London's Game Domain International Ltd. (GDI) announced an ongoing partnership to bring its new games on demand service, AWOMO (A World of My Own) to the users of Bebo, a UK social networking site. AWOMO is its own 3D virtual world set in an island paradise, where users can play games by navigating the landscape, across a broadband connection without individual downloads.

The partnership kicks off with a promo-- all Bebo users who participate in beta testing are eligible to win a "Golden Ticket" to free AWOMO gaming for life.

According to GDI, Bebo users can choose from more than 50 PC games to play for free during the beta, and they'll also gain the special identification of "Island Elder", with an associated virtual item, in the Bebo community. The first users to register for the beta test will gain additional virtual goods and special designations, and AWOMO will offer as prizes various subscriptions and introductory offers for the service when it goes live. Users may even be selected to join the GDI test team.

Entertainment media publisher 10tacle Studios Asia and MTV Asia have signed a cooperation agreement to create, brand and market an Asian online entertainment channel; users will be able to access MTV content via a "one-stop digital destination," which the companies say will provide online gaming, 3D virtual worlds, social networks and other dynamic digital content.

In an ongoing rollout, this online entertainment channel will see initial release in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, with additional countries following over the next six months. In their press release, the companies say they'll use microtransactions, sponsorship, e-commerce and advertising as revenue streams typical to the Asian online games market.

“The 10tacle Studios and MTV partnership is a milestone for MTV Networks in strengthening our online gaming, entertainment and lifestyle offering to our audience in Asia. It is anticipated with tremendous synergies between MTV’s branded content and 10tacle Studios’ technology, as well as, the ability to create completely new multi-platform interactive experiences engaging MTV’s audience across the region”, said Robert Kim, senior director of digital media at MTV Networks Asia.

“10T Asia has redefined itself from a traditional games and production business by spearheading 10tacle Studios’ international online entertainment and lifestyle strategy. This close collaboration with MTV opens up incredibly exciting opportunities in the interactive digital media space through the convergence of on-air and online media platforms”, says Aroon Tan, CEO of 10tacle Studios Asia.

Yesterday, as we reviewed Aleks Krotoski's discussion with the Coventry Serious Games Institute (SGI)'s David Wortley noted that the SGI had been "developing a relationship" with Forterra Systems and its OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) software platform, in addition to its Second Life work. Now, the official announcement -- the SGI has bought a license to use OLIVE to support the development and application of virtual world applications, game-based learning and interactive digital media resources.

SGI says OLIVE will enable it to generate 3D Internet solutions for "training, planning, rehearsing and collaborating" in the gaming industry. Forterra adds that SGI will also use OLIVE's open platform to create virtual world content with plug-in functionality to meet a range of simulation needs, including simulation environments.

“We selected Forterra’s OLIVE platform given their market leadership in providing private, secure virtual worlds used for solving real problems such as group collaboration,” said David Wortley, Director of the SGI. “OLIVE provides the opportunity to apply game technologies for all kinds of non-gaming enterprises in the corporate, healthcare, government, and entertainment industries. Virtual worlds, with their online, multiplayer environments, offer unique opportunities to take traditional models of learning, simulation and entertainment to a whole new level of innovation.”

IBM and Linden Lab have announced that they will collaborate jointly on new technologies and methods based on open standards for virtual worlds. Together, the companies say they'll be exploring the the interoperability of virtual world platforms and technologies in a series of industry-wide efforts aimed at expanding the possibilities in online worlds and the 3D Web.

IBM and Linden Lab plan to work together on a series of issues relating to integrating virtual worlds with the current Web, driving security-rich transactions of virtual goods and services, working on interoperability among worlds, and building stability and service into virtual world platforms. All of these initiatives, the companies say, will help make virtual worlds more accessible for enterprise.

The companies released a list of specific projects, outlining the initiatives on which they'll collaborate: "Universal" Avatars, which aims to allow users to transport the same avatar and all its attributes among multiple worlds; creating requirements for standards-based software to facilitate secure asset transactions in online worlds, and improving platform stability and ease of use to accelerate user adoption and enable high-volume business use.

Other initiatives include the formation of open standards for interoperability with the current Web, including open source development of interoperable formats and protocols. In other words, IBM and Linden aim to develop standards to allow users to travel persistently among virtual worlds, the way we navigate from one web page to another on the Internet today.

Colin Parris, vice president of Digital Convergence at IBM said, "As the 3D Internet becomes more integrated with the current Web, we see users demanding more from these environments and desiring virtual worlds that are fit for business. IBM and Linden Lab's working together can help accelerate the use and further development of common standards and tools that will contribute to this new environment."

Added Linden Lab's vice president of Business Affairs Ginsu Yoon, "We have built the Second Life Grid as part of the evolution of the Internet. Linden and IBM shares a vision that interoperability is key to the continued expansion of the 3D Internet, and that this tighter integration will benefit the entire industry. Our open source development of interoperable formats and protocols will accelerate the growth and adoption of all virtual worlds."

GuildCafe Entertainment, developer of the GuildCafe.com social gaming platform, has announced that it has acquired the Uberguilds game community network. GuildCafe will now use the Uberguilds Network to build its Alliance Program, which will enable independent websites to integrate with GuildCafe's social gaming platform. Uberguilds founder and CEO John Findlay will become the new program's general manager.

The program provides hosting for guild sites and online gaming communities, essentially allowing user-generated content relating to online worlds to be part of the same network. It's aimed both at fostering a broader community and promoting gaming while opposing activities like unendorsed gold-selling.

GuildCafe CEO Jon Radoff said, "We began working with Uberguilds earlier this year and became impressed with the enthusiasm of their community. The feedback from their players has been invaluable in improving our social gaming platform—and their participation will help us make our player recruiting, matchmaking and strategy-sharing applications the standard for the gaming world."

Online PC game publisher YNK Interactive has partnered with PayByCash's Ultimate Game Card to offer a new payment method for players to use in their MMO games, including Seal Online and the forthcoming Rohan: Blood Feud.

The Ultimate Game Card is an alternative to paying with credit cards online and can be used when making purchases within Seal Online and Rohan: Blood Feud, as well as in over 150 other online games. The cards are easy to use and available for purchase in a number of major retailers across the United States, and will be available in Canada this summer.

PayByCash has been offering payment alternatives for non-credit-card customers since 1998 and has established relationships with some of the largest game providers and payment processors worldwide.

PayByCash CEO Kevin Higgins says, "Our Ultimate Game Card is the perfect product for extending YNK Interactive's accessibility to the demographics that find Seal Online and Rohan: Blood Feud so much fun. The Ultimate Game Card, in conjunction with PayByCash's unmatched range of other alternate payment options, creates a strong foundation for reaching young internet consumers. The Ultimate Game Card is one of the fastest ways for unbanked customers to purchase premium internet content and experiences."

Javien Digital Payment Solutions has announced a partnership with MMO customer service provider Game Center Group to offer Javien’s Total Commerce Solution to MMOs in need of subscription, billing, and virtual merchandise management.

San Diego-based Game Center Group provides game companies assistance on a range of issues, providing everything from technical and in-game support to helping streamline processes for quality assurance and agent/community management.

Javien’s Total Commerce Solution platform will allow Game Center Group to offer alternative payment methods including virtual tokens, and specialized accounts (parent-child sponsorships, prepaid wallets, etc.) to its customers, enabling the company to expand its offerings and billing model with micropayments.

Game Center Group’s clients include real money trading company Live Gamer and developer/publisher SouthPeak Games.

“Whether it’s putting the transaction piece into the game itself, setting up different billing methods or enabling various currency conversions, our customers find it difficult to accomplish it on their own – now we can tell them they don’t have to,” said Game Center Group IT manager Jeffrey Bard. “The best way to provide the support and service our customers needed for this was to partner with an expert. After an evaluation of possible e-commerce solutions, Javien’s technology was clearly the best – the most flexible in terms of billing options and the company’s deep experience with small transactions was critical as the industry is moving toward micropayments.”

Non-profit developer Children’s Way Foundation has partnered with children’s online protection company eGuardian to provide a safer environment for young users in its Woogi World virtual world.

eGuardian provides an online verification service with a foolproof method for verifying the age of children. Aggressively keeping dangerous adults and malicious content out of Woogi World with parental controls, site blockers, and access restrictors, the company’s technology provides parents the peace of mind that their children are interacting online only with children of the appropriate age.

Targeted at children in kindergarten to sixth grade, Woogi World is a virtual world and community in which kids worldwide can safely play educational games and chat while learning how to become “responsible internet users and goodwill ambassadors (good influences in their homes, schools, and communities).”

“The need to certify every social networking audience, no matter the site, is becoming more and more crucial,” said Scott Dow, Children’s Way CEO. “In keeping with our priority to ensure Woogi World is the safest children’s virtual world available, it makes great sense to partner with eGuardian—the best online protection available.”

Acclaim Games is partnering with TrialPay to give away Acclaim Coins, its virtual currency, for free. Players will be able to use Acclaim Coins to buy virtual items in the company’s online games, such as Bots and 9Dragons

TrialPay uses advertising revenue to pay the full value of each customer’s virtual currency. Players can receive free Acclaim Coins by trying or buying an offer from TrialPay’s blue-chip advertisers. They’ll be able to earn Acclaim Coins when buying clothes, sending flowers, or taking advantage of TrialPay’s other offers.

Acclaim Coins are redeemable in any of Acclaim's five free-to-play multiplayer online games, and can be used to upgrade weapons, change character wardrobes, or improve skill packs. With the offer, Acclaim Games hopes to gain loyal customers and reward players with free upgrades.

"We're excited to make our special features more accessible to players," said Acclaim Games CEO Howard Marks "Our new partnership with TrialPay allows more players the opportunity to customize their characters and use new features at no additional cost."

Mammoth Brand, a marketing initiative managed by toy maker NSI International, has teamed up with toy-store chain Toys"R" Us for the launch of Doko, a new "global trading game" targeted at boys and girls aged 6 to 13.

Starting this weekend Toys"R" Us will be the first retailer to sell Doko discs, collectible items which children can register online to trade and receive points. The points can then be used to unlock features on the Doko site and redeem real world goods or services from Mammoth's redemption partners, including Toys"R"Us, etoys.com, and DK Publishing.

The discs are 40mm game pieces with laser-etched, steel rims, each one providing a unique id and a Doko design in the piece's center. Once they've registered online, kids can trade the discs with each other for more points and track how far their discs have traveled during the trading process.

Children will be able to chat with and send messages to each other on Doko's child-safe and monitored site. They'll also be able to create friends lists and play hundreds of games. Aside from purchasing the actual discs, registrations and the site's features are all free.

To promote the game, earlier this month, Mammoth began its "Doko Drops" campaign by releasing over $1 million worth of Doko discs for people to discover throughout the U.S. and in London, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney, Honk Kong, Hamburg, Germany, and Tokyo.

Said NSI International president Frank Landi: "With the launch of the Doko game, Mammoth wanted to design a game for tweens that captures the fun of collecting with the interaction and reach offered by the internet. The Doko game is an opportunity for tweens to connect in a new way: to explore the world and make new friends in a social networking environment that is both safe and fun."

Online video game developer and digital media products distributor Joytoto USA, a subsidiary of Korea-based Joytoto Co., Ltd, has announced its plans to exclusively distribute titles from developer Joyon Entertainment library of 24 online games, including casual games, first-person shooter games, and MMORPGs.

