Dan Abnett, a writer for games and comics, will play guest in a chat session hosted by gaming community and service provider Xfire this coming March 8, 2007, at 9 p.m. GMT. Xfire continues to provide interesting content and information to its growing community of over 6.5 million gamers all around the world.

Abnett, known for his works in both DC Comics and Marvel Comics aside from The Games Workshop stories and 2000 AD Comics, is more currently renowned for his spin off of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, Ravenor. He also wrote three Warhammer novels and comics based on the X-Men, Judge Dredd, The Punisher and Legion of Super-Heroes franchises.

All community members of Xfire will be able to join the chat session with Abnett and Xfire hosts, but only five lucky Xfire users will get to win a signed copy of Abnett's latest novel from the Ravenor trilogy, "Ravenor Rogue."

In 2004, THQ and Games Workshop forged a strong alliance and enjoyed great success with their marquee real-time strategy franchise Warhammer 40,000 for the PC. Set in a violent era with a gritty attitude, the game prospered using fresh gameplay mechanics and inspired visual effects. It capitalized on the situation by launching one of the best RTS expansion packs ever made and is looking to break even more ground with its exciting new project.

This week, THQ and Games Workshop announced that a new pact was set to tighten up the ties between the two companies in order to bring Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) to the MMO market and compete with powerhouse games such as the mighty Worlds of Warcraft.

The pair has already employed the services of Austin, Texas developer Virgil Games to work on the upcoming offering and bring the Warhammer universe to the online plane. The game will feature six playable races and include a fresh gameplay factor known as Realm vs Realm combat (RvR) which seamlessly integrates player vs player (PvP) elements with player vs environment (PvE) action to add a new dimension to the quest-driven adventure.

"We feel that Dawn of War's (from the Warhammer franchise) success is just the beginning for this powerful franchise that resonates so well with gamers." says Kelly Flock, THQ's executive vice president for worldwide publishing.

It was also revealed that WAR may be released in North America, Europe and Asia as early as late this year. Given the competitive nature of the MMO scene, Games Workshop Head of Group for legal and licensing expressed confidence in this joint venture saying "we believe very strongly that the Warhammer 40,000 intellectual property delivers opportunities for unique and innovative gameplay in the MMO space, and the fact that WOW has grown the marketplace can only be a good thing for all of us."

And while WAR will initially be available only for the PC, Flock and Jones have expressed that it is likely to see THQ and Games Workshop games on other platforms due to the fact that they hold licenses for development on all systems to date.

More screens await after the jump!

Warhammer fans around the world, do we have news for you: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is expected to come out this year. And this comes straight from MMORPG.com's interview with Games Workshop's Warhammer franchise">Erik Mogensen himself.

If you've been following news about the game closely, you'll know that there are various characters and classes specific to alliances in the game, although some classes have been invented from the ground up and haven't been taken from the existing Warhammer universe, such as the Chaos Zealot. A Games Workshop classic, the Witch Hunter, is also in the works.

And yes, of course, what great RPG doesn't have PvP? It's already been announced that the PvP mode will extract material from the Dogs of War scenarios, so you can expect favorites like the Long Drong's Slayer Pirates to show up. Aside from that, Erik hasn't divulged anything new on the existing Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, except the already announced v1.6 patch.

So once you're tired of tossing around your little miniatures, it would be the best time to check out the scoop on more Warhammer Online developments. Oh and if you are playing Warhammer on tabletop, you might want to know that classes from Warhammer Online aren't coming to you anytime soon.

Read the full interview with Mogensen by clicking the "Read" link below.

For a game that uses the acronym WAR for its title,Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is definitely not here to show everyone the shiny happy side of large-scale battles.

This MMORPG based on Games Workshop's popular Warhammer fantasy series is dark, gritty, and terrifyingly intense. Just check out the seven new screenshots below and have a look for yourself.

MMOs seem to be cropping up everywhere with varying levels of success, though the World of Warcraft yardstick appears to be merciless. But what do you get when you combine a highly successful series and a dev with a tried and tested MMO formula? We would have to wait 'til next year though, when Mythic Entertainment releases Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (WAR).

IGN has interviewed Steve Perkins, Director of Marketing for Mythic Entertainment about what to expect on Warhammer: Age of Reckoning.

First off, he assures Warhammer fans that they have remained faithful to the series (to the best of their abilities) and have worked with Games Workshop (the makers of the original) during development. He said that though Age of Reckoning was based on the original, it "is not a direct translation of either the RPG or miniatures rule sets". The experience would be different for each player, as they have given a lot of attention to players' varying gameplay preferences.

