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Latest by M. Rougeau

The ‘Assassin’s Creed’ movie has an official release date

Ubisoft is targeting a 2015 release date for the 'Assassin's Creed' movie starring Michael Fassbender. 2015 looks to be a huge year for blockbuster films, with a number of other notables on the docket as well.

‘The Last of Us’ digital version will be playable as it downloads

Sony has been touting the PlayStation 4's ability to play games as they download. Now the feature will sneak into at least one PS3 game, 'The Last of Us,' before the release of the PS4.

Recapping the latest Nintendo Direct reveals and release dates

The latest Nintendo Direct video stream offers up release date details on The Wonderful 101 and other Wii U games as well as reveals of Sonic: Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

No Wii U games ‘in development’ at any EA studios

An EA spokesperson confirms that the publisher has nothing currently has nothing in development for Nintendo's Wii U console. This comes as a surprise given former EA CEO John Riccitiello's positive statements about the new hardware at its 2012 reveal.

‘Twisted Metal’ creator David Jaffe takes advisory role on indie car combat game ‘Autoduel’

Newcomer indie developer Pixelbionic enlists the talent of industry and car combat genre experts - including 'Twisted Metal' creator David Jaffe - to develop its indie PC title 'Autoduel.' The studio plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the game soon.

LA Museum of Contemporary Art and Venus Patrol to host Horizon, an artsy E3 alternative conference

Venus Patrol and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art promise surprises, announcements, and revelations at Horizon, an event described as 'the E3 experience [they] wanted to see in the world.' They hope to showcase beautiful games in a press conference on the final day of E3.

Rovio’s ‘Angry Birds’ feature film slingshots to theaters in July 2016

Sony wins worldwide distribution rights to an upcoming animated feature-length film based on the popular 'Angry Birds' series of mobile games. Producers from 'Iron Man' and 'Despicable Me' are on board to help Rovio Entertainment bring its vision to Hollywood.

‘The Witcher 2’ producer bringing new RPG ‘Lords of the Fallen’ to next-gen consoles

Tomasz Gop, formerly senior producer on 'The Witcher 2,' leads development of an ambitious new RPG from City Interactive.

Scribblenauts meets DC Universe superheroes in ‘Scribblenauts Unmasked’

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment reveals Scribblenauts Unmasked, the latest wordplay puzzle game from 5th Cell. Unmasked marks a new direction for the Scribblenauts series, with a specific focus on setting the game within the DC Comics universe.

‘Gran Turismo 6’ officially confirmed, coming to PlayStation 3 this fall

A blank product page on the official Gran Turismo website suggests that Sony could be preparing to unveil 'Gran Turismo 6.' Previous clues hinted that the racing simulator could release on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, as well as the PlayStation 4.

EA’s Frostbite engine headed to iOS and Android as Frostbite Go

EA and DICE reveal a mobile version of the Frostbite game engine called Frostbite Go, though at least one developer at DICE has been tweeting about the iOS and Android engine for months.

Twitch viewing app arrives today on Xbox 360

Microsoft and Twitch launched a video viewing app on Xbox 360 today that provides Gold subscribers with access to 300 popular Twitch channels, though streaming content out continues to be a game-specific feature.

Free-to-play MMO shooter ‘Dust 514’ launches today on PS3

'EVE Online' tie-in free-to-play PlayStation 3 shooter 'Dust 514' boasts deep integration with the number-crunching MMORPG and 'new dimensions of character progression.' It launches with three DLC packs, ranging from $19.99 to $99.99.

Trion Worlds’ massively multiplayer ‘Rift’ goes free-to-play in June 2013

Trion Worlds' Rift is the latest MMO to go free-to-play as microtransactions continue to prove effective as a business model. The game's design director says gameplay balance is still of the utmost importance.

‘Video Games: The Movie’ seeks Kickstarter funding to finish off production

Mediajuice Studios and director Jeremy Snead bring 'Video Games: The Movie' to Kickstarter seeking $60,000 in crowdfunded support to finish off the final bits of production and post-production work.

‘Shadow of the Eternals’ starts a second crowd funding campaign

A Kickstarter campaign for the first episode of the 'Eternal Darkness' successor will run in tandem with Precursor's self-run funding drive, the developer revealed today.

