Acclaim Games is proud to announce that they've reached a new milestone in their MMO career: they've garnered over one million registered users in just a little over a year after being reborn as a free-to-play publisher!

Acclaim currently has five online games: BOTS!!, 9Dragons, 2Moons, DANCE! Online, and one yet unnamed top secret MMO title that'll reportedly revolutionize the way MMO games are developed. How? By giving players a chance to actively participate in the devving process. The company will then announce one lucky winner who'll get to direct their own game funded by Acclaim. Cool, huh?

Howard Marks, Acclaim Games' CEO, sends his gratis to all the users who have helped them reach this major milestone. Oh, and news also reached our ears that the open beta for DANCE! Online and 2Moons will be announced by the company real soon so make sure you keep an eye (and ear) out for that.

Given how scarce game goodies and details for Auran's Fury have been, some you might be feeling like your fiery desire for this game has been put out. Well sure, you've seen the trailer and screens. But for hard-core MMO fanatics like most of us here in QJ, surely we could use even more eye-candy, yes?

As you know, Fury places the focus on pure PvP, and the game is built on the premise that Fury is the essence of the universe, which is separated into the elements of Fire, Water, Air, and Nature. Fury has a bit of a philosophical slant to it as players will be required to understand the essence of Fury and use this knowledge in combat to prevent the downfall of the kingdom called Sanctuary. Players will then take on the role of the Chosen, who has been faced with the task of bringing the knowledge of Fury to the rest of humanity.

Other features of the game include a unique class system (avatars can be developed via Incarnations)and a combat system that fuses FPS and RPG elements, among many others. It's also interesting to note that in-game avatars will be able to gain more power by completing trials and thus recovering ancient memories and knowledge. With Gamecock Media Group handling the publishing tasks, Fury is set to be unleashed your way Q4 2007 for U.S. and December 31st this year for European regions.

More screens await in the full article!

The folks behind Funcom did a little backtracking at how they were able to showcase their upcoming MMO and 360 title, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, at the recently held Game Developers Conference.

According to them, one of the major difficulties they faced in showcasing an MMO is to get to the main highlights of the game without having to wait, say, for the character to level up and reach certain game levels. So they came up with a nifty workaround to that pickle, and here's how item designer Mats Remman explains how it was done:

I’ve created a series of scripts that quickly lets whoever is playing the game level up their character and get access to really cool equipment, feats and combos. That way they are able to quickly develop into a character that looks impressive, and show off features that wouldn’t really be available until later in the game.

Smart, eh? One of the characters they showed at the GDC was the Soldier who turns into a Guardian, thus making combo moves immediately available to users who are trying out the demo in the said event. So anyway, to celebrate the success of their participation in the GDC, Funcom shares with us this new batch of screens for their upcoming game. Go on and feast on your eyes on the barbaric beauty.

More of 'em screenies in the full article!

Straight from the Game Developers Conference is this piece of great news for all you Vanguard-playing folks out there.

An IGN staffer reports that the game's co-creator, Jeff Butler, said that they are currently working on adding teleporting to the game. As with most "initial announcements," very few details were divulged as the team is also still trying to smoothen out the concept.

But what Butler did share is that players will be able to teleport a character to their location, in the process burning their recall stone. However, players will also be able to get together for quests and killing sprees regardless of how far they are from each other -- all thanks to teleporting!

When asked about this feature's targeted launch window, Butler simply said "soon." But fret not our dear readers, we trust we'll be getting more updates and details on this, once the team smooths out the concept.

Cryptic Studios, Inc., the folks responsible for Marvel Universe Online and City of Heroes/Villains, announced today that they've moved to Los Gatos, California as part of the company's expansion. And to celebrate this growth, they've also adopted a new logo and re-launched their website.

Cryptic Studios prez Michael Lewis says,

This is a milestone for Cryptic Studios. We are a proven developer of popular, innovative games, and we plan to extend our knowledge and dedication into other facets of the MMO user experience. Therefore, we've significantly expanded our facilities to accommodate our own customer service, network operations, and quality assurance departments. With nearly 100 employees, we've outgrown our original space more quickly than expected, so we've moved into a location with the capacity for our ambitious growth plans.

Lewis also shares that with this new development also entails that they'll be placing even more focus on creating quality MMORPGs. You can now check out the company's revamped logo and site by clicking on the read link below.

We've given you loads of updates on Dungeons & Dragons Online's Module 4, but since they've pushed back the release date for that, we decided it's time to shift our focus a bit on other stuff that matter just as much.

