Lots of surprises are being popped in this year's DICE, and Microsoft's Shane Kim is no exception to the activity. In this update, we get the skinny on a LOT of upcoming titles from the man himself, as well as the reason for a certain MMO's cancellation. Check it out in the full article.

A few days ago, we mentioned that Microsoft hadn't put out official word yet on the cancellation of their Marvel Universe Online (Xbox 360, PC). Even then, Microsoft Game Studios project wasn't exactly painting a rosy picture, either. As a follow up to that, we have more details regarding the status of Microsoft Game Studios' Marvel Universe Online: Microsoft has decided to cancel the game, and here are some of the reasons why...

Find out what the troublesome details are after the jump!

Is Marvel Universe Online in limbo? That's definitely the question on the minds of comic and MMORPG fans alike, as news of NCsoft's acquisition of Cryptic Studios severed the studio's obvious workforce for Microsoft's MMORPG intellectual property.

Marvel Universe Online was hinted on as far back as 2006 and is constantly touted as Microsoft's next flagship title for their Live for Windows initiative. But speculations and the absence of encouraging words from the guys at Redmond seem to go against this A-level MMORPG.

Very little is known about Microsoft Game Studios and Cryptic Studios' upcoming MMOG and Xbox 360 video game, Marvel Universe Online. Take that fact into account and the trailer we have today really turns into a big tease.

This teaser trailer shows several Marvel heroes and villains in statuesque poses including Wolverine, Ant-man, Cable, Captain America, Cyclops, Daredevil, Nick Fury, the Hulk, Nightcrawler, the Punisher, Quicksilver, Spider-Man, the Thing, plus Apocalypse, Uatu, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, Magneto, Galactus, and a Sentinel. This makes us even more curious as to how gameplay (too bad there weren't any shown) will work in Marvel Universe Online.

See if you can spot the all the Marvel characters by clicking play. We'll keep an eye on more Marvel Universe Online news and goodies so keep checking back. In the meantime, enjoy!

 

Straight from Barcelona, Spain, an official press release from Microsoft Game Studios revealed that an MMO game themed by the comics world repertoire of Marvel Entertainment is now under development by Cryptic Studios. Marvel Universe Online, which should be available for Xbox 360 owners and Windows Vista PC-goers, will sport interconnectivity play over Xbox Live and Live for Windows, bringing the MMO fans of the PC and fans of the Microsoft next-gen console closer together.

"The vision behind the alliance of Microsoft Game Studios, Cryptic Studios and Marvel is to expand the MMO genre and create an epic gaming experience exclusively for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista gamers to experience together online," Frank Pape said, who's senior director of business development at Microsoft Game Studios.

With MMO veteran developer Cryptic Studios at the development helm, the exclusive team-up of Microsoft, Marvel and Cryptic will attempt to deliver "the best possible experience in Marvel Universe Online." The World of Warcraft-killer we've been searching for, perhaps?

You may know Cryptic Studios for their hit MMO games City of Heroes and City of Villains, which are also superhero-themed like the Marvel MMO should be. Bringing in monsters, villains and Marvel superheroes to your favorite gaming platform, the MMO is expected to bring out the uniqueness of the Marvel IP.

When is it coming out? It hasn't been announced, but expect it to be a long way off from 2007. Still, with an MMO looking to rival that of Fury's graphics, it's definitely worth the wait.

  

Anybody fancy moving to Los Gatos, California? Because the developer of City of Heroes, City of Villains, and Marvel Universe Online is currently hiring.

The news that Cryptic Studios is hiring is a good sign when you remember the talk of "secret projects"... what else does Cryptic have in mind for the future? Well, expansion says much about the health of the studio and the studio's projects. We guess we can continue to expect bigger and better things - especially with Marvel Universe Online coming to Xbox 360.

Cryptic Studios has had its hands full with City of Heroes and City of Villains. (You know that an MMORPG developer's product is never truly "done" or "finished." You have expansion packs, updates, patches, new features, new maps, new campaigns, new instances, and everything else to do.)

Also, development work on Marvel Universe Online (PC, Xbox 360) has been powering up ever since Cryptic Studios announced it was working on the game on September 27, 2006.

 

You should check out their job page. It sounds like a dynamic, fun, and well-managed company where employees are treated as valuable co-workers instead of purchased underlings - then again, don't all company job pages paint that same happy picture?

