Twisted Pixel, the indie studio behind games including 'Splosion Man, The Maw, and The Gunstringer, is indie no more. Microsoft announced today that it has acquired the Austin-based developer, welcoming it into the Microsoft Studios family.

Read more: Expect more Kinect and Xbox Live fun from Twisted Pixel »

The third and final add-on for Twisted Pixel's downloadable and adorable action-adventure The Maw will hit PC and Xbox 360 next week, the studio has announced.

"Teaching kids the value of stealing cars, Speeder Lane follows Frank and Maw after they nab a vehicle from the Galactic Forces and fly a path of destruction through a soldier compound," said the studio. The level will also pack an "old-school boss fight." Read more »

Valve today announced that the first in-game DLC has hit Steam in the form of content for Twisted Pixel Games' title The Maw.

The support for in-game DLC means that developers and publishers can now sell their content from within games, rather than only on the Steam storefront.

"DLC can now be added to any game on Steam, regardless of whether it was originally purchased via Steam, at retail, or via other digital outlets," writes Valve. "It is also a feature of Steamworks, the suite of free tools and services available to game developers and publishers." Read more »

The PC version of Twisted Pixel's downloadable action-adventure title The Maw hit Steam, Direct2Drive and Greