-famous Montreal studio.

Sensational graphics, awesome game play and absorbing scenarios will keep you riveted to this enthralling shooter, 3D extravaganza. Determination, skill and reflexes will all be required in huge amounts… Playlogic today announced that Engine Software is also coverting the shoot-'em-up Xyanide to the Game Boy Advance platform (GBA), a title that will be released in February/March. Xyanide was originally developed for Xbox Live, a version that will be available at the same time. Nine people are working on Xyanide for PSP right now. Read more for some new Xbox & GBA screens ...

Game publisher and developer Playlogic today announced more new releases. The company will invest between 12 and 15 million euro in the development of games next year. The titles are a strong addition to the scheduled releases. In February/March the first four Playlogic titles will be available worldwide: Cyclone Circus (PS2), Xyanide (Xbox Live/GBA/mobile), Alpha Black Zero (PC) and Airborne Troops (PS2/PC). The new titles will be released by the and of 2004 and in 2005.

Ubisoft today announced that it has officially ceased production on Harpoon IV and has chosen not to release the title. "Ubisoft is committed to making the best military simulation games possible, and unfortunately, the Harpoon IV project wasn't meeting this goal. In our judgment, the product quality could never reach a level that meets or exceeds consumer expectations," said Tony Kee, vice president of marketing, Ubisoft. "We will never intentionally ship a product that is sure to disappoint our discerning customer base." While the game will not be finished or published by Ubisoft, discussions are underway to license the source code to a third-party group within the community in order to finish the game. Information regarding this development will be available soon at the game's community website.

Kuju Entertainment today announced that it is making its core business units more autonomous and defined by creating four separate divisions within the overall corporate structure. The four divisions are Action, Wireless, Racing and New Projects.

Jonathan Newth, Managing Director of Kuju plc, stated, "As Kuju continues to grow and develop, we feel it is crucial for each area of the business to stay focussed on its core technical and creative area as well as on its bottom line."

Rockstar Games announced today that Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft has shipped to retail stores throughout North America. The game will be available for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system on December 3, 2003 and is expected to be in stores in Europe on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 on December 5, 2003.