League of Legends will add competitive ladder play on July 13 in the free-to-play Defense of the Ancients-style game. Along with the update will be a visual style overhaul made to the game's website and interface. New screenshots showing off the new style can be found below.

The first season of ladder play will also launch alongside Ranked Games and Draft Picking, improving the game's offering for serious players. The game, while free-to-play, monetizes itself through microtransactions, though everything can be purchased via points earned by playing the game. Read more »

Microsoft's Major Nelson has blown the lid off this week's Xbox Live Download Deals, offering significant savings on several shooters to Xbox Live Gold members.

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Riot Games' free-to-play Defense of the Ancients-esque strategy game League of Legends (PC) will be expanding to Mac this summer thanks to TransGaming Inc.

The Mac version will be powered by TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine. "Artwork, graphics, in-game items and controls will remain the same in the Mac version," the companies say, adding that "the Mac version of League of Legends will feature the same update and release schedule as its PC counterpart" and "all Mac users will be able to mingle freely with their fellow League of Legends players on PC. " Read more »

Shacknews is happy to exclusively reveal a new champion for Riot Games' free-to-play hero arena game League of Legends.

Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer, is a fighter type champion and based entirely upon skill-shots and will require some clever micromanagement to utilize at full-potential.

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The downloadable Xbox 360 edition of 3D Realms' classic shooter Duke Nukem 3D is being honored as Xbox Live's "Deal of the Week" and is now available to Xbox Live Gold members at half-off, making the re-release just 400 Microsoft Points / $5.

The Duke's Xbox Live Arcade iteration hit the scene in September 2008, bringing with it the ability to rewind time post-death and resume play from any point in a singe-player replay, along with online cooperative and competitive multiplayer via Xbox Live. Read more »

Riot Games has revealed to Shacknews the next champion entering its Defense of the Ancients-esque League of Legends, the shape-shifting beast mistress Nidalee.

Raised by cougars in "the mysterious Kumungu Jungle," the 'hunter'-type wildwoman is able to shift between human and cat form and packs different abilities in each.

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In advance of the game's official release next week, Riot Games' DotA-esque, team-based RTS League of Legends has entered open beta, allowing interested champions to get a jump on the official start.

Sign up for the beta on the official site. The free-to-play game enters its pre-season on Tuesday, October 27.

We have 100 League of Legends beta keys up for grabs, offering the chance to play Riot Games' Defense of the Ancient-inspired multiplayer RPG-RTS hybrid ahead of release.

To get your mitts on a key, simply be one of the first 100 people to download this League of Legends Walkthrough from FileShack. If you're in time, the e-mail address attached to your Shack account will be sent a key and instructions on how to sign up. Read more »

Riot Games is soon rolling out a new map for its Defense of the Ancients-inspired game League of Legends, and we've got a somewhat magnified view of it here.

Despite the sharp angles, we know that Twisted Treeline is a two-lane, two-forest map intended for a maximum of three-on-three gameplay. We know this because we played it last week. Read more »

Should you find yourself all out of gum when it's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, you can now pop off to the shops while playing Duke Nukem 3D, out today on iPhone.

Priced at $2.99 for a one-day launch offer, the iPhone and iPod Touch port of 3D Realms' 1996 shooter is handled by Prey Invasion developer Machineworks Northwest. Read more »

The great Shacknews League of Legends beta key giveaway of 2009 has drawn to a close, and twenty Shackers have been selected at random to win the prize of a lifetime.

The following winners can now find a League of Legends beta key sitting pretty in their Shackmessages inbox, along with instructions on how to redeem it: Read more »

League of Legends is released on PC in September but twenty lucky readers will get to play early, as Riot Games has kindly given us a stack of beta keys to share with you.

Check out today's new walkthrough trailer narrated by several developers for the nitty-gritty on League of Legends, which sits in a Defense of the Ancients-inspired RTS/RPG genre so hybrid it needed a name of its own--MOBA, or multiplayer online battle arena. Read more »

League of Legends' gameplay and the newfangled 'MOBA' genre--multiplayer online battle arena, acronym addicts--are explained by the Riot Games team in a new trailer.

Beta signups are currently open for LoL, which was inspired by popular Warcraft III custom level Defense of the Ancients and boasts a former DotA developer on its team.

League of Legends will be free to play when it arrives on PC in September, supported by micropayments for additional customisation options and a retail Collector's Edition.

Joining the ranks of other free-to-play experiments like Battlefield Heroes and Dungeons & Dragons Online, Riot Games today announced that its upcoming multiplayer title League of Legends will be entirely free.

League of Legends, an avatar-based RTS modeled on the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, is faced with competing against several similar titles, in addition to the free mod that inspired them. Read more »

An iPhone and iPod Touch release of 3D Realms' classic shooter Duke Nukem 3D is due "very soon," according to IGN.

Mobile developer Machineworks Northwest, responsible for the iPhone and iPod Touch release of Prey Invasion, is handling the port.

As with Prey Invasion, Duke Nukem 3D will use on-screen control bars (seen above) for movement and aiming, with firing handled either by tapping a foe or the fire button. Read more »