Joyon's online games, which include Gersang, a free-to-play MMORPG, have generated approximately $100 million USD in the Asian markets. Joytoto USA's North American Master License Agreement with Joyon grants the distributor exclusive rights to not only Joyon's game titles, but also server software, client software, and additional program and trademarks related to each game for 10 years, with the option for two additional five year periods thereafter.

Said Joytoto USA CEO Michael Cho, "We believe our games will enjoy similar or better success here in the United States, and, as the majority of development costs have already been incurred bringing the games to market in Asia, the cost savings will undoubtedly give us a significant competitive advantage."

Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia, the media company behind free, kid-targeted financial virtual community MinyanLand, has announced a partnership with AOL kids site KOL.com to feature each other's content.

Launched in February and claiming over 100,000 registered kids, Minyanville's content distribution partners already include Yahoo! Finance, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Marketwatch, and many others. As part of its partnership with KOL.com, MinyanLand's Main Street Theater will run KOL Super Gliders, KOL.com’s original, full-length, cartoon videos.

Holding its end of the deal, KOL.com will host MinyanLand content in its Games and Homework Help section. The two companies plan to share additional original content in the future as part of their agreement.

Said Laurie Petersen, Minyanville's Family Media general manager: “We expect our relationship with KOL to accelerate the growth of the MinyanLand audience. With this partnership, we will also continue to add content to keep kids entertained in MinyanLand’s virtual community.”

AOL has announced a year-long agreement between its online kids site, KOL.com, and 'tween and teen-targeted virtual world Planet Cazmo to feature and cross promote content on each other's sites.

Earlier this week, KOL.com announced a similar content sharing deal with Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia. With the agreement's initial terms, Minyanville's financial virtual community, MinyanLand, will run KOL Super Gliders, KOL.com’s original, full-length, cartoon videos, in the online world's Main Street Theater. In return, KOL.com will host MinyanLand content in its Games and Homework Help section.

With its KOL.com partnership, Planet Cazmo, a persistent browser-based virtual world that integrates games and media in 3d environments, will feature KOL.com content in the form of virtual goods, and a new racing game incorporating KOL.com characters and branding. KOL.com will also have the game and other content available as embedded widgets for its own users.

Said KOL.com programming director Stephanie Cohen: "Planet Cazmo is a great experience, and we're delighted to have the opportunity to partner with them. This partnership is about more than just linking to each others sites. By working with Planet Cazmo, we have the opportunity to improve the experiences on both sites for our young Internet users. It's also a great way for us to extend the reach of KOL properties."

Voice communication service company Vivox has announced that MMO developer CyberSports, Ltd. has chosen the company's voice chat suits for its forthcoming online soccer title Football Superstars.

Originally announcing a summer release for the free-to-play PC MMOG, Cybersports later revised its schedule to release Football SuperStars in late 2008. Vivox says the game covers both on- and off-field interactions with other players in its virtual world, and the company plans to expand the series to other sports.

The game will use Vivox chat for what it refers to as "strategy, taunts, and heated exchanges" of sports play, and will "manage the voice application to ensure operational scale and stability and to eliminate game server impact" with "3D voice chat, players have access to voice fonts, buddy lists, presence alerts, voice mail, SMS, and user management tools."

Said CyberSports CEO Malcolm Clark, “Our design goals and user experience requirements for Football Superstars demanded the most stable, scalable and user friendly voice technology available. Vivox was the obvious choice based on their proven performance and operations experience."

[The preceding article originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

MMOABC, an MMO social network and New Gen Media property, has partnered with online game developer Gameforge to offer Gameforge's free-to-play MMO browser games through MMOABC's portal.

Based in Germany (with a recently opened office in San Francisco), Gameforge claims more than 52 million registered users and over nine million active players for its browser- and client-based games. So far, the studio has announced that it will bring BattleKnight, Bitefight, DarkPirates, Gladiatus, Ikariam, OGame, and WarpFire to MMOABC's platform.

MMOABC provides game portal hosting services and online game publishing for developers in the MMO market. In addition to its hosted online games, MMOABC offers social networking, guild hosting, and other community features.

Said MMOABC co-founder and CEO Andy Tong: “MMOABC is very excited to partner with Gameforge to offer free high quality MMO browser games to our rapidly growing gaming audience. Offering proven games with over 50 million registered members to our gaming community is another step in empowering our gamers.”

3D virtual worlds creator Icarus Studios has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement to license its Icarus platform with The Venue Network, an on-demand virtual venue provider which shares content and customizes experiences for online attendees.

Currently under private beta testing as the company readies a public release for Q3 2008, The Venue Network allows presenters and educators to meet with online attendees and share documents and media through a browser-based 3D experience. Using avatars and point-and-click templates, the company enables users to create interactive learning, collaborative, social, and entertaining experiences without worrying about distance, time, or impractical costs.

The announcement follows Icarus Studios' recent update of its virtual worlds and MMOG platform to game engine improvements and new social features, such as a mail system with a cash on delivery option, an auction system, a guild/club system, and raids.

Said Icarus Studios CEO Jim Hettinger: “We are very excited to partner with The Venue Network. Serious games and distance learning have become core uses for our virtual world technology platform, and The Venue Network’s 3D virtual venues is a great example.”

3D virtual worlds creator Icarus Studios and American Research Institute, an education and training services provider, have collaborated to form PowerU, a new venture offering an integrated learning infrastructure that incorporates 3DI (three-dimensional immersive) learning environments. The new platform aims to improve the effectiveness of workforce development.

Based in Morrisville, North Carolina, ARI supports several major organizations, including eBay, Microsoft, and the Air Force, with custom training solutions. The group specializes in designing its solutions with the latest instructional design technology and delivery infrastructure.

PowerU will use Icarus's Real Time development engine and nScale network architecture to add networked 3D environments with simulation systems to the ARI learning management environment. The resulting platform will enable users to create and deliver serious games and training courses with 3D approximations of real world scenarios.

With PowerU, users will not only have tools for creating and delivering 3DI learning scenarios, but services supporting instructional designers to develop 3DI content and interfaces to incorporate 3DI modules into existing learning infrastructures.

One of PowerU's first releases, a training course on sexual harassment avoidance techniques, allowed trainers to alter their content in different ways, such as switching the male aggressor to a female aggressor, to account for different real-world possibilities.

Said PowerU CEO and president Richard Kristof: “PowerU combines world-class instructional techniques and tools with a sophisticated game engine to serve the quickly growing immersive worlds/serious games market. This represents the most significant step forward in learning technology since training was first delivered over the Internet.”

Shanghai-based online game operator The9 Limited has announced an agreement with Korean online game developer T3 Entertainment (Audition series) to establish a joint venture, further strengthening their game development and publishing partnerships.

The9 manages the operation and distribution for several popular MMORPG titles, including Ragnarok Online 2 and World of Warcraft and its expansions, in mainland China. Previously, The9 revealed that it had acquired a minority stake in T3 parent company G10 Entertainment with a cash investment of approximately $38 million. The company has also licensed the rights to operate Audition 2 in mainland China.

In addition to supporting the development of T3's Audition series, the joint venture will develop online games targeting international markets in the near future.

Commented The9 chairman and CEO Jun Zhu: "We are very pleased to further partner with T3 to strengthen The9's game development capability, especially on casual games, to a new level. Through the joint venture, The9 will be more proactively involved in the development of Audition 2 as well as other games in the Audition game series. The joint venture will also facilitate tighter cooperation and communication between the two companies, adding customized and healthy China-specific colors to the games we're developing."

T3 CEO Kee-Young Kim added: "We are much excited to set up the joint venture with The9, which is already an important partner and strategic investor for our company. The joint venture will focus on developing top-notched and fine-tuned games for the Chinese market, and we believe it will prove to be a very strong alliance between the two companies whose resources and strengths well complement each other."

Online publisher True Games Interactive has announced that it has hired K2, Namco, and Vivendi vet Peter Cesario as its director of new business and product development, where he will oversee the launch of its forthcoming free-to-play MMO title.

True Games recently announced it would be partnering with Star Wars: Empire At War/Universe At War developer Petroglyph to create a free to play, microtransaction-funded PC online game, which as yet is still undetailed.

True Games was founded by two former K2 Network executives, bringing together expertise in micro-transaction operations and global publishing. The company is based in Orange County, California and plans to launch its initial title in Q3 of 2008.

Cesario, too, joins the company from K2, where he worked as its director of product development, following production roles at companies like Namco, Vivendi Universal and 20th Century Fox Interactive, overseeing titles including Hellgate: London, The Lord of the Rings franchise, the Peanuts franchise, Curious George and Alien Vs. Predator.

Said Cesario in a statement, "I am excited to join True Games when it is just beginning its climb to the top. I have worked with the key management personnel who started the company and I have the utmost respect for their experience and knowledge of the industry and am proud to be part of their team."

[The preceding article by Brandon Boyer originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

South Korean social networking and virtual spaces site Cyworld has announced a partnership with "automatic video editing" software developer muvee Technologies to deliver a new video editing service to Cyworld members.

Based in Singapore, muvee offers software and services allowing users to create and share home movies out of unedited video, digital pictures, and music. With the new agreement, Cyworld's reported 20 million users can add music and editing styles to their videos and photos, creating movies which can be displayed on their profile pages.

Said muvee CEO Terence Swee "Years before the term 'Web 2.0' was coined in the West, Korea had already been at the forefront of what we now call social media and virtual worlds. muvee is proud to be Cyworld's chosen platform provider for a service that can both satisfy the ease of use and interactivity demands of discerning Korean internet consumers, and match the scale of Cyworld's service level requirements. This partnership is a strategic addition to our internet business, which complements global partners we have in the PC and mobile space."

UK virtual community VizWoz has signed content content deals with movie studios 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, and Universal Studios, according to a report from interactive media news site New Media Age.

Under the agreements, VizWoz will offer preview clips, trailers, and interviews for movie releases in its virtual cinema. The community is already screening content for Disney-Pixar film Wall-E and a treasure hunt promotion for 20th Century Fox film Meet Dave.

Launched in March, VizWoz added its cinema in April and has been showing content from TV shows such as Pat & Stan. The virtual world has reportedly attracted over 60,000 registered users so far.

Said VizWoz co-founder and CEO Dan Laurence: "Our aim is to offer a one-stop portal where kids can enjoy spending time in a safe and engaging environment that they can rely on to keep them ahead of the game."

Seattle-based developer FlowPlay has announced that it has partnered with casual game developers PlayFirst and Sandlot Games to incorporate their brand properties and games, such as Diner Dash and Cake Mania, into Flash-based virtual world ourWorld.

Launched in April 2008, ourWorld integrates casual games through virtual areas built around the property. For example, with Sandlot's Cake Mania, players can be employed at an in-world bakery, act as customers, and purchase virtual cakes. Integrating PlayFirst's Diner Dash into ourWorld, FlowPlay had added Flo's Diner, an in-world restaurant where players can order burgers or work as servers.

The company believes that in addition to driving a new source of revenue for these casual game developers, ourWorld will expose partner titles to a new segment of casual gamers. FlowPlay CEO Derrick Morton and Sandlot CEO Daniel Bernstein will present a case study on Cake Mania's integration in OurWorld at the Casual Connect Conference in Seattle on July 24th.

Said Morton: "The casual games industry has previously been defined by the downloadable PC game business. This year marks a turning point toward more social gaming with new revenue models and a broader demographic than the middle-aged woman. FlowPlay is on the forefront of this new frontier providing some of the most recognizable casual games in a social environment where players actually interact with the brand, not simply play the game. In addition, we provide access to a more youthful demographic and a microtransaction infrastructure that combines to drive untapped revenue for casual game developers."

