Battlestone Preview

Battlestone Preview:
While the era of endless Zynga acquisitions has certainly slowed to a crawl in recent months, that doesn’t mean the big Z isn’t willing to snap up a good company when they see one.  Back in November (how perfectly timed!), the company announced the acquisition of November Software – a mobile games developer that, at that time of acquisition, had been working on a game called Golden Arrow.

GAMEVIL Launches Mobile Dungeon Crawler, Dark Avenger

GAMEVIL Launches Mobile Dungeon Crawler, Dark Avenger:
Leading mobile games publisher and developer, GAMEVIL, announced the release of their latest title, Dark Avenger, on App Store today. Dark Avenger is a third

ChangYou buys remaining 7Road stock for $78 million

ChangYou buys remaining 7Road stock for $78 million:
Chinese online gaming powerhouse doubles down on initial $100 million investment

Zomber Squad Launches Second Closed Beta

Zomber Squad is an upcoming free online zombie MMORPG that allows players to recruit and train up to 3 heroes to fight for survival against the undead. Players manage a safe district where they must manage and upgrade buildings to aid their efforts on the battlefield.

Korean News and Beta Test Announcements

• NHN soccer simulation game “Football Day” holds 1st CBT from May 3 to 18.
• Big Spoon MMORPG “Red Blood” ends 2nd CBT, plans to be released in the first half of 2013.
• Creant tank battle game “Blitz2 Battle Line” holds CBT from May 6 to 10.
• ENP Games MMORPG “Jinmiin” starts Daum Game channeling service.
• Neowiz Internet signs Korea and global publishing contract with Dragonfly for 2 mobile games: “Special Force 2 Mobile” and “Quick Scandal”.
• Playworks signs NA, SA, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia region exclusive contract with International SG (ISG) for web-cross platform MMORPG “Arcane Hearts,” to start Korea service via Daum Communication this summer.
• Jaeyu Games MMORPG “Troy vs Sparta” starts OBT on April 12.
• Choi Rock Games new full 3D MMORPG “Cheonnyong Shingeom” planned for service at the end of the year.
• Starting July 11, Netmarble is ending its “Sudden Attack” service and will starts its service with Nexon.
• Mobcast mobile soccer management game “Mobsoccer” starts formal service.
• Neocyon mobile action RPG “Ragnarok Violet” Android version starts China service via Shanda Games.
• Soft Bigbang MOBA “Core Masters” ends 1st CBT, average playtime was nearly 120 minutes.
• Liveplex signs Japan service contract with Nexon Japan for MMORPG “Queens Blade”.
• Fortuna Games RPG “Dungeon Hero” holds 2nd CBT from April 19 to 23.
• Intersave web game “Maenbong Brothers” starts official service on April 18.
• Mvert FPS “Peta City” opens teaser site (http://www.petacity.co.kr), to hold CBT in May.
• Smilegate signs China service contract with Tencent for “Crossfire,” contract is from July 2013 and will last up to three years.
• Dadam Game 2D sidescroll action MORPG “Mystic Fighter” to be published in China via Tencent, contract signed with Netmarble last January25, to hold 2nd CBT in Korea this 1st half of the year.
• NCsoft “Guild Wars 2” holds China 1st CBT on May 2 via China partner KongZhong.
• Capo Games defense web game “FATUM” starts OBT on April 22.
• Crytek FPS “Warface” enters OBT on April 23.
• Red Duck “Metro Conflict: Presto” holds China 1st CBT on May 2 via Tencent.
• KOG MMORPG “AIMA” holds test from April 23 to 29.
• ENP Games web MMORPG “Jinmiin” starts Ggamnol.com channeling service.
• Mgame MMORPG “Yeolhyeol Kangho Online” starts commercial service in Cambodia on April 25 via Metlaor.
• Mvert FPS “Peta City” holds FGT on April 27.
• YJ Network MMORPG “Cheonhaenggeom” holds CBT from April 24 to 27.
• Korea Association of Game Industry (KAOGI) changes its name to Korea Internet & Digital Entertainment Association (K-IDEA), to push through with G-star 2013 from November 14 to 17, will let companies decide if they want to attend G-star 2013.
• EPP Soft mobile 3D MORPG “Fighting Hero” holds CBT from April 26 to 28.
• KOG “Elsword” included in the Top 5 games in Steam Greenlight.
• EA “Fifa Online 3” starts Daum channeling service.
• YJ Network web game “Cheonhaenggeom” starts OBT on April 30.
• GREE Korea full 3D FPS “Battle Code Online” holds CBT from April 29 to 30.
• Fortuna Games RPG “Dungeon Hero” holds 2rd CBT from May 3 to 7.
• Mvert FPS “Peta City” holds 2nd FGT on May 4.
• Nexon baseball game “Pro Baseball 2K” starts formal service.
• Cykan Entertainment “Lime Odyssey” holds final test from May 22 to 26.
• ENP Games pet battle web MMORPG “Phatom Intelligence” opens teaser site (http://mh.pupugame.com/teaser/).
• Mvert FPS “Peta City” holds CBT on May 9.
• Nexon “Warface” will offer free service to home-based players (functional items for free), will only charge for PC café players this year; Nexon will make sure in-game items never affect game balance; In Russia; better weapons can be purchased with cash but Nexon thinks that this commercialization method will not work for Korean gamers.

