It's official. Ziff Davis has sold 1UP to UGO Entertainment and has closed EGM. This was confirmed by no less than an official press release from both camps earlier today. The axe has fallen, and it's fallen hard. GameVideos.com and others take the hit as well. Full details right after the jump.

Is the magazine industry already bust? You've probably heard a lot of print media transferring to the e-format due to various reasons (mostly because of the lack of demand and rising printing costs). Earlier this week, the publication firm has revealed their plans to cease print circulation of PC Magazine, and opt for the e-publication approach. It was also noted that they're currently considering Electronic Gaming Monthly to follow suit.

Aside from the rumored Animal Crossing Wii MMO, the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) hinted that there's a possibility Bungie Studios is working on a Halo MMO for the Xbox 360. According to the gaming magazine's Rumor Mill section:

Microsoft may start a war--word is they're making a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter for 360. Hmm, wonder what Bungie is up to?

While not explicitly stated, it's entirely possible that this rumored Bungie MMO is actually Peter Jackson's secret Halo project, the details of which - including genre -  have not yet been revealed. Also, it should be noted that Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said earlier this month that both Bungie and Microsoft are investing in a new "interactive" series set in Halo.

As always, this is just a rumor so don't get your hopes up too much. Do check this space often for more updates!

Now we've been skeptical as to whether LucasArts would actually allow a Knights of the Old Republic title to slip by and get shoved into an MMO. But as a recent report from Electronic Gaming Monthly pointed out, one of the mystery MMO titles suspiciously linked to the Star Wars franchise just might be the next installment to the KOTOR series, too.

 

The report stated, "BioWare has formed a new online team to create a Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic massively multiplayer online game." Okay, barring Star Wars: Galaxies 2 from coming to light, other rumors also persist that the recent DS development team formation was to bring the PC-only Dragon Age to the Nintendo DS handheld. That title isn't even in the final stages (or officially announced in the final stages) yet, and BioWare's working on bringing it over to the DS already?

Last but certainly not the least is also the peeping rumor that the PlayStation 3 could also have the opportunity to join the Dragon Age bandwagon. Yes, it's not a KOTOR claim or anything like before, but at least this one seems a little more fitting, if a rumor had was ever "fitting. "

But because BioWare isn't giving any new official word on EGM's reports, we have yet to confirm that these rumors are actually credible. We'll be keeping tabs on announcements.