Ostensibly to celebrate the launch of Champions Online's free-to-play option next week, developer Cryptic Studios has announced it will be offering a 20% discount on lifetime subscriptions for the superhero MMO as well as for Star Trek Online.

Discounted, the lifetime subscriptions will each cost $239.99. The sale will start on January 25 at 6am Pacific then run until 10am on February 4. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter features Tomb Raider, MaXplosion, Dragon Age 2, Bulletstorm, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Zeit2, LEGO Universe, Adam's Venture 2: Solomon's Secret, Champions Online, Fight Night Champion, Supremacy MMA, Dino Strike, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, and Mass Effect 2. Read more »

The promised free-to-play option for Cryptic's superhero MMORPG Champions Online will launch on January 25, it was revealed today.

Free-to-play users will be able to play for as long as they please without buying the game or subscribing. However, they'll face numerous restrictions and will have to pay if they want to experience certain content. Those who choose to pay the $14.99 monthly 'Gold' subscription fee won't face these limitations. Both groups of players can buy assorted microtransaction goodies, including more bits for character customisations. Read more »

Before the launch of Star Trek Online, Cryptic unveiled a lifetime subscription to its other MMORPG, Champions Online, for a cool $200. Included with the purchase was closed beta access to the Starfleet-endorsed online title, which--presumably--helped entice people to make the jump. Later, the lifetime subscription option disappeared. Read more »

Cryptic's superhero MMORPG Champions Online is to launch a feature-limited free-to-play option, executive producer Shannon Posniewski has revealed in the latest 'State of the Game' update, though subscriptions will continue to be offered.

Non-subscribing "Silver Players" won't be able to fully customise their heroes with super-powers of their choosing, instead being granted a pre-defined powerset from a chosen "archetype." They'll also have restrictions on inventory, bank and marketplace space as well as in-game messaging. Read more »

To celebrate the first anniversary of Cryptic Studios' superhero MMORPG Champions Online, a free trial week begins today for costume aficionados and the fly-curious. It'll kick off at 10am Pacific today then run until 10am Pacific on September 7.

Other festivities include a 20% discount on "nearly everything" in the micro-transaction C-Store and an in-game event promising "special prizes and unique encounters." Read more »

The Game Developers Conference Austin show is now Game Developers Conference Online and as such, awards will be handed out, "honoring the accomplishments of the creators and operators of online games." As such, nominations have been announced in 8 categories.

Riot Games' League of Legends is leading with four nominations, followed by "We Rule (ngmoco), Champions Online (Cryptic), Dungeon Fighter Online (Nexon) and Nightclub City (Booyah) with three award nominations apiece." The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony on October 7 at GDC Online in Austin, TX. Read more »

Former Flagship CEO and Blizzard Executive Bill Roper has left Cryptic Studios, where he served as design director and executive producer on Champions Online before accepting the position of chief creative officer back in March.

While Roper has not announced specific plans for the future, he did write that "over the past few months my entrepreneurial spirit has become restless, and I've made the difficult decision to move on and look for new opportunities." Read more »

feelplus' Xbox 360-exclusive slash 'em up sequel N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights will ship off to North American retailers on June 29, an announcement publisher Konami celebrated with new screenshots and new videos.

New characters, new weapons and online cooperative multiplayer are among the sequel's bullet points, with a downloadable demo offering a single-player sample to all. Read more »

While feelplus and Konami's slash 'em up sequel N3II: Ninety Nine Nights appears to be missing its "Spring 2010" release--retailers indicate it's now due in June 2010--you won't have to wait that long to play it, as a downloadable 606MB sample is now available through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The demo for the Xbox 360 exclusive action game is currently only available to those that have either purchased or redeemed an Xbox Live Gold subscriptions--a restriction that typically lifts after that particular download's first week of availability.

New secreenshots and the second trailer for Konami and feelplus' N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights is full of both hacking and slashing, as expected.

It also confirms four playable characters along with online co-operative play of some form.Much like the first game, the trailer seems to show little to no resistance from enemy soldiers, which is a staple to the "Dynasty Warriors" genre.

The oft-promised console edition of Champions Online is no more, as developer Cryptic Studios has revealed that "there are no current plans for a console version."

The super-powered MMO, released on PC in September 2009, was once slated to hit both PC and Xbox 360 simultaneously. Cryptic later changed its tune, saying the console version would arrive later, with owner Atari hoping it would still hit within 2009. Read more »

Cryptic's superhero MMORPG Champions Online will be getting another free weekend beginning this Friday, March 26th at 10AM PST until Monday, March 29th at 10AM PST. The free weekend will celebrate the free Revelation expansion.

The game client required to play can be downloaded here, which also serves as a limited demo to the game. During the free weekend, players will be able to play all the game they can handle in the time provided.

The sequel to Ninety-Nine Nights will hit North America, Europe and Japan in "Spring 2010," publisher Konami has confirmed.

A slightly revised name accompanied the announcement, with the Xbox 360 exclusive now dubbed "N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights."

According to Konami, feelplus' follow-up to Phantagram's Xbox 360 exclusive original takes the story "to all new heights," complete with "hundreds of enemy creatures on screen simultaneously" and support for two-person online cooperative play. Read more »

Cryptic Studios has launched the free level-limited demo for its superhero MMORPG Champions Online, available for download now through Steam.

While there is no time limit, demo players have a level cap of fifteen and are restricted to the 'Millennium City crisis' missions. You can play with the character creator forever--surely one of the most exciting parts of any MMO--but are limited to two slots. Read more »