MMOsite Exclusive Interview With The Aurora World

MMOsite Exclusive Interview With The Aurora World:
The Aurora World story takes place after a cataclysmic war between the Gods in Heaven, leaving the world in chaos. Players will venture across the land to unite powers

Suda51: We ran into a "wall" at publishers

Suda51: We ran into a "wall" at publishers:
The Japanese designer believes he'll be able to drive better sales of his games now that he's part of GungHo Online

The Repopulation adds gore, stampedes, turrets, and more

The Repopulation adds gore, stampedes, turrets, and more:
Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Patches, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, The Repopulation The Repopulation's end-

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Review

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Review:
Gamezebo Rating: Sometimes I feel like I'm wasting my time writing a review when I should really just be pointing at a game and demanding that people play it. This is one of

A 30-Year-Old Fighting Fantasy Comes To Life In My Hands

A 30-Year-Old Fighting Fantasy Comes To Life In My Hands:
I was a little over 13 when I read the first book in UK game designer Steve Jackson's Sorcery! series of Fighting Fantasy books. Enhancing the page-turning elements of the

This Is The Prettiest Game On iTunes, But Looks Aren't Everything

This Is The Prettiest Game On iTunes, But Looks Aren't Everything:
I stare at the glorious handcrafted world of Blitz Games' Paper Titans for hours, lazily rotating each colorfully cobbled-together stage. I would gladly take a large stack of

Age of Wushu: Potentially Great

Age of Wushu: Potentially Great:
Age of Wushu made a big splash on the MMO scene not too long ago. We have been faithfully playing AoW and reporting on it. Now ready to offer our official review, we

Jane Austen Unbound Review

Jane Austen Unbound Review:
Gamezebo Rating: English author Jane Austen died in the 19th century, but she’s maintained a pretty interesting career despite her passing. Apparently she co-

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy Review

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy Review:
Gamezebo Rating: Empire building in the vast, cold reaches of outer space has been a popular topic in gaming for many decades: both for video games and

Beat the Melody (iOS) review

Beat the Melody (iOS) review:
Beat the Melody is a new iOS game from Shortbreak Studios, developed in collaboration with Wroclaw Music Academy, Poland. It’s available now as a $0.99

There Are Fewer Console Gamers In Japan, But It's Not The End of Gaming

There Are Fewer Console Gamers In Japan, But It's Not The End of Gaming:
People in Japan have argued that the console gaming market is dying. Whether that argument is valid or not, they now have another piece of ammunition to point to as

Star Command Review

Star Command Review:
Gamezebo Rating: If science fiction has taught us anything, it’s that humans are frail little monkeys that probably don’t belong in space. Yet despite our primitive minds and

Tennis in the Face Overview

Tennis in the Face Overview:
Tennis in the Face is a hilarious bouncer-game where you save the city from the evil Explodz Inc. with your extraordinary tennis skills. Simply move your finger on the

Intel names Brian Krzanich as its new CEO

Intel names Brian Krzanich as its new CEO:
Krzanich succeeds Paul Otellini, Renée James elected new president

Latest Xbox LIVE activity charts reveal success for Poker Night 2, God Mode

Latest Xbox LIVE activity charts reveal success for Poker Night 2, God Mode:
Earlier today, Larry Hyrb, Xbox LIVE’s “Major Nelson,” released this week’s LIVE activity charts,...