Cryptic Studios sets a new standard for Massively Multiplayer Online role playing games while maintaining the casual, dynamic environment you'd expect from a small developer. In addition to a competitive salary and exceptional benefits package, we offer our employees a unique environment designed to foster a balance between work and play. In our offices in Los Gatos, CA, our team enjoys additional benefits, including complementary game accounts to City of Heroes and City of Villains and a game room where employees can frequently be found "working" after hours. We are more than a developer of an extraordinary gaming experience; we are a team of passionate, talented professionals who love the work, the genre and the game. We invite you to discover all that Cryptic Studios has to offer.

Employees get dental and medical and all that. And a free game account in each Cryptic Studio game.

Whenever we report something about Dungeons and Dragons Online, the name Victor "Sporkfire" Wachter is almost always the first person that comes to mind (apart from the gamers of course). Being the online community manager of the Turbine-developed MMO, Sporkfire has always been available for fans to give clarifications and comments.

However, in a move seen as very surprising and quite intriguing, Sporkfire left Turbine and jumped ship to Cryptic Studios to serve as the lead community manager for the latter's MMOs. Accordingly, Cryptic has a number of on-going projects which include City of Heroes, City of Villains and the much anticipated title Marvel Universe Online (MMO, X360).

Furthermore, Sporkfire didn't mention specifically what the considerations were made before making the shift. "I am a huge fan of superhero. And so working with the company that put the genre on the MMORPG map is one of the most exciting things to have ever happened to me," explained Sporkfire. Wachter's post back in DDO will be put under the supervision of Turbine's Community Relations Specialist Ariel "Samera" Jaffee-Mark.

When it comes to the just announced Marvel Universe Online, just two important details are known: first, Cryptic Studios was chosen to develop the said Microsoft MMO; then the game will feature seamless play between the PC and the X360. But the recent chit-chat with the three involved companies (Microsoft, Cryptic, Marvel) aims to shed light a bit further and hopes to keep anticipations running.

Microsoft Game Studios Frank Pape admits the tremendous success of WoW is their main motivation for getting into the massively multiplayer online market. He laments however that "World of Warcraft is a great game but it has been a black hole. It has subsumed a large part of the audience." Microsoft believes that Marvel can change all that by breathing fresh air into the space.

Also, they want to make sure that despite of the fact that PC and X360 gamers are able to play on one server, the two versions of the game are still distinct from one another. "[Cryptic Studios] is working very diligently to make sure the PC game does not feel like a port of the console or the console is a port of the PC game," shares Vice President of Marvel Interactive Ames Kirshen.

Furthermore, Cryptic Studios is still in awe regarding the breadth and depth of the Marvel Universe. Apparently, the comic publisher gave their all it at the studio's disposal. When asked as to where battles will take place, Cryptic Studios' Jack Emmert gave a very promising answer: "The Marvel Universe isn't just super heroes running around in big cities," he said. "We have Thor and Asgard, we have Atlantis and we have the Midnight Suns and the other dark slices of Marvel."

Marvel Universe Online was first mentioned during this year's ComicCon. Other details including gameplay, characters availability and release date are still not available as of this writing.

After Cryptic Studios' announcement that it will team up with Microsoft and Marvel to deliver the much anticipated MMO video game exclusive to Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, many fans of City of Heroes and City of Villains are wondering if the studio can handle both.

Cryptic Studios assures fans that the new venture won't affect the continuing operations of City of Heroes and City of Villains and they would be able to maintain both its past and upcoming comic book game development. Matt Miller, leader designer for CoH and CoV tried to ease fans' worries by stating, “We have a full team of programmers, artists, designers, and producers devoted to creating and maintaining the best experience in the ‘City of’ world of games. This team is, and will remain completely separate from other teams working on other games at Cryptic.”

Cryptic also said that they are devoted to providing the best gaming experience possible for all CoH and CoV fans. The new venture, Marvel Universe Online, is aiming to unite gamers in a cross-platform experience, allowing Xbox 360 and Windows Vista users to play alongside one another. Famous Marvel characters like Spider Man and the X-Men will be playable in the Marvel Universe Online. Cryptic said it shouldn't be a threat to CoH and CoV because they are unique and interesting in their own right.