Representatives for Dizzzywood, a virtual world designed for children between ages 8-12, have announced a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 15,000 real-world trees following an in-game activity designed to promote environment awareness.

In the online activity, children were tasked with restoring nature and balance to tracts of Dizzywood's Wildwood Glen forest that had been destroyed and polluted. Players were encouraged to earn tree seedlings and plant them in the damaged areas of the forest.

As a result of the their efforts to restore the forest, the polluted sky cleared, fish returned to the pond, and creatures returned to their woodland homes. Children can now play games and catch fish in Wildwood Glen. A statue commemorating the children's work has also been erected in Dizzywood.

Said Dizzywood co-founder Ken Marden: “Dizzywood’s tree planting is a great example of how an adventurous storyline can cleverly weave a strong educational component into play. It is an opportunity to allow kids to see the wider impact that they can have by working together, as well as what it means to be a citizen of the world – in this case, a virtual one. We hope the kids are as inspired to see their online environmental activity have real-world results as we are.”

Seeking to increase awareness and support the cause to reinstate gold as an Olympic sport, golf gaming environment World Golf Tour has partnered with GGL Global Games to include the sports title with GGL's Digital Games event.

The Digital Games is a worldwide, online video game competition across multiple platforms, genres, and gaming titles. Players represent their country in a series of Inter-Continental Regional Qualifiers before advancing to the Digital Games Grand Finals, a live event in Shanghai hosted by the China Government and included as part of the Our Olympic Organizing Committee's welcome events.

In addition to World Golf Tour, the 2008 competition will include Soulcalibur IV, StarCraft: Brood War, MLB The Show 08, Call of Duty 4, and several other titles.

World Golf Tour offers an online community in which players can compete on recreated courses and sponsored tournaments for an “authentic golf experience.” Since the demo’s launch in May 2007, World Golf Tour has attracted over 500,000 players from over 150 different countries. The full version of the game will be available later this summer.

Said World Golf Tour CEO YuChiang Cheng "World Golf Tour’s goal is to introduce new people to golf and we support the sport’s bid to join the 2012 Olympics. Gaming was recently declared the 99th Official Sport of China and with the launch of the Digital Games coinciding with the 2008 Olympics, it’s a great opportunity to bring the game of golf to a large international audience, and reach out to younger participants. Online golf is much more affordable and can engage those who may not have the means to hit the links in real life.”

Wicked Interactive, a newly formed North American MMO publishing group, announced its launch and a partnership with Korean developer Yedang Online.

Based in Toronto, Wicked Interactive is led by president and CEO Stanley Yu. Previously, Yu served as president, CEO, and co-founder of IT services company TrekLogic and Brainhunter. The company will host all of its upcoming games on a proprietary technology platform, which will be announced later this month.

With its partnership, Wicked Interactive plans to bring several Yedang Online-developed titles, including Priston Tale, Priston Tale 2, and Ace Online, to North America this year. The original Priston Tale has so far picked up over 1.5 million users. Its sequel, a free-to-play MMORPG, will be Wicked Interactive's first North American title.

Said Yu: "Through the internet, video games have evolved into a social and community-based experience With our strategic partnership with leading partner like Yedang Online, we are poised to take a pioneering role in capitalizing on this new phenomenon."

3D virtual community Worlds and e-commerce technology solutions provider Paid signed a three-year licensing agreement to leverage each other's software platforms.

With the alliance, Worlds will integrate Paid's e-commerce technology into its own platform by the year's end, and, simultaneously, Paid will offer its celebrity clients a 3D web presence, presumably similar to World's development deal with Run D.M.C. artist Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels.

The agreement is expected to increase web site traffic, enhance the experience of Worlds users and members of PAID-managed celebrity fan clubs, and grow the revenue and profits of both companies and their clients. The two companies also hope to further develop mobile promotions strategies and the creation and sale of new, Paid-inspired virtual merchandise.

Said Worlds CEO Thom Kidrin: "Having operated over 50 online ecommerce stores within 3D worlds for artists such as David Bowie and Aerosmith beginning in 1997, Worlds appreciates the multiple challenges in large scale fulfillment and customer service. Paid's patented platform and experience in the ecommerce market affords Worlds a unique set of features to offer our users with confidence and a seamless user experience."

He added: "We are also attracted by the nature of Paid's relationship consulting services in the areas of sports and music industry marketing, and we see ourselves creating new revenue-generating strategies together as part of the natural progression of our business relationship."

McDonald's and production company Lucasfilm announced a partnership to feature animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars with the fast food restaurant chain's Happy Meal program and in its recently launched Happy Meal Virtual World.

From August 15th to September 11th, McDonald's will include one of 18 bobble-head toys with each Happy Meal, its meals tailored for children. The toys resemble characters from Lucasfilm's Star Wars series, such as Darth Vader and Boba Fett, and are posed on familiar vehicles from the franchise, like the Millennium Falcon and Republic Gunship.

Children can also experience Star Wars: The Clone Wars at McDonald's Happy Meal Virtual World, which features a new space-station destination. Jedi Master Yoda guides visitors on a special quest featuring other characters from the film.

Kids can also find special codes on their Star Wars Happy Meal packaging that will unlock six additional quests in the virtual world. The online promotion will last until September 10th.

McDonald's quietly launched its free Happy Meal Virtual World in early July, inviting kids to create avatars, play games, interact with other children (pre-written chat), and design treehouses that serve as personal spaces.

Said McDonald's USA marketing manager Rebecca Anderson: "McDonald's continues to look for innovative and relevant ways to inspire play and fun times for kids and families -- both in our restaurants and, now at home with our new Virtual World at happymeal.com. Parents and their kids will find a safe online experience that is free every single day and that motivates kids to take on challenges that empower them and inspire their imaginations."

Portable avatar service WeeWorld signed a licensing agreement with FremantleMedia Enterprises to develop new licensing products to support the WeeWorld brand and its WeeMee avatar service.

WeeWorld’s portable and animated avatars, WeeMees, allow users to create customizable avatars, decorate their own visual space, send animated messages, play games, and interact with their online friends in many other ways. According to FreemantleMedia, over 23 million WeeMees have been created to date. The company launched a beta for World, a virtual world that incorporates the WeeMee avatars, in May.

FremantleMedia Enterprises serves as the brand extension arm of FreemantleMedia, providing licensing, distribution and home entertainment solutions. As part of its agreement with WeeMee, the company is working with the North American and United Kingdom licensing network to manage the licensing of the brand across a range of categories including collectibles, apparel, home, toys and gifts. FME's sales team is already exploring dozens of licensing partnerships for WeeWorld.

Said WeeWorld's general manager and SVP of marketing Lauren Bigelow: "Online experiences increasingly intersect with real world experiences because members of this connected generation want to express their personalities and individual styles both on and off the Web. Our partnership with FremantleMedia Enterprises, an established media and entertainment leader, significantly extends the global reach of the WeeMee avatar, as well as the awareness of the WeeWorld brand, within new and exciting product categories."

Seeking to support schools affected by the country's recent economic downturn, children’s online protection company eGuardian and virtual world Woogi World launched a venture offering eGuardian's software and access to Woogi World for schools to use as a fundraiser.

Schools not only receive eGuardian for free by registering for the offer before September 30th, but they can also make the software and membership available to parents for a nominal donation, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the schools.

Targeted at children in kindergarten to sixth grade, Woogi World is a virtual world and community in which kids worldwide can safely play educational games and chat while learning how to become “responsible internet users and goodwill ambassadors (good influences in their homes, schools, and communities).”

Woogi World announced in April that it had enlisted eGuardian's software to keep dangerous adults and malicious content out of the children's virtual world with parental controls, site blockers, and access restrictors.

Said Woogi World CEO Scott Dow: "WoogiWorld is committed to children's welfare -- whether they are in a virtual world or the real world. By providing our service to the schools free-of-charge, school districts around the country can potentially generate millions of dollars to go directly into its coffers."

Following the announcement of its cross-licensing deal last week, Worlds and Paid announced that it will be extending its 'symbiotic' relationship to the development of DMC World, an upcoming virtual world created with hip hop pioneer Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels of Run D.M.C. fame.

Paid will create virtual merchandise items, such as clothes and accessories, for Worlds' virtual communities, including DMC World. All of the content and features currently available on D.M.C.'s web site, Me-DMC.com, which is created and managed by paid, will link to DMC World.

The two companies recently announced a cross-licensing deal in which Worlds will integrate Paid's e-commerce technology into its own platform by the year's end, and, simultaneously, Paid will offer its celebrity clients a 3D web presence.

The agreement is expected to "increase web site traffic, enhance the experience of Worlds users and members of Paid-managed celebrity fan clubs, and grow the revenue and profits of both companies and their clients." The two companies also hope to further develop mobile promotions strategies and the creation and sale of new, Paid-inspired virtual merchandise.

Said Worlds CEO Thom Kidrin: "This relationship with Paid allows us to enhance our services for Worlds'com members with a broad range of available products inside and outside the virtual communities. We believe that Paid will be able to offer a broader range of innovative and creative products and efficiently manage fulfillment with their specialized inventory management and shipping infrastructure to enable all involved parties to increase revenues and the bottom line."

Kidrin continued: "We are opening the door to expand further into recording artists, sports figures and other well-known brands to reach greater traffic through our relationship with Paid. We are also attracted by the nature of Paid's relationship consulting services in the areas of sports and music industry marketing, and we see ourselves creating new revenue-generating strategies together as part of the natural progression of our business relationship."

Free-to-play MMO developer Artix Entertainment announced an Asian marketing partnership with Cherry Credits, an alternative payment solutions provider, to offer prepaid game cards in Southeast Asia.

The cards will be available in a variety of locations, including internet cafes, bookstores, PC shops, and convenience stores throughout Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Players can use the prepaid game cards to upgrade characters, purchase items and equipment, and unlock exclusive areas inside Artix's free-to-play browser-based MMORPGs.

Founded in 2002 and based in Land O' Lakes, Florida, Artix has so far released three games for PC and Mac -- MechQuest, DragonFable, and AdventureQuest.

Says Artix's business development manager Daniel Vasile: "Content within the games is updated on a weekly basis creating a compelling experience which keeps users coming back frequently for new content and story lines. Over 60 million registered accounts have been created for our games during the past five years."

RocketOn, developer of a online avatar service (recently the subject of a Q&A here at Worlds In Motion), has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Animax Entertainment to co-develop parallel virtual worlds.

RocketOn is to manage the entire platform, including integrating the content, running the servers, and providing billing, e-commerce, analytics, maintenance and customer support, with Animax to determine the strategic implementation, develop the marketing plan and the creativity.

Animax's portfolio of clients includes Disney, Ford, Kellogg’s, MTV, Kodak, NBC, Sesame Workshop, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, and more, and as a result, RocketOn expect benefit from Animax's relationship with major brands, media networks and movie studios, while Animax and its clients are to have access to RocketOn’s Parallel Virtual World Platform and authoring system.

“RocketOn is a great way to launch and manage parallel virtual worlds,” said Michael Bellavia, CEO of Animax. “It enables us to create rich browser-based, virtual environments anywhere on the web without a user download. In a matter of weeks, we can literally build out a virtual space, deploy it on a website and populate it with content.”