Realm vs Realm (RvR) is simpler in WAR as it is the improved version of what Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot has. Again, players' individual preferences were considered and they can enjoy going solo or joining a group.

High level players worry not, the PvE content was set to keep you interested. The characters will show physical changes that are hard to miss as they progress through each level. Each character and career have different specialties and their inherent behaviors affect the character's gameplay.

And another thing that's interesting: loot and quest rewards are race and career specific. Every item would be unique and there would be no extremely hard quest that would give you something you can't use.

Mythic's future plans for WAR? Additional content and expansions are on the drawing board but there are no specifics yet. Other consoles? There aren't any plans for PS3 or Xbox 360 versions as they are still occupied with the release next year.

Ever since Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was announced, a good number of people dismissed it immediately thinking its just another WoW copycat. What most don't realize is that WAR is being developed in collaboration with Games Workshop, a company that was founded back in 1975. And that very fact is what Sanya Thomas, Director of Community Relations, would like to point out.

"The answer is no, we did not mimic that other game. There was never a chance that we would throw out more than twenty years of development and design just because another company found that look and style so inspirational," stated the director. Accordingly, certain races and characters in WAR are very reminiscent of WoW lore.

Thomas then reiterated that there are actually a lot of things that distinguish their MMO from other titles. "Role players will love the rich backstory and lore. Twenty years of novels, stories, tabletop books, and more has given us this amazingly layered world." explains the director. Thomas then added: "So I believe the spirit of the war gamer is part of the game that we're building, and that the war gamers in the community will be able to see it. But only beta testing will prove my belief."

After that, Sanya Thomas further discussed the other aspects of the game such as leveraging multi-core processor technology, the evolution of RvR throughout the course of character's career, and many more. If you want to know more about the game, the whole interview can be read via the link below

Warhammer Online will be published by EA Mythic and is expected to hit store shelves by Fall of 2007.

In a lengthy interview over at Gamespot, Eidos' product acquisition director, Ian Livingstone gave several details on Tomb Raider: Anniversary, the future of Lara Croft, and his opinion regarding the next-generation console wars.

What? Who's Ian Livingstone and why should you guys care? Well, if in case you're too lazy to wiki him up, his game cred starts with Games Workshop and Steve Jackson, moves on to D&D, gets big during the 90s with Eidos, and reaches a high point when he got awarded an Order of the British Empire last year for "Services to the Computer Games Industry." So snotty fellow, can you top that?

Here be the pertinent details from the interview:

So how's Lara?
Livingstone says that the brand and franchise will continue. According to him she's now much like James Bond now. Hence, there are no plans to kill of the character any time soon. She's recognized everywhere and according to Livingstone there was a Time Magazine survey a few years back that ranks her as more recognizable than the pope.

In Livingstone's words:

There are other great characters, but they're all aimed at a younger audience--Zelda, Sonic, Mario--there have been none that have been aimed at the more mature consumer. If you think of other successful games, you don't always remember the characters.

Women don't object to Lara because she's strong, independent, intelligent, athletic, sexy, and essentially she doesn't need men. And of course, men wouldn't object to [her] for the same reasons... And, as she's virtual, she can be anything to anyone.

He adds that he isn't really allowed to say much about Tomb Raider: Anniversary, but he does hint that we should all be thinking about that first time Lara met the T. Rex.

Get the rest of the article after the Jump!

According to an announcement today from GOA, the France Telecom-owned publisher of online games, announced that it has secured exclusive publishing and online operational rights for the massively anticipated MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning from Mythic Entertainment.

Launching for the PC simultaneously in the US and Europe during fall 2007, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is based on Games Workshop's popular Warhammer fantasy world and features next generation Realm vs. Realm (RvR) game play that integrates Player vs. Player (PvP) and Player vs. Environment (PvE) combat into a seamless, cutting edge, massively multiplayer online experience.

"We are thrilled to be partners with Mythic again and build on the five-year relationship and experience that we've been enjoying with their team," commented Ghislaine Le Rhun, Senior Vice President of GOA.

"The initial partnership between Mythic and GOA resulted in Dark Age of Camelot being the number one MMORPG in Europe for many years." said Mark Jacobs, CEO and President of Mythic Entertainment, "With WAR our goal is nothing less than to take Europe by storm and regain that leadership position in the European market." When more news becomes available for Warhammer Online we'll be sure to keep you informed.