US report cites piracy hotspots

US report cites piracy hotspots:
Ukraine leads offending countries, Canada and Israel removed from Priority Watch List

Intel reveals its next-gen Iris graphics tech

Intel reveals its next-gen Iris graphics tech:
New integrated GPUs show up to three times the performance of previous-generation chips, challenge AMD and Nvidia solutions. Intel is promising better gaming

I've Seen Grand Theft Auto V. This One's Radically Different.

I've Seen Grand Theft Auto V. This One's Radically Different.:
The things that stick out to me about Grand Theft Auto V are not the major things I was supposed to focus on when I saw the game in action at Rockstar HQ this week. But I'll

Ask Massively: A new era of soft launches

Ask Massively: A new era of soft launches:
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous,

The Guild Counsel: Why broken economies hurt guilds

The Guild Counsel: Why broken economies hurt guilds:
Filed under: Economy, Game Mechanics, Guilds, MMO Industry, Endgame, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous, Buy-to-Play I have to admit, I

Facebook chief accounting officer departs

Facebook chief accounting officer departs:
David Spillane to leave on May 10

Navy Field 2 Is Now Live

Navy Field 2 Is Now Live:
NEXON Europe is pleased to announce the official launch of the Navy Field 2 and is throwing a massive NX cash event to celebrate. Continue reading Navy Field 2 Is

Dragonplay launches casual game publishing division

Dragonplay launches casual game publishing division:
Dragonplay Casual helps Gun N' Blade head worldwide

Madden NFL 25 benched for Wii U

Madden NFL 25 benched for Wii U:
EA Sports' pigskin sim won't be appearing on Nintendo's flagship console this year

HTML5 engine Turbulenz has gone open-source

HTML5 engine Turbulenz has gone open-source:
Turbulenz CEO James Austin talks seizing opportunity with HTML5 from its infancy to create a high end, modular game engine, and the company's decision to go open-

Facebook reported its best quarter for games, ever

Facebook reported its best quarter for games, ever:
As social game giant Zynga makes major moves to free itself of Facebook dependence, Facebook recorded its strongest quarter for game revenue ever. ...

Google hires Noah Falstein as chief game designer

Google hires Noah Falstein as chief game designer:
What are the search giant's plans for the game industry?

Shooter games boost Chinese online game market, as MMORPGs give way

Shooter games boost Chinese online game market, as MMORPGs give way:
Even as mobile devices take hold and MMORPGs give way to new genres, there's still an opportunity to build a business around online games in China, according to

Camelot Unchained secures an additional $3 million in funding

Camelot Unchained secures an additional $3 million in funding:
Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained, Subscription Last night,

NPD: 72 percent of US gamers play online

NPD: 72 percent of US gamers play online:
Online Gaming 2013 report finds an increase of 5 percent over last year; PC top online platform at 68 percent. The NPD Group today released the findings of its

SOE 'harasses' players with a massive PlanetSide 2 patch

SOE 'harasses' players with a massive PlanetSide 2 patch:
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, Livestream, PlanetSide 2 If SOE was going for the Award for Largest Patch Notes in

X-COM Makers' Mobile Monster Mash Conquers Hearts And Wallets Alike

X-COM Makers' Mobile Monster Mash Conquers Hearts And Wallets Alike:
There's quite a lot of extra content available for purchase in Haunted Hollow, the spooky new iOS strategy board game from Firaxis, creators of XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

TimeGate in turmoil, owing creditors for engine licensing, pizza

TimeGate in turmoil, owing creditors for engine licensing, pizza:
The tale of Aliens: Colonial Marines' tumultuous development gained an additional layer on Wednesday with co-developer TimeGate Studios filing for

Play The Elder Scrolls Online at Gamescom

Play The Elder Scrolls Online at Gamescom:
Bethesda's upcoming MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online will be playable at this year's Gamescom convention,...

Defiance passes 1,000,000 registered accounts

Defiance passes 1,000,000 registered accounts:
Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Defiance Defiance, the game half of the TV/MMO entertainment hybrid, has surpassed one million registered user

Dungeon Striker (KR) Enters Open Beta on May 15 with New Class Unveiled

Dungeon Striker (KR) Enters Open Beta on May 15 with New Class Unveiled:
The long anticipated cute version Dragon Nest -- Dungeon Striker has finally got some latest movement, the Diablo 3 style MMORPG developed by Eyedentity will kick