Newspaper publisher Axel Springer AG acquired a majority stake in German online gaming provider Gamigo AG, now holding 94.8 percent of the company's stock. The German Federal Cartel Office unconditionally authorized the takeover.

Axel Springer AG bought out Gamigo through its holding company, AS Venture GmbH, which has held shares of Gamigo since 2000. Prior to the acquisition, AS Venture held 47.4 percent of the company's shares.

Based in Hamburg, Germany and originally founded in 2000 as a gaming magazine before launching an online title in 2001, Gamigo AG specializes in the operation and publishing of free-to-play MMOs. The company portfolio comprises over ten released titles, including Last Chaos, Fiesta Online, and Shot Online.

Patrick Steppel joined Gamigo AG's management board where he will oversee "the acquisition, operation and marketing of several MMO games in Europe." Previously, he served as project manager of Axel Springer AG's Corporate Division Electronic Media and was responsible for Gamigo's realignment.

Says Axel Springer AG's Director of Corporate Division Electronic Media Jens Müffelmann: "Gamigo operates in a fast growing market segment, it will quadruple sales this year and it is profitable. Due to that online gaming is to become an important pillar within the digitization offensive of Axel Springer."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

“White label” virtual world platform developer VastPark has announced plans for a developer program “aimed at the needs of professional virtual world developers”, and is now accepting registrations from virtual world developers “with a strong track record in virtual worlds, games or related fields” to join the program.

Though the program has not been revealed in detail, one benefit is to include listing in VastPark’s “Find a developer” pages, allowing developers to easily receive “credible referral enquiries” from prospective clients.

There are to be a range of other benefits, including “early previews” of VastPark’s open source code as well as “selective access” to their commercial source code, along with discounts or commissions on license sales.

Bruce Joy, CEO and founder of VastPark stated that the initiative had been driven by developers rather than sources within the company: “We were asked repeatedly if we had a developer program in the works … At the time we hadn’t considered it a high priority but we’re a white label software company, so it makes perfect sense to help developers grab our software and sell it to customers. We already had two development companies’ sign up before we even announced the program -- Involve3D from the US and Second Interest from Europe.”

SceneCaster, a developer of 3D web applications for social networks has announced that its technology now supports the Khronos Group’s COLLIDA 1.5 specification, and has announced a partnership with 3D content developer Blue Marble Project.

Using COLLIDA 1.5 allows SceneCaster’s 3D content to be exported to and shared with other 3D applications and authoring packages across differing delivery platforms, while the partnership with Blue Marble Project is to provides companies with an “easy and affordable” way to create and promote 3D content using SceneCaster’s technology and Blue Marble Project’s 3D model development.

SceneCaster has also stated that by adding COLLADA export to their toolkit , they are demonstrating that it openly supports and encourages 3D content exchange with other programs. SceneCaster currently allows users to embed 3D scenes in any Web page or blog and view them without requiring a download or a plug-in. Using COLLIDA, SceneCaster content can also be shared with users working with any open standards-based 3D solution that reads COLLADA files.

“Our driving philosophy has always been to support and promote open standards and interoperability exchange,” said Alain Chesnais, Chief Technology Officer of SceneCaster. “As more and more applications support COLLADA, it will enable 3D content, such as that created by SceneCaster users, to be repurposed by industries in need of a new source for content. SceneCaster is pleased to further 3D content exchange and accessibility with its support of COLLADA.”

Content delivery software developer is partnering with Age of Conan publisher Funcom to develop solutions intended to help game companies improve digital delivery of large files like updates and patches, the companies announced today.

Solid State has worked with Funcom since April to deliver Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' beta releases, launching an Early Access program that made the MMO available for purchase to select testers one week prior to its retail launch.

The two companies say they were able to distribute the title to over 100,000 players over several days, generating over 2 petabytes of data transfer, using a hybrid solution that blended P2P capabilities based on the BitTorrent Protocol and and Highwinds Network Group's content delivery network (CDN).

Funcom once again enlisted Solid State's services in June to support the distribution of game content for Sci-Fi MMORPG Anarchy Online.

"We are honored to partner with Funcom because they continue to push the envelope when it comes to game development, and in doing so, they are elevating the challenges of delivering and keeping those games updated," says Solid State Networks founder and CEO Rick Buonincontri.

He continues, "We are proud to be playing such a crucial role in delivering Funcom’s games to players around the world and we will continue to strive to deliver the ultimate game acquisition experience as Funcom expands to other platforms and develops future projects."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

PayByCash (a subsidiary of PlaySpan) has announced that its mobile phone payment option for online merchants across the United States and Europe is now operational. The system is operated in partnership with Mobillcash, and adds another payment method to the over 70 payment options it offers for consumers without a credit card.

According to Mobilcash, the partnership was driven by the success they'd already seen within the social gaming/virtual world space, and an intention to penetrate these markets more deeply -- referring to a recent report by Juniper Research that stated 2.1 billion mobile subscribers will pay-by-mobile for digital goods by 2013.

“It’s important that Mobillcash partners with market leaders who take pride in the quality of service and consumer ID protection,” said Glyn Smith, Mobillcash CEO. “PayByCash has a long history of offering great service. I’m looking forward to where this relationship can take us.”

3D game engine developer Trinigy announced a partner agreement with San Francisco-based networking engine developer PX Interactive to incorporate the latter's Netdog MMO engine with Trinigy's upcoming Vision Engine 7 update.

Trinigy says the Vision Game Engine is currently used in over 80 commercial game productions ranging from real-time strategy titles to RPGs, for various platforms. Companies actively using Vision for developing their titles include Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, and Firefly.

Once integrated into the Vision SDK, Netdog will provide a MMO networking toolset capable of supporting millions of users to Vision customers. The network engine includes load balancing, object management, system monitoring, security, and debugging tools, which are constructed modular way, so that developers can customize the tools to meet their needs.

"Various customers have been asking us about a massive-multiplayer-online component for their Vision based titles," says Trinigy CEO and president Danie Conradie. "With PX Interactive's Netdog MMO engine, we are delighted to offer them a high performance, scalable, and easy-to-use MMO solution they can use together with the Vision Engine right away."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Provider of in-game commerce ecosystems Fatfoogoo has announced that it is to enable integration of its microtransaction software with Sun Microsystems' open source development environment for online games, virtual worlds and social networking, Project Darkstar.

Fatfoogoo’s monetizing software services, such as virtual item trading, subscription management and in-game economic control, are now available to the developers in the Project Darkstar community.

Fatfoogoo is the first company to offer commercial billing and transaction software that has been designed to work with Project Darkstar, allowing games and virtual worlds developed with the environment to allow real money transactions via micropayments.

“We are bringing microtransactions first to the publishers and developers and, as a result, to the gaming community,” said Fatfoogoo CEO, Martin Herdina. “Implementing micropayments into a game is a complex process that needs close attention. We make it easy for game developers to integrate our services into their games, so they can focus on their core competence. The real beneficiaries, however, are the gamers who can now easily make small and secure payments within the flow of the game.”

MMO community operator Outspark has announced that in-game commerce network PlaySpan is to provide a secure player-to-player "virtual goods marketplace" for Outspark title Fiesta, with the intention of allowing Fiesta players an "efficient and open market" for virtual goods.

Fiesta was originally developed for the Korean market by Korean developer and publisher Ons On Soft. The title is free-to-play and already allows players to purchase premium in-game items like clothing, pets, power-ups and other accessories to customize their character from the publisher; now players are to be able to buy and sell virtual items from each other.

There has been no announcement from Outspark on whether they will take a "cut" of proceeds in the way that a real-world trading site such as eBay does.

“As a game portal, publisher and distributor, Outspark delivers a community- driven, online gaming destination for our nearly 3 million users,” said Susan Choe, Founder & CEO of Outspark. “PlaySpan’s in-game technology and player-to-player micro-transaction network provides an easy to use, secure experience that will make it possible for our users to enjoy an open market filled with the hundreds of unique virtual items available in Fiesta.”

Digital payment services company BSG and monetization platform provider Aria Systems announced a "risk management solution" designed specifically for games, which is designed to ensure secure player transactions and fraud prevention.

The joint solution combines Aria's proprietary gamer billing and CRM data with BSG’s Advanced Payment Gateway data to deliver an analysis of gaming transactions in real-time. The solution analyzes gamer membership profiles, forum, guild participation, and unique registered user profiles to determine the types of gamers who could pose a risk to other customers.

By identifying those gamers who have an ongoing and trusted relationship with publishers via third-party channels, and then customizing the solution by geography, genre, and industry experience, the solution can potentially enable publishers to proactively protect gamers and the game experience, as well as their revenue streams.

"We understand how important it is for game publishers to protect gamers and their experience," says Aria Systems CEO Ed Sulivan. "By combining the analysis of BSG’s payment data with our experiential customer data, we’re able to deliver a best-in-class fraud prevention solution that ensures game publishers can do just that."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Following its previous announcement of a partnership with online child protection solution developer Crisp Thinking, Metaverse Mod Squad has announced an integration partnership with Parature, a developer of on-demand customer service software.

An avatar staffing firm for virtual worlds, by usingParature’s software, Metaverse Mod Squad’s moderators and customer service teams intend to more effectively serve and support the residents of virtual worlds.

“As the global leader in on-demand customer service software, we are delighted to announce this partnership with the top-notch moderators and support teams of Metaverse Mod Squad,” said Chuck Coulson, Parature Vice President of Business Development. “Parature is the fastest growing customer service and support software company in the United States, and this integration partnership opens even more doors and expands our presence in virtual worlds, online communities, and the gaming industry as a whole.”

K2 Network has announced that its free-to-play online game publisher GamersFirst is to enter into a development partnership for an original game with Canadian independent game developer A2M.

GamersFirst and A2M are to work together on an unannounced social gaming title, to be available in late 2009.

GamersFirst currently publishes titles including Global MU Online, and A2M has worked on titles for publishers including Disney, Electronic Arts, Sony, Vivendi Universal, and Warner Bros., and is currently working on WET for Sierra Entertainment.

"This new partnership allows us to express our gameplay know-how in social online gaming," said Remi Racine, President and Executive Producer, A2M. "As an independent game developer, we have the freedom to create highly imaginary concepts and, working with our partners, put it in the hands of game fans. Our creativity, combined with our ability to answer the needs of expanding markets, will make the upcoming MMO projects key milestones."

Live Gamer offers a publisher-supported marketplace for player-to-player exchange of virtual goods (and real money) -- with clients as high-profile as Sony agreeing support in titles such as the upcoming The Agency and Free Realms -- and they have now announced that Singapore-based Magma Studios have also agreed to use the Live Gamer Exchange as its exclusive marketplace for its virtual worlds.

According to their website, Magma Studios' clients include "Fox International, 10tacle Studios (MTV's The Youtopia Project), Disney Channel Asia and Makena Technologies (There)" though it is not clear if the agreement with Live Gamer would include any of these clients or their services – and, indeed, 10tacle Studios declared insolvency several months ago, so their online client list is clearly outdated.

Live Gamer previously announced a new VP of Product Marketing, Kurtis Buckmaster, and a partnership with online game publisher True Games -- which has yet to announce its first title.

"Magma Studios' selection of Live Gamer is testament to the demand for legitimate, sanctioned player-to-player trading," said Andrew Schneider, president and co-founder of Live Gamer. "For virtual world operators, The Live Gamer Exchange provides a secure platform and revenue opportunity that benefits the operator/developer and users alike. Once users invest in a digital representation of themselves, the personal touches, items, and achievements that evolve from their passion and creativity in the virtual world, increasingly they are attributed real-world value."

