Citing lower-than-expected subscriptions, developer Monte Cristo has decided to shut down the multiplayer portion of its massively multiplayer city-building game CITIES XL (PC) while vowing that the title "will evolve into a fully single player game."

Of course, trying something new always comes with a risk," the company explains. "Three months after the launch we have to admit that the subscription rate is lower than what we expected and therefore the Planet Offer is no longer sustainable." Read more »

Monte Cristo's urban sim CitiesXL sees its release this Friday. The game is already available in demo-form, but Cristo has also put out a pair of handy walkthrough videos that thoroughly explain the offline and online modes.

First up is the single player video:

Cities XL is an online multiplayer city-building strategy game, which, in The Demoman's mind, means it's probably sort of like playing SimCity while being called a fag by a bunch of strangers. One of the first things I see when I log in is someone explaining in chat how to get around the profanity filter by capitalizing every other letter. We're off to a fUcKiNg good start!

I decide to name my city Columnville, as I am simply using it to crank out this column, but an administrative error (common in public works projects) occurs and my city's name is entered as Columnvilleq. This was due to me hitting the Q button, which I've mapped to take screenshots, at the wrong moment. Well, no matter, I'll just put some PR spin on it with a catchy city motto. "Columnvilleq: The Q is for Quality!" Read more »

The 1GB US demo of Monte Cristo's urban building and management sim Cities XL is now available over on FileShack, chasing last week's Europe-only demo release.

Expiring on October 7, the demo contains a slice of the subscription-based online 'Planet' mode, with only three locations on which to build a city and a population cap. Read more »

Monte Critso today announced that its persistent urban building sim Cities XL will be released in North America on October 9. The European version will be released the day before on October 8.

Cities XL will be sold through Monte's official site, and delivered either by mail or digital download. The game will also be available to purchase on Steam, Direct2Drive, Trygames, Impulse and Gametap. Read more »

Update: All the keys have been claimed. Enjoy!

Original story: With the SimCity franchise currently ambling about on the Wii and iPhone, Monte Cristo's Cities XL was clearly designed specifically to sate the desires of hardcore urban simulation addicts--and now you can start playing the beta tonight.

We've got 500 Cities XL beta keys to give away, and due to the volume, we're handing them out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Read more »

Gazing down upon your handiwork is one of the true joys of creation, which is why Cities XL lets players zoom right in until you can see your city's chimney pots and clothes lines.

Developer Monte Cristo recently announced pricing for the city builder's optional MMO 'Planet' mode, which sees online players sharing a persistent planet, allowing them to trade resouces, build special 'Mega Structures' co-operatively and visit others' cities. Read more »

Developer Monte Cristo has announced pricing information for its upcoming MMO-enabled urban simulator Cities XL.

While the Sim City-esque game will come packed with a solo mode, the subscription-based "Planet" mode will allow players to trade resources, work cooperatively to build "Mega Structures," and visit player cities across persistent planets. Players will also impact the Planets themselves, having an effect on the overall population and pollution level of each world. Read more »

Developer Monte Cristo today opened beta sign-ups for Cities XL (PC), offering applicants the chance to be one of those testing the city simulation-MMO hybrid.

Along with city-wide construction and management, Cities XL will also offer "tycoon-styled" gameplay, such as a ski resort, through various game extension modules. Read more »

Looking for a SimCity fix? Developer Monte Cristo is revving up to release CitiesXL (PC) this year, as evidenced by these new screenshots.

CitiesXL is set to expand the city simulation genre with detailed urban modeling and plenty of online features. Players will build cities on a persistent, interconnected planet, participating in a realistic global economy with other mayors.

Read more »

For all you tennis fans, a demo for the newly released Top Spin 3 (PS3, X360, Wii, NDS) can now be found on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
The 394mb download features a tennis school option to familiarize yourself with the game's controls, and also sports the ability to play an exhibition match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick.

Publisher 2K Sports sent along word that PAM's Top Spin 3 is complete and will arrive on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS on June 24.

In celebration, the company issued new screenshots from each version. The Xbox 360 screens are to the top left, with PlayStation 3 on the top right. Below, Wii edition shots are on the left and Nintendo DS assets are on the right. Read more »

Coming this June for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS is Top Spin 3, the newest installment in 2K Sports' tennis game franchise. Here are new screenshots, and you can stream the debut trailer below.

Read more »