Blizzard to donate illicit proceeds from ‘Diablo 3’ auction house bug to charity

A bug that forced Blizzard last week to shut down 'Diablo 3''s real money auction house allowed players to duplicate gold within the game's economy. That led to some illicit revenue, but luckily Blizzard chose to donate that money to charity.

Mobile game publisher GREE reportedly begins lay offs

The Japanese game company laid off 25 staff last year when it closed the mobile social platform OpenFeint, but it's unknown what the cause of these layoffs is. A statement obtained from GREE by GamesIndustry is vague in its explanation.

Tim Schafer wants to get the rights to all his games under one roof

The famed game designer revealed to Game Informer that he's trying to gain the rights to 'Stacking,' 'Costume Quest,' 'Brutal Legend,' and 'Iron Brigade,' properties that he developed but that other companies own distribution rights for.

‘Defiance’ continues to roll: New DLC is outlined for the game even as the TV show has been renewed for another season

Defiance's executive producer has annoucned that every expansion for 'Defiance' will include free content, paid content, and new items for the in-game store. The first DLC, tentatively titled 'Enter the Castithan,' arrives this month

Namco Bandai reports five-year high profits

The top sellers in the content division, including 'Tekken Tag Tournament 2,' ' Soulcalibur V,' and the western release of 'Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm,' helped push Namco Bandai far into the black this fiscal year.

Sony not planning to take a ‘major loss’ on PS4 hardware at launch

Sony company did not announce pricing details for the PS4, but did reveal that unlike with the PS3, it does not plan to take a big hit on hardware sales at the console's launch. The manufacturer also posted a profit this year after a record loss the year before.

Silicon Knights reportedly still ‘alive’ following founder Denis Dyack’s departure

New details on the twilight days of Silicon Knights, the birth of Precursor Games, and the relationship between the two Canadian studios.

EA’s Star Wars games likely won’t see a release on the Wii U

EA announced that its Star Wars games will be built on Frostbite 3, but an EA DICE developer revealed that Frostbite 3 does not work on the Wii U. It's not difficult to connect the dots.

‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ studio reportedly liquidated after laying off its entire staff

Sources claimed that the entire staff of TimeGate Studios has been laid off. The studio behind 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' was showing off a new game as recently as March, but an ongoing lawsuit may have taken its toll.

PS4 and next Xbox will reportedly embrace free-to-play gaming

Epic Games Vice President Mark Rein told an audience at the Game Horizon conference that the PS4 and next-gen Xbox will focus heavily on free-to-play games with in-app purchases. That's what Sony and Microsoft have been telling developers, at least.

‘World of Warcraft’ loses 1.3 million subscribers in three months

Activision-Blizzard's Q1 2013 report reveals that World of Warcraft lost 1.3 million subscribers in the first three months of the year.

EA Sports locks down its exclusive FIFA license through 2022

EA remains the only game developer and publisher with the right to release official FIFA-branded games for the next nine years. FIFA 14, meanwhile, will likely debut at E3 in June.

Sony waives $99 fee for PlayStation Mobile developers

Sony will no longer charge PlayStation Mobile devs a $99 licensing fee to get their games published on the mobile-friendly platform.

Electronic Arts earnings call hints at E3 2013 lineup

NBA Live for the PS4 and next-gen Xbox will reportedly be revealed at E3 alongside games in the Need for Speed, FIFA, Madden, and Battlefield series'.

Sony to manufacture the PS3 in Brazil with specially localized games

The PS3 is currently subject to high import tariffs in Brazil, but Sony announced that it will manufacture the console locally and sell it directly to Brazilians at a more affordable price. Sony hopes to boost the Brazilian games market.

EA kicks the hornet’s nest, plans to stop paying license fees for the rights to guns

EA won't pay gun makers anymore to depict their weapons in video games, but it will still depict their weapons. The publisher believes it shouldn't have to pay for that privilege anymore than authors pay to write the word 'Colt.'

Sony adding Indie Games category in the PlayStation Store

Sony continues to support indie development on its PlayStation platforms with a new Indie Games category in the PlayStation Store.

‘The Sims’ creator Will Wright calls ‘SimCity’ launch debacle ‘inexcusable’

Maxis founder and SimCity creator Will Wright spoke recently about EA's "inexcusable" SimCity launch disaster and the state of the game industry.