We just mentioned some news from Linden Labs concerning Second Life (what else?) – their recent translation project -- and that announcement included some discussion of the way in which they were trying to make localization easier with a set of new tools.

Well, they're on a drive to streamline and improve a lot of processes, because they've just announced that Rivers Run Red’s Immersive Workspaces 2.0, a virtual world collaboration solution, is now available on the Second Life Grid.

The companies also announced a strategic partnership to sell and market each other’s products (either individually or jointly) and to "explore developing and deploying additional offerings for Linden Lab’s growing base of enterprise customers."

The partnership was announced due to the "demand for a solution that enables organizations to quickly implement, configure and populate a virtual world … Immersive Workspaces meets these needs by pre-configuring workspace options and wrapping the Second Life Grid solution in a web-based framework rich with familiar tools and interfaces."

"In today's financial climate, every enterprise regardless of size or industry is looking for ways to increase productivity, reduce costs, and boost overall profitability," said Mark Kingdon, Chief Executive Officer, Linden Lab. "With documented benefits and use cases and enterprise-ready applications such as Immersive Workspaces from partners such as Rivers Run Red, the Second Life Grid is the ideal platform for enterprises looking to add a virtual element to their operations."

Speak of the devil -- we just mentioned publisher True Games and the fact that they hadn't announced any titles yet in another news post, and here they come along and announce that they've just acquired the global publishing rights for free-to-play MMORPG Warrior Epic, developed by Beijing-based Possibility Space. The title is to launch in spring 2009.

Warrior Epic is to be an online, action role-playing game set in an "original fantasy world," featuring "multiplayer campaigns, adventure mode, solo quests, and PVP." No more details have been revealed.

Previously, True Games appointed Peter Jarvis As CTO.

"This partnership demonstrates True Games' commitment to bringing quality triple-A gameplay, traditionally only seen in retail releases, to the free-to-play game space," said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. "Not only is Warrior Epic a visually beautiful MMORPG, it also offers some incredibly innovative gameplay features that, combined with the free-to-play model, will ensure a big hit with gamers around the world".

CyberSports' long-awaited free-to-play football MMO Football Superstars has announced its latest brand partnership -- Reebok, via in-game advertising firm IGA Worldwide, are to become an integrated partner in the title.

Reebok is to use the platform to launch the "Ambassador Programme", a search offering amateur players across the world the chance to win a sponsorship deal with Reebok. Successful entrants can win a supply of Reebok boots and kit (both in and outside of the game), in-game currency and custom apparel for their avatars.

In addition, virtual advertising hoardings, provided by IGA, are appear around the Football Superstars pitches to support Reebok’s Ambassador Programme.

Andy Law, Head of Business Development at CyberSports, said: “This is a great deal for us and Football Superstars. Reebok are a high profile and firm favorite football brand and they will bring an even more realistic dimension to the game play, blurring the reality between the virtual and the real worlds which is what Football Superstars is all about.”

Seoul-based developer and publisher NeoWiz (FIFA Online, NBA Street) signed a licensing deal with middleware company Trinigy to license Vision Engine 7 for a new project.

With the agreement, Neowiz intends to use Vision 7 for the development of an unnamed "multi-million, multi-user online shooting game." The studio is currently working with Electronic Arts, which invested $105 million in Neowiz last year, on a Battlefield game specifically targeting the Korean market.

Released in June 2008, Vision Engine 7 has been licensed by a variety of developers, such as Xibalba Studios for casual PC title Icebreakers, as well as Settlers developer Blue Byte for unannounced forthcoming titles.

"We are delighted to continue our successful business relationship with Neowiz," says Trinigy's International Sales director Richard Radmacher.

He continues, "They have been working with the Vision Engine since 2004, and we are sure that they will once again create an amazing game. We are truly honoured to be able to support their ambitious plans with our latest technology."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Developer and publisher NCsoft announced a partnership with software portability company TransGaming to release a Mac version of City of Heroes before the holiday season.

A public beta test for the upcoming Mac version will be available with the game's thirteenth expansion, Issue 13: Power and Responsibility, due later this fall.

City of Heroes for Mac will see its official launch before the holiday season with a digital-only Mac edition through the PlayNC store and TransGaming portal Gametree Online.

The MMORPG, which originally launched for PC in April 2004, allows players to create hero and villain identities, complete missions, and fight against gangs and organizations in Paragon City.

The port is made possible with TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine, which acts as a wrapper around the game software to enable City of Heroes to run on Intel-based Macs. Previous Cider-powered games include Spore, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, EVE Online, and Madden NFL 08.

"Given Mac’s fame as a platform for creative people and City of Heroes’ unprecedented character customization options, I think City of Heroes is a perfect fit for the Mac gaming community, "says NCsoft West's Brian Clayton, executive producer for the game.

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Solid State Networks develop software behind digital content delivery, and they've announced that Digital Media Exchange have selected their Solid Axis game delivery solution to deliver Korean MMO Dekaron.

Dekaron has been adapted by Acclaim for the US market as 2Moons – which to date has not received a firm release date, despite being in open beta since July of last year.

This agreement extends to the distribution across specifically across Southeast Asia, in countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

“We are excited to have Solid State Networks delivering the digital downloads of Dekaron to the Asian gaming market,” said Scott Countryman, founder and CEO of DME. “Gamers in Southeast Asia are now experiencing new levels of speed and convenience when downloading Dekaron through our custom downloader. As a publisher, we get the benefits of highly efficient and cost-effective digital delivery, which allows us to leverage the investment we made in our existing CDN infrastructure while offloading some of the traffic to P2P. We feel this is a win for us and for our gamers.”

More hot and heavy pre-paid card news! Must be preparation for the holiday sales rush, banking on parents and grandparents liking the look of them as gift items. Outspark has announced that its pre-paid cards are to be available in Best Buy stores across the United States as of November 2nd.

The cards are being published in partnership with GMG entertainment -- who we interviewed fairly recently on the subject -- and are redeemed online for SparkCash, Outspark's virtual currency used to purchase items in all of Outspark games.

Prepaid cards purchased at Best Buy also come with an exclusive in-game item, and those who purchase and redeem SparkCash prepaid cards during the month of November will receive a special costume in both Fiesta and Secret of the Solstice.

"As the holiday season approaches, we're excited be working with a top retailer like Best Buy," said Outspark CEO and founder Susan Choe. "SparkCash Cards make a perfect gift for family and friends."

In other pre-paid card news, PayByCash (subsidiary of PlaySpan) has added OneCard, through its relationship with Smart2Pay, to provide more payment choices to online multiplayer game customers in the Middle East.

OneCard is a pre-paid card that allows non-credit card customers to make speedy transactions, that's vailable in over 4,500 retail outlets in Saudi Arabia alone, and is also available in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt.

“PayByCash gives online merchants the ability to tap the global customer base that wants to pay without a credit card,” said Kevin Higgins, PayByCash’s president. “Pre-paid cards are rapidly becoming the payment method of choice for online gamers. Our partnership with OneCard expands the payment options for customers in this region of the world.”

New Orleans-based independent developer Wargaming.net licensed BigWorld's Technology Suite for its upcoming massively multiplayer online game.

Designed as a middleware platform for massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds, the BigWorld Technology Suite is comprised of BigWorld Server Software, Content Creation Pipeline, 3D Client Engine Package, and Live Management Tools & Instrumentation.

BigWorld's previously-announced licensing partners include Meteor Games, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, and 38 Studios.

Founded in 1998, Wargaming.net has development offices in Minsk, Belarus, with over 80 employees. Its previous military strategy titles include Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power and the Massive Assault series.

"Having built many engines from the ground up, we were looking for a complete solution to develop our first MMO that will save us time and eliminate technical risks," says Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi.

"BigWorld’s Technology Suite, along with their world-class support, is key in allowing us to develop our title quickly, without sacrificing the quality and features we expect of a best-of-class middleware solution."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Pirates of the Burning Sea is going through a somewhat tumultuous time; after recently offering free 14 day trials to any and all (usually the, dare we say it, sign of a MMO that isn't as popular as they hoped) Flying Lab Software CEO Russell Williams has now announced on the company's blog that they are to end their relationship with Australian distribution partner Big{ond, closing the current Australian server (Invincible) and replacing it with a new server, Defiant.

As a result of this change requiring a server transfer, all Australian players have been given a free transfer to any server of their choosing.

Our strategy overseas is to work with enthusiastic partners who are knowledgeable about their market and committed to the game and its community," opened Williams in his posting, "However, launching and supporting an MMO is a very different beast than a single player game, and some companies underestimate the kind of engagement they have to have with the players."

Though apparently referring to BigPond with this statement, he continued, "I enjoyed meeting and working with the people of BigPond, and I wish them and the company well in all its future endeavors."

In general, Wiliams went on to say they "intend to provide a more open transfer service in the future," but that as" the company’s resources [are] focused on the new avatar combat system, it’s not yet on the schedule."

"We’re excited about this change, and the opportunity to provide the Australian players with the quality of service that they deserve."

"Virtual worlds and MMO games production company" Virtual Fairground has announced it has acquired all assets and personnel of Flash development studio Flashclub and has renamed BigWheel Studio. The studio is now to serve as Virtual Fairgrounds main development outfit.

Flashclub had been an independent studio for eight years and has developed projects for clients such as Heineken and ING; BigWheel is to continue work for existing clients as well as working on Virtual Fairgrounds game projects.

Tim Hudson, founder of Flashclub, has assumed the role of technical director at Virtual Fairground, while William Richards has become managing director at BigWheel Studio.

"We are delighted to welcome the talented team of BigWheel within Virtual Fairground," says Ilja Goossens, co-founder and director of Virtual Fairground. “We are growing at an intense pace. Our browser-based MMO games are pushing technologies like Flash to its limit, so we are always on the lookout for the most talented online developers. In the last couple of years Tim Hudson put together some of the best Flash creators in the region and this team will help Virtual Fairground to further excel.”

San Jose-based online game publisher OnNet USA has announced that it has signed an online interactive licensing agreement with the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, MLB Advanced Media, granting it the right to incorporate official Major League Baseball league and club marks, logos, and more in its upcoming micro-transaction based online baseball game, MLB Dugout Heroes.

The multi-year agreement gives OnNet USA the rights to all current and historical Major League teams, ballparks, All-Star teams and "jewel events" such as the home run derby. OnNet USA will also have rights to the official 2009 Major League Baseball regular season game schedule, enabling fans to simulate real seasons through actual game and series matchups.

The title is to be a free PC-based baseball game, expected to be available in North America on OnNet USA's GamesCampus games portal for the 2009 baseball season.

"It is an honor to be working with MLB to bring baseball fans a fully licensed online baseball experience," said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, GamesCampus. "Baseball fans are so passionate about the teams they enjoy following, and now they will have the opportunity to play as their favorite team in a high-quality online game experience."

Online world firm Trion World Network announced the appointment of Kevin Beardslee as senior development director for its massively multiplayer online game co-developed with the Sci-Fi Channel.

Previously, Beardslee founded Carbine Studios, an NCSoft North America division, where he helped create and oversee the development for an unannounced MMO. Before that, he worked with Blizzard Entertainment as a lead animator on World of Warcraft.

Beardslee will work from Trion's San Diego studio on an original IP created as part of a collaboration with cable network channel and brand Sci-Fi. The partnership falls under Sci-Fi Ventures, the company's "portfolio of media and non-media businesses that leverage its brand outside of the television space."

