Well, there you have it. ArenaNet has announce the official Global release date for their upcoming Guild Wars expansion, Factions. A day for all Guild Wars fans to rejoice. April 28th is the day to mark on your calander, and to head down to your local gaming store to pick up your copy. For those of you who just cannot wait for the release date, ArenaNet is hosting a massive beta event where all existing Guild Wars players and their friends can get an early peak at the new expansion. And to add to the sweetness, Limited Edition pre-order packages are currently available at retail stores throughout North America, so check with your local retailer!

ArenaNet , developer of the award-winning online roleplaying game Guild Wars, and NCsoft Corporation, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announce today the release date of Guild Wars Factions, the hotly anticipated second game release from the critically acclaimed studio. Guild Wars Factions will be available in stores worldwide April 28, 2006. [ Read More! ]

After years of being hailed as a nerds sporting activity, video gaming is now taking the spotlight. In recent years pushing up and now competing with film markets to become one of the top selling commodities in the world. Online gaming is always on the rise, where the cost of servers, online support is being covered by user subscriptions and real-time in game advertisements. According to the DFC Intelligence Online Game Market Forecasts, "subscription revenue from online games was $2 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow to $6.8 billion by 2011. Furthermore, subscription revenue is only one part of the online game business equation. Advertising and digital distribution revenue are also expected to grow significantly." [ Read More! ]

‘Turning Games into a New Kind of Art’: that was the headline in The New York Times on January 21, of an article about a games exhibition – and provides all the more proof that to an ever increasing degree digital games are part of popular culture. In addition, digital games unite multiple disciplines such as film, photography, theatre and architecture. The medium appears to have begun an unstoppable advance, and forces – or tempts – us to a redefinition of our everyday environment. In its exhibition ‘Next Level’, the Stedelijk Museum shows work by artists and designers who make the vocabulary of games their own, and provide us with their personal reflection on it. ‘Next Level: Art, Games & Reality’ runs through June 18, 2006, in Stedelijk Museum CS. [ Read More! ]

New Australian developer Hidden Waters has announced their first project, a fantasy based massively multiplayer online role playing game entitled Restless World. Utilizing a heavily modified version of Garage Games' Torque Engine, RW will offer a unique fantasy realm not tied to the more traditional Tolkien archetype. Players will be able to choose from ten character classes, increase a variety of skills through repeated use, and unleash death upon their foes with a mana based spell system.

Restless World is a MMORPG that is based on our own, original set of rules. It is set in a varied 3D world full of all sorts of interesting creatures, which are unique to this world and not drawn from a Tolkeinesque world. There are no standard fantasy races like elves and dwarves, but players have access to a character palette with enough variation of physical appearance that they may create a character that resembles one of these races. [ Read More! ]