So. If you've reading up on DDO, you probably already know that the Customer Service Team is offering new services that allow you to spruce up your characters and guilds.

Well, the folks at Turbine have announced that as of today, you can now change your character as well as the name of your guild via their Premium Services. The new services offered (Character Rename Service and Guild Rename Service) are pretty much self-explanatory so we don't have to delve into that whole thing. What we will tell you though is how you can avail of these services and find out more about them. How? Just hit the read link, baby and you're on your way to the path of individuality. Whatever that means.

(Uh, by the way, by "Premium Services" they also mean there's going to be a fee involved in the services. Just to keep you informed of what lies after the Read link. Guess individuality sometimes has its price.)

StarCraft, Diablo Series">Blizzard announced today the details on their third annual Worldwide Invitational to be held in Seoul, Korea. As you know, the annually-held Worldwide Invitational is Blizzard's way of reaching out to their hordes and legions of fans, get their users' thoughts on their games and basically just foster a connection with the Blizzard-gaming community.

When: May 19-20, 2007
Where: Olympic Gymnastics and Fencing Stadiums in Seoul, South Korea

Like in the previous years, this year's event will also be open to gamers of all ages who will be able to join tournaments on Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, etc.

For the non-competitive peeps, the event will also feature panel discussions with the Blizzard developers that'll tackle various topics including game development. Blizzard will also be staging hands-on attractions in the said event. Blizzard's Mike Morhaime says,

With a wide variety of themed activities and competitions to participate in, the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals are a great way for us to show our appreciation to our players. We're looking forward to creating another memorable show for them this year as well.

Stay tuned as we bring you more details on Blizzard's 2007 World Invitational.

NCSoft announced today that they will be releasing another free content expansion for their hit MMORPG, Auto Assault. As y'all know, this will be the fourth one to be released by NCSoft and will include tons of new goodies to further enhance your gameplay experience.

So, what's new with this one? The installation of an auction house, the introduction of new vehicle chassis, a new tournament schedule, and quality of life system improvements, to name a few. According to NCSoft, the auction house will be the most important addition to the game because it will add depth to the game and makes profiting from loot drops a lot easier. The profits made from the auction house can then be used to acquire the two new vehicle chassis.

Balance between races will also be improved such that PvP combat will be based on skill rather than faction-based advantages. Skill building has also been made easier to understand. And it doesn't end there, in-game tournaments will also be sporting new built-in reward system as well as a new schedule.

Auto Assault is already available at retail stores all over North America and Europe, as well as at the NCsoft online store. For those who have just gotten into the groove of the game, you should know that upon purchase, the game will have the first month of online game play, after which you'll be charged with a monthly subscription fee of US$ 14.99.

It's only been mere hours since Game Developers Conference 2007 opened its doors and yet news of next year's event are already circulating in, how do you say it, teh intarwebz. It's been a real crazy day here at the QJ quarters, what with all the GDC updates pouring in (in torrents, if I might add). Personally, I'd just like to deal with the ongoing GDC first, but just so you guys are way ahead of everybody else, we'll share with you the details we scored on next year's GDC.

According to DevelopMag, show organiser CMP has already confirmed this early on the dates and venues for GDC 2008. If things go as planned, the Game Developers Conference 2008 will take place on February 18-22, and will be held once again at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's shift the focus back to this year's event. GDC Mobile,the Serious Games Summit, Casual Games Summit and Independent Game Festival are the front acts for GDC 2007, with the main conference and expo scheduled to hit the stage on Wednesday. That said, allow this writer to sneak out and get back to insane GDC news reporting. Stay tuned for more.

It's only been a month since Vanguard: Saga of Heroes hit shelves, and yet Sigil and SOE are already up and about to release the first major update for the game.

IGN reports that the said update will be made available March 6th, with the following content all prepped to pounce on your PCs:

• more than a dozen new weapon models
• six new NPC races (Djinn, Mnalus, Mudmen, Sand Giants, Ichtakhta and Xennu)
• two new areas for adventuring and exploration
• nine visually revamped dungeons

SOE also announced that anyone who buys Vanguard: SoH between January 30 and March 31 will be getting a Founder's reward which will earn users a title that'll be presented to them come early April. And just in case you've forgotten, Sigil Games also has the upcoming Double Adventuring Kill Experience scheduled to take place from March 3-5, so make sure to keep an eye out for that too.