Sci-Fi and Trion hope to create an "immersive cross-media entertainment experience" that invites the audience to participate in the developing storyline presented through a Sci-Fi Channel television show and a Trion-published game. Sci-Fi also recently announced that writer Peter Egan (The Dresden Files) will handle the script for the show's pilot episode.

“We are making terrific progress with the joint Trion – Sci Fi project and are proud to announce the addition of these two new key hires,” says Trion World Network's founder and CEO Lars Buttler. “Kevin and Peter both represent the pinnacle of their respective fields in game design and television writing, and their vast experience and creativity are powerful additions to our already talented project teams.”

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Live Gamer—the company behind the publisher-supported marketplace for clients such as Sony—has announced that it is to provide marketplaces for Icarus Studios and their virtual world/MMO game publishing platform; Acclaim Games, GoPets and IAC’s Instant Action.com.

The Live Gamer Exchange marketplace is to be pre-integrated into the Icarus platform, allowing Icarus and media/publishing partners to enable real-money-trading of characters, coin and items within their MMO games and virtual worlds' titles.

“Live Gamer and Icarus Studios share a common goal to support emerging revenue streams and reduce development costs of online games,” said James Hettinger, CEO of Icarus Studios. “The Live Gamer Exchange marketplace provides our partners with the industry-leading, player-to-player trading solution pre-integrated, so they can provide a safe, secure and structured marketplace to meet the enormous consumer demand for RMT.”

GoPets are to be the first to enable the upgraded Live Gamer Exchange with a closed beta starting immediately. It will be followed by December beta releases of several games from IAC’s InstantAction.com, including Fallen Empire: Legions, Rokkit Ball, Think Tanks and Marble Blast Online. Acclaim's free-to-play MMO, 9Dragons is slated to begin its beta in the first quarter of 2009.

The announcements coincides with Live Gamer’s unveiling of its newly upgraded Live Gamer Exchange platform.

“A legitimate, safe and secure RMT marketplace not only enhances the satisfaction of our users, but also creates a virtuous cycle between the primary and secondary markets,” said Howard Marks, Acclaim Games CEO. “From the beginning, Live Gamer understood the unique needs of a publisher launching titles with overseas developers and worked closely with both parties to make it happen.”

German-based developer Acony has integrated ProFX, Allegorithmic's procedural texturing middleware for real-time 3D content, into Parabellum, a free-to-play first-person shooter and massively multiplayer online game.

Powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 3, Parabellum is scheduled to release for PC in the first quarter of 2009. Set in 2018, the game enables players to join two fictional covert reconnaissance organizations as they attempt to complete contract missions pitting them against each other.

ProFX generates procedural textures for 3D games through a non-linear authoring process, greatly reducing both asset creation time as well as volume of game data. With these optimizations, Allegorithmic believes that ProFX is ideal for use in MMOs, virtual communities, casual titles, and downloadable games.

Allegorithmic's client list includes Ready At Dawn, Stray Bullet Games, and City of Heroes-developer NCsoft.

"One of the biggest challenges of this game was keeping the game size as small as possible," says Acony founding partner Frank Trigub. "By using ProFX, we could increase the amount of high-quality content and optimize the download size by factor 10. This technology is paving the way for F2P developers and gamers."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Berlin-based developer Metaversum has recently made a couple of announcements concerning their 3D MMO Twinity.

They've partnered with browser game developer Bigpoint, with a focus on a presence for the developer within the Twinity world, to "give members a new meeting place in which to find out more about the latest browser games from Bigpoint and take part in exclusive competitions and events."

They've also partnered with Zitty, a Berlin-local city listings guide, which includes opening a interactive Zitty "editorial office" and a monthly live broadcast of the guide's "Reader's Lounge" events.

“We have gained another top-class partner for our virtual world Twinity in the form of Bigpoint. This cooperation will enable us to add another facet to the strong spectrum of entertainment we already offer in Twinity”, said Mirko Caspar, CMO of Metaversum.

EA has acquired South Korean PC developer J2MSoft (aka J2M), known for its free-to-play online games such as RayCity, TAAN and Debut.

The purchase appears to have been made to advance EA’s position in Asia, where it has previously launched versions of existing Western franchises such as FIFA Online and NBA Street Online. The former debuted in 2006, and is still one of South Korea’s top-ten most played games.

EA plans to announce additional "popular franchises" in development for online play in Asia in the coming months, expanding its presence beyond the previously-announced Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, Need for Speed and Battlefield Heroes.

The acquisition closed yesterday, but terms of the agreement have not been made public. EA has not yet completed valuations of the company, but the acquisition is not expected to have a noticeable impact on the company's full year results.

"This is a significant step in EA’s strategic plan for developing and publishing online games in Asia," says Jon Niermann, president of EA Asia. "J2M is an experienced team of developers and we can’t wait to have them start creating online games based on new properties and powerful EA franchises.”

"Korean developers have created a unique style of online games that is growing in popularity all over Asia," said J2M founder and CEO KyungMin Bang. "We are excited that EA is aligning with our vision for online games."

"Joining EA presents our team with an opportunity to significantly expand our based with players throughout Asia and around the world as well as to be at the forefront of online gaming."

[The preceding article by David Jenkins originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

MindFuse Games has announced that its upcoming steampunk casual MMOG Gatheryn is to be developed using Simutronics HeroEngine after a global licensing agreement between the companies. Gatheryn is to be the first game developed with this technology.

The decision to develop in HeroEngine was led by the engine's "collaborative, time-saving features," according to the announcement release, which will allow the development team to " develop the unique feature set" of the MMOG which is to launch in the first half of 2009.

Gatheryn is to be set in a Victorian-era steampunk fantasy world, informed by the works of Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle. Players are to be able to personalize the experience with character creation to decoration of in-game apartments, and will play classic casual games to advance the story and raise gold to purchase accessories, pets, vehicles and more.

"By licensing the HeroEngine, we can focus our technology development and engineering team on the various unique social, personalization and online community features that the Gatheryn player will experience," said Joseph Walters, Lead Designer and Chief Executive Officer of MindFuse Games. "The engine enables our team to spend time creating the experience instead of recreating the already-proven type of server side MMOG technology that Simutronics has built so effectively."

French publisher and Atari owner Infogrames has entered into a definitive agreement to fully acquire massively multiplayer online (MMO) game developer Cryptic Studios, with the former City Of Heroes developer acquired for $28 million and up to $20 million in sales-related incentives.

The deal, financed through bond issuance, includes all of Bay Area-based Cryptic’s propriety intellectual properties, tools, technology and current projects. Cryptic employs around 150 staff, all of whom will become Infogrames employees.

The company rose to prominence with the City of Heroes/Villains MMO for NCsoft, which has generated over $100 million in lifetime revenues and enjoyed up to 180,000 peak subscribers. NCSoft has set up its own studio to continue that title.

Cryptic is currently working on three MMO games, with Champions Online due to be completed in 2009, Star Trek Online in 2010 and a third unannounced title.

"The acquisition of Cryptic Studios brings to Infogrames an outstanding creative organization, with a proven track-record of success in the fast-growing MMO category," said Infogrames CEO David Gardner.

"Cryptic’s success is founded on leading-edge technology and the vision of a seasoned executive management team. I am impressed with the tools and technology that Cryptic has developed to make MMOs less expensive to build."

Gardner continued, "Creating vast worlds and interesting interactions can be very people intensive but with the use of Cryptic's toolset they have a proven way of cutting average production costs in half. This is exactly the type of company we wanted to acquire in order to build Atari for the 21st century."

"We share a common vision with Atari and their leadership team," said John Needham, CEO of Cryptic Studios. "With our game development and online platform technology skills, we’re very excited about the opportunities that this unique combination with Atari creates. I am committed to helping Atari grow into a leading online game company and look forward to being part of the team."

[The preceding article by David Jenkins originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Though it's not quite a virtual world, we thought this news was neat enough to share—GoAnimate, a "web 2.0" user-generated animation site, has announced a a licensing partnership with Capcom Entertainment allowing Street Fighter characters to be used on the site.

Street Fighter characters and assets are now available to be used in user-created animations, and the characters all include the ability to be animated in classic Street Fighter moves, such as dragon punches, hurricane kicks and fireballs.

The site is to offer eight characters at no cost and three premium characters that can be purchased with "GoPoints" (earned on the site from views) and "GoBucks" (purchased as a virtual currency). Dhalsim and Sagat can be acquired with GoPoints, and M.Bison with GoBucks.

“We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Capcom for their unprecedented Street Fighter property, especially with the highly anticipated release of Street Fighter IV,” said Stone Newman, Senior VP of Licensing and Business Development for GoAnimate.com. “Street Fighter, the pioneer of fighting games, has established itself as a household name among boys and girls of multiple generations. GoAnimate.com gives fans the chance to actively interact with their favorite Street Fighter characters.”

[And if you want to see the animation that we took our image from, you can see it here.]

MMO technology company Simutronics and BioWare announced that upcoming massively multiplayer online PC game Star Wars: The Old Republic is being built with Simutronics' HeroEngine development platform.

The HeroEngine collaborative design platform allows for development in real-time, enabling teams in different geographic locales to build and play in a game world live on the server simultaneously.

The platform is also designed to provide "instantaneous" updates and changes to game environments, potentially reducing long MMO development cycles by negating the need for nightly builds.

Officially announced in October, Star Wars: The Old Republic is set 300 years after the events of BioWare's acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise, thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, with the galaxy divided by war between the Empire and the Sith.

"Our goal was to partner with a platform developer that knows online gaming and virtual world development, and the team at Simutronics has an excellent track record in that respect" says BioWare co-studio director Gordon Walton.

He continues, "Their HeroEngine was specifically created for building MMOGs and it allows for a great amount of flexibility in the way our entire team collaborates."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Id Software announced that it will use GNi's "Infrastructure as a Service" (IaaS) hosting for the forthcoming online release of Quake Live, its free-to-play multiplayer PC first-person shooter based on the Quake Arena games.

Formerly known as Quake Zero, Quake Live and its corresponding community will be available through Quakelive.com, offering friends lists and communication, player skill matching, sponsored events and tournaments, stats tracking, and the game itself through the site. The game is currently in its Beta testing phase.

On online games alone, GNi's infrastructure supports over 20 million users, with nearly 500,000 concurrent connected users at peak, across more than 27 titles. The company's IaaS hosting solutions are designed to help companies eliminate the need to purchase servers, software, data center space, or network equipment themselves, enabling them to release new games online without a large-scale infrastructure investment.

“GNi has significant experience in the hosting of rapidly-scaling online games which solidified them as an excellent choice to host Quake Live," says id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead.

He continues, "The back-end systems and infrastructure are critical elements in reliably delivering Quake Live’s state-of-the-art web interface, and GNi’s ability to scale quickly using their Dedicated Hosting Infrastructure ensures that we always have the immediate and flexible capacity to provide our constantly expanding player base the best game experience on the web."

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili originally appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Digital advertising agency Studiocom (Barbie Girls) has announced a partnership with Paws Inc.—global manager of the Garfield IP—to allow the use of Garfield properties in Studiocom's proprietary virtual community MiniEgo.

MiniEgo might be news to you—it was to us—it's the virtual world that Studiocom launched officially very quietly earlier this year, but was it was launched in early 2006 as a "testing ground for Studiocom's proprietary MMOC engine 'Galapagos,'" though they saw fit to launch it as an official MMO after "the children of Studiocom employees began playing on the site and sharing their experiences with their peers."

The community features all the usual sort of aspects you would expect from these kind of worlds—avatars, e-cards and real-time chat, and could be considered to be a form of competitor to WeeWorld.

The partnership is to allow MiniEgo users to interact with Garfield characters and configure their avatars with "Garfield-inspired characteristics." Additionally, users will have the opportunity to visit "virtual destination venues" from the comic strip.

Garfield's integration into MiniEgo is to be promoted on Garfield online properties to drive traffic to the site.

"We are unbelievably excited about the partnership with Garfield," said Juan Pablo Gnecco, CEO, Studiocom. "Brand integration with an existing virtual world is a great value proposition for brands looking to capitalize on the popularity, engagement and brand immersion factors of online environments, without the full development costs. For us, this project is doubly rewarding as it allows us to integrate an iconic character into an environment that's near to our hearts, and give something back to the users who, in a sense, started it all."

Toronto-based MMO publishers Wicked Interactive and G4Box have announced today that Wicked Interactive's Suba Games platform is to host G4Box MMORPG Metin2 as well aas its upcoming online FPS, Cross Fire.

The agreement means that a new unified login system will allow players of G4Box titles Metin2 and Cross Fire will receive access to all Suba Games properties, including ACE Online and Priston Tale, and vice versa.

Additionally, G4Box games and Suba Games titles now share a unified currency and community space. Despite these facts, G4Box and Wicked Interactive are to remain separate corporate entities.

As a result of the agreement, the Metin2 website is to be redesigned.

"We are excited to welcome these two G4Box properties into the Suba Games library of titles," said Stanley Yu, Chief Executive Officer of Wicked Interactive. "The Suba Games platform maintains an impressive lineup of MMORPGs to which we feel Metin2 and Cross Fire are worthy additions," added Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4Box.

In early December Dubai-based publisher Game Power 7 announced the launch of the "first Arabic MMO"—a localization of the Korean MMO Rappelz—and they have now announced a payment service agreement with CashU, apparently "the dominant prepaid internet payment service in the Arab world."

CashU is a prepaid Internet payment service, designed as a payment alternative in countries where credit card penetration is extremely low, and is now available in 28 countries worldwide.

This news precedes the official release of Rappelz, expected in early February 2009.

And if you're interested in the story behind Game Power 7, they're apparently a subsidiary of Weiss Investment, which operates a regional media hub that is "sensitive to the region's cultural values," and has operated in the region for the past 20 years localizing and producing media contents targeting kids and youth, and broadcasting them through their satellite TV channels.

We all like slightly odd news stories, don't we? This one will suit, then. Apparently, "high performance (car) lubricant manufacturer" Royal Purple are to integrate their products into Cie Studio's free-to-play drag racing game Nitto 1320 Legends.

They note that the integration is "unique" because it will allow consumers to " virtually sample and experience Royal Purple products", and it would certainly be new to us if they're going as far as simulating the effect of lubrication on drag racer engines (rather than merely using them as a status upgrade) though they don't detail how in-depth their car modeling is. However, they promise "gamers will be able to see in the virtual world how upgrading to Royal Purple’s high performance lubricants reduces engine wear and increases horsepower."

Of course, it's all really about advertising, with Royal Purple Marketing VP Mark McFann stating, "It’s the ultimate ‘sampling’ opportunity. Aftermarket companies need a cost-effective way to let potential customers try their products and the gaming experience is the closest thing to a perfect solution."

In addition to the being integrated into the game, Royal Purple are to sponsor two tournaments during the year that are to allow game players to compete for virtual prizes.

A second big announcement from Sony Online Entertainment following the revelation that their titles would be coming to Steam—the company has announced that it now owns the online collectible trading card/strategy game Pox Nora, and "other key assets for future game development" from Octopi.

As part of the acquisition, members of the Tuscon-based Octopi development team are to form the core of SOE’s new Tucson studio, continuing to support Pox Nora as well as working with SOE’s Denver studio on new trading card and strategy game projects.

The news follows the previous announcement of Octopi, where they acquired all of their assets, including Pox Nora, from its parent company FUN Technologies.

“Our strategy and trading card games have been successful beyond our wildest dreams,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Expanding with a great product like Pox Nora and the outstanding development team from Octopi gives us a chance to extend our strategy game offerings and enhance the ones we already field.”

MMO social network MMOABC—who we've previously mentioned relating to their partnership with GameForge (Ikariam)—has announced a new partnership with developers Digenetics and Webplus to create a new browser-based football management game, Ultimate Soccer Boss.

The free-to-play Ultimate Soccer Boss is to be powered by Digenetics technology, with players and clubs to evolve over time, affected by variables such as number of plays, training matches, and club management.

In addition, Ultimate Soccer Boss is to feature an "Ask Advisor" feature that is to provide soccer managers expert advice on match strategies based on calculations performed by "complex evolutionary computation mathematical algorithms."

"MMOABC is very excited to partner with Digenetics and Webplus to create Ultimate Soccer Boss, the first ever online soccer manager browser game with evolutionary computation technology. Soccer managers will now finally experience what it truly feels like to manage their own unique clubs and compete against other soccer managers," said MMOABC co-founder and CEO Andy Tong. "Ultimate Soccer Boss is as real as it gets when it comes to managing a club since you'll experience random scenarios and outcomes based on how well you perform as soccer manager. This is a great breakthrough for soccer manager games and an incredible innovation for the video games industry itself."

MMO Publisher True Games has announced that it has signed an exclusive deal with GOA (telecoms company Orange's games unit) for GOA to publish, distribute and operate True Games/Possibility Space's upcoming MMORPG Warrior Epic in Europe.

The news follows the previous announcement that GOA are to publish True Games/Petroglyph's upcoming MMORPG Mytheon in Europe.

Amongst other titles, GOA currently publishes EA/Mythic's MMORPGs Dark Age of Camelotand Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in Europe.

"Warrior Epic is perfectly aligned with the GOA offerings and, in particular, our plans to expand services in 2009," said Ghislaine Le Rhun, Executive Director of GOA. "True Games Interactive are forging a great reputation within online gaming communities, and we look forward to working closely with the team to ensure Warrior Epic's European success."

More news from MMO publisher Aeria games—they've announced that they have acquired MMORPG Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu (yes, that is really its title) from nDoors for release in the European market.

Rather an interesting decision of nDoors there—considering it's completely comfortable publishing its titles in North America, such as the recently covered Atlantica Online—and the game is an interesting take on the usual MMORPG, drawing itself closer to something like eRepublik.

In Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu, players choose a profession and attempt to rise through the game's "society" to become a community leader, with the world featuring both a political and economic system as well as all of the questing, item crafting and so on normally featured in these kind of games.

"Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu promises to offer an enjoyable gaming experience with the high quality service and support of Aeria Games," said an Aeria Games representative. "As one of the best known games in Korea and other Asian countries, Luminary joins a list of successful MMO games being published or will soon be published in Europe by Aeria Games."

Hey look! An MMO portal that we haven't noticed before! NHN USA—the North American subsidiary of the Korean Internet company—has announced that it has patnered with CyberStep Communications to include the MMO fighting game SplashFighters on its online games portal ijji.com.

So what is SplashFighters? Well, apparently it's a 3D arena brawler with a cute sort of "super-deformed" style. The game features " nearly 2 million possible weapon combinations" and includes soccer and capture-the-flag modes as well as traditional fighting.

The game also includes all of the traditional avatar customization and socialization options you'd expect.

“SplashFighters’ nonstop action is sure to keep any online adventure seeker on their toes, and we are thrilled to add the game to ijji.com’s ever-growing and diverse lineup,” said Philip Yun, CEO of NHN USA. “With valuable channeling partnerships like we now have with CyberStep to bring SplashFighters to ijji.com’s seven million community members, we will continue to offer an unparalleled online gaming selection and experience.”

Trilogy Studios, a developer of virtual worlds and casual MMOs has announced it has partnered with Shanghai-based UltiZen Games, to "expand the company's online game development capabilities".

In addition, Trilogy has announced that it has expanded its operations domestically, adding dozen new hires and leasing more office space at its Sherman Oaks headquarters.

UltiZen Games is to "leverage its online game technology to help Trilogy publish and operate its growing casual MMO game business," reserving office space for Trilogy within its Shanghai studio, as well as dedicating a development team to work on its projects. In exchange, Trilogy is to "assist UltiZen Games with its goal to transition from an outsourcing company to a full-fledged game publisher and operator. "

"At a time when news of corporate downsizing is running rampant, we are very proud to report our company's growth and continued expansion," said Michael Pole, chief executive officer of Trilogy Studios. "Our new relationship with UltiZen coupled with the extension of our domestic operations, will allow Trilogy to further our goal of elevating the virtual world and casual MMO game platforms. We're offering consumers more entertainment value and businesses the opportunity to expand their brands in innovative and engaging new ways."

San Jose-based online game publisher, GamesCampus has announced that it has partnered with Ukash, an online cash payment solution, to provide European players an alternative to paying for their online purchases with credit card. Using Ukash, players can perform micro-transactions in the company's lineup of free-to-play MMO titles such as Asda Story and Shot Online.

In celebration of the partnership, GamesCampus has kicked off a site-wide event where players redeeming Ukash will receive an extra 10% bonus credit.

Ukash is an international payment method that allows consumers to pay for GamesCampus' Campus Credit without a credit card or bank account, and without providing any personal or financial details—players instead purchase a Ukash voucher from any local store where the PayPoint, payzone or e-pay sign/logo is available.

GamesCampus games now offers players six different types of payment options including Google checkout, Paypal, ClickandBuy, Paybycash, Ukash and MOL.

"With UKash our players can easily pay for their game items without having a credit card or even a bank account, " said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for GamesCampus.com. "This easy-to-use and secure service is a huge benefit to our European players across all of our games."

MMO developer Virtual Fairground has announced an agreement with French animation house Alphanim (a Gaumont company) to develop a browser-based MMO based on the animated series Galactik Football.

The two companies have signed a worldwide licensing agreement that is to see a phased international roll-out of the game and service starting spring 2009 until a full launch in 2010, with Virtual Fairground assuming full development and publishing duties.

Galactik Football follows the progress of the “Snow Kids”, a futuristic football team from the planet Akillian as they try to win the Galactik Football Cup.

"We’re looking forward to opening up the Galactik Football galaxy to kids”, said Maarten Brands of Virtual Fairground. “In a safe and extensive online world, kids will soon be able to create their own players and teams and compete for the Galactik Cup. Besides the overall quest, we’re creating numerous mini-games, fun distractions and socialization features for a kid and tween audience.”

Altadyn, developer of 3DXplorer, a plug-in-less browser-based 3D virtual world creation platform, has announced that the Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds, a group sponsored by the National Defense University’s Information Resources Management College has launched a 3DXplorer Meet-in-3D application.

A "Meet-in-3D" website represents a virtual corporate lobby, where online visitors can directly access representatives of an organization. Each online participant is represented by a controllable avatar within the 3D environment.

The Consortium also set up a conference room to present webinars using 3DXplorer Online Meeting application.

“When experts from different government agencies come together at formal conferences, you get a natural cross pollination of ideas,” said Darius Lahoutifard, CEO of Altadyn. “With Meet-in-3D, the same quality of interaction and exchange can happen much more frequently, and at almost no cost. In this way, 3DXplorer offers tremendous value in the realms of government and academia. Thanks to higher accessibility and easier deployment of 3DXplorer’s Browser-based plug-in-less technology, we are seeing an increased usage of Virtual Worlds and 3D spaces by the Federal government.”

San Jose-based online game publisher, OnNet USA (which runs the MMO portal GamesCampus) has announced a partnership with MOL, the Asian online payment solution company.

The partnership is to "establish a new online cash payment solution that will provide Asian players of GamesCampus games with a safe, alternative way to make their online purchases. "

Via MOL, players based in Southeast Asia— Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia—can make micro-transactions within the company's lineup of free-to-play MMO's such as Asda Story, Manga Fighter and Shot Online without having to provide financial information.

"We are honored to be working with an award-winning payment provider in MOL," said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for GamesCampus. "Now our Southeast Asian players at GamesCampus can easily pay for their game items without needing to have a credit card or even a bank account."

Middleware company Qube Software and virtual worlds company RedBedlam, both of them UK companies, are partnering on new MMO development tech they call Messiah.

Qube's Q Engine middleware will provide the genre and platform-agnostic client base, while RedBedlam's ZoneBubble System will provide the server technology for a single, persistent virtual world.

RedBedlam says ZBS allows for the creation of large contiguous worlds without loading zones or artificial barriers, for the benefit of developers aiming for large communities that share the same environment.

Q Engine is a modular cross-platform middleware designed to work with all last and current-generation consoles, PCs, handhelds and mobiles, and includes hardware features like custom shaders and platform-specific APIs. The core APIs and databases are designed to work on all the platforms Q supports.

"This is a partnership with all the pedigree anyone needs for a fully featured MMOG and virtual world platform," says RedBedlam executive director Fred Hasson.

"And by radically cutting the budgets required to build great virtual worlds and MMOGs Q and ZoneBubbles allow developers much greater freedom to explore new avenues."

[The preceding article by Leigh Alexander also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Fox Soccer Channel has announced that it has partnered with web game developer Power Challenge to launch Power Soccer, an "interactive online experience" that allows players to create their own football clubs and "emulate their real-world favorite players and teams".

The title is to be integrated on the co-branded Fox Sports "microsite" with the Fox Soccer Channel to run 30 second promotional spots to "drive viewer awareness."

Power Soccer includes live head-to-head matches with players across the globe, and by taking part in cups players can earn trophies for their teams.

“We are excited to work with Fox Soccer Channel and expand the total soccer experience for users around the globe,” said Johan Christenson, Power Challenge CEO. “In the months ahead, we will create unique game tournaments that tie-in with the real-world telecasts, giving users a unique possibility to follow the action on TV while simultaneously engaging on the web. The combination of our offerings truly brings a unique soccer experience.”

Middleware developer BabelFlux LLC says online game company Trion World Network has licensed its NavPower AI solution for multiple upcoming titles.

NavPower provides AI pathfinding and motion planning technology for both PC and console platforms. It includes an auto-generation library and a runtime engine that automates stitching of hundreds of meshes for large open worlds.

Trion says the solution minimizes additional work by its content team, making it valuable in the creation of their server-based games. Specifically, Trion aims to publish and develop games as "dynamic broadband service."

"We are thrilled that Trion selected NavPower to help deliver on the promise of creating a new generation of server-based interactive entertainment," says BabelFlux CEO David Miles. "Trion provides another great example of a AAA customer using NavPower to push the boundaries of the videogame experience."

[The preceding article by Leigh Alexander also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

New massively multiplayer online game publisher and developer Gazillion Entertainment has emerged from stealth mode, revealing its ownership of formerly independent MMO studios including NetDevil and Slipgate Ironworks, and announcing it has signed a worldwide agreement with Marvel Entertainment to make a MMO based on the Marvel Comics universe.

At one point, Microsoft planned to publish a Marvel MMO, but the project was cancelled early last year for still unspecified reasons. Developed by City of Heroes creator Cryptic Studios, the game formed the basis of the forthcoming Champions Online.

The new title from Gazillion will be developed by wholly owned Californian studio Gargantuan, which was founded this year. Little else is known about the developer or the game, which is not due until after 2010.

The first game to result from Gazillion's 10-year licensed deal will be the more child-friendly Marvel Super Hero Squad in 2010, by Washington State developer Amazing Society. As with other Marvel video games, the MMO will be licensed separately to the previously announced Super Hero Squad game from THQ.

Privately-held Gazillion, previously known as NR2B Research, has a number of separate development studios under its wings. According to VentureBeat, the company acquired Lego Universe developer NetDevil back in 2008.

Gazillion’s other wholly owned studios include Slipgate Ironworks, founded by original id Software designer John Romero. First announced in 2006, the San Francisco-area Slipgate is working on an unrevealed MMO using an original intellectual property.

The final studio under Gazillion's wing is SmartyCard, whose eponymous online educational game offers virtual rewards to children from sources such as iTunes, Webkinz, Stardoll and Bella Sara. That technology is expected to be used across multiple Gazillion titles.

[The preceding article by David Jenkins also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Browser-based 3D gaming platform InstantAction announced that it acquired the IP for the entire Starsiege Universe, and plans to release an updated, web-based version of the original Tribes game.

Developer and middleware provider GarageGames, which founded the InstantAction platform, obtained the Starsiege IP, including the entire Tribes online first-person shooter PC series, from Activision/Vivendi late last year.

GarageGames itself was founded by key personnel from now-defunct Dynamix, the original studio behind the Tribes games. The company's connection to the Starsiege brand was made even more evident with InstantAction's release of Fallen Empire: Legions last year, a first-person shooter that many saw as a spiritual successor to Tribes and that was developed by a number of Tribes veterans.

InstantAction intends to demonstrate a browser-based version of Starsiege: Tribes, which was originally released for PC in 1998, at next week's Game Developers Conference. It also says it has the game's source code, enabling it to update the title with bug fixes.

The resurrected title, however, will not feature new graphics. "This is the same Tribes that fans will remember, and newcomers will see what jetpacks are all about," says a representative on the company's weblog.

A build for the updated Tribes game will be distributed through its site, but will still be playable as a standalone game, notes InstantAction.

[The preceding article by Eric Caoili also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

E-commerce solution developer Digital River has announced the signing of a joint marketing agreement with Playxpert, a provider of in-game community management tools. By working with Playxpert, Digital River is to “offer game publishers, resellers and studios a way to engage players of PC-based games in a branded in-game experience that integrates e-commerce with their online communities.”

Using Playxpert’s True Overlay technology publishers, resellers and studios are to be able to configure, brand and deploy a “full-featured, in-game toolset” that appears as a translucent window inside a PC-based game. Through the toolset and a widget gallery, players can access the Internet to watch videos, research items, chat online, and take part in other community and content-based activities all without leaving the game experience.

Digital River are to deliver this solution in combination with its global e-commerce platform, allowing players to make purchases while in-game.

“Community is one of the strongest mechanisms used in gaming to promote adoption and commerce. Early efforts to combine community with commerce have proven successful and opened the door for further innovation,” said Charles Manning, president and CEO of Playxpert. “We are thrilled to be selected by Digital River as a partner in optimizing the in-game purchase experience and delivering a new best-of-breed solution for players and publishers alike.”

NHN USA—the North American subsidiary of the Korean Internet company—has announced that it has chosen publisher-supporter marketplace Live Gamer to facilitate virtual goods trading for its difficultly-named game portal, ijji.

According to the announcement, the trading platform is to be “tightly integrated” with the “creative design” of NHN USA’s upcoming titles.

The new marketplace is scheduled to go live on NHN USA communities in late spring.

“The new player-to-player marketplace will benefit ijji members by placing trading fully into their hands, providing a new and exciting game experience,” said Philip Yun, CEO of NHN USA.“Live Gamer has industry leading technology and expertise, as well as the long-lead collaboration the company offered. We worked together in the early stages to plan a player-to-player marketplace that is designed into the game from the ground up, making this the first time that the Live Gamer Exchange has been organically woven into game design.”

Social network/gaming site hi5 has announced a partnership with PlaySpan, a provider of monetization solutions for online games, social networks and virtual worlds. Under the agreement, hi5 will offer two of PlaySpan’s global payment services to its subscriber base of 62 million users.

PlaySpan’s PayByCash and Ultimate Game Card are to provide purchase capabilities for virtual goods and other premium content for hi5 users.

In addition, PlaySpan has announced it is to expand its global PayByCash services to better serve hi5's users, with additional payment services expected to launch in Turkey, Thailand, Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina within the month.

“Some of the world’s most recognized brands use PlaySpan as a monetization solution for their virtual world customers,” said Anil Dharni, Vice President of Products at hi5. “Our partnership offers our users a very flexible means to purchase hi5 Coins, the virtual currency our members use to acquire premium goods and services on the site. Not only will our North American users have the security and convenience of a retail stored value card, but our users in Europe, Latin America and Asia will also have more payment options at their disposal.”

Today, SuperSecret is fully publicly launching its social MMO/virtual world for tweens, a game which has been in development for two years and which has been in beta for some time.

It has also announced distribution partnerships with WildTangent and Spil Games, and Gamasutra speaks to president Tony Espinoza to find out more.

The game, which secured $10 million in Opus Capital venture funding last month, is targeted at 9-13 year old players, so-called "tweens", who, in the words of SuperSecret president Tony Espinoza, have graduated from kids' virtual worlds and are looking to move to something more advanced:

"[CEO] Ted [Barnett] is a parent, and has three tweens at home, and watched them all start to get bored with Club Penguin and Webkinz. So there was kind of an existence proof there. But at the same time, we had been studying the casual gaming space and all of the social stuff happening with all of the different social platforms.

"What we found pretty quickly is that if you talk to these kids in this age group, they want to do all of the stuff that adults do, or at least that teenagers do. In fact they're pretty obsessed with growing up -- so that's where we decided to start."

Online game publisher Trion World Network is collaborating with Universe at War developer Petroglyph on an upcoming unnamed MMORTS, the companies announced today.

The deal marks the first time that Trion will be working with a third-party on its Trion Platform. Trion, which did not reveal a release date for the game, will publish the MMORTS on a global basis.

Trion CEO Lars Buttler claimed that Petroglyph's upcoming game will be the "world's first truly high-end MMORTS." Trion has yet to launch a game, but the privately-held firm has raised $100 million in funding and recently struck a deal with the Sci-Fi Channel. The firm has also been hiring top-level execs in recent months.

Trion's specialty is creating server-based, live programming-driven games.

The Trion deal is Petroglyph's latest move into new areas in online gaming. In December, Las Vegas-based studio revealed Mytheon, an online action strategy game due in the fall that will implement a free-to-play, microtransactions-based business model.

Trion's Petroglyph partnership emerges just days after Trion president and co-founder Jon Van Caneghem "transitioned out" of the company.

[The preceding article by Kris Graft also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

MMO publisher OGPlanet has announced that its game cards are now available at 7-Eleven stores.

OGPlanet game cards can be redeemed online for Astros, the virtual currency used across all of OGPlanet's massively multiplayer online games.

In addition, the company has also announced that it has released two new maps for La Tale, its massively multiplayer online side-scroller: Owl Castle and Saurus Fields.

"Partnering with 7-Eleven makes it even easier for players to get enough Astros to buy their favorite in-game items. Now when you run down to your local 7-Eleven for nachos and a drink, you can stock up on OGPlanet Astros while you're there," said Don Choi, COO of OGPlanet. "By offering these cards, 7-Eleven stores bring tremendous distribution and support for online gaming, which is a fast-growing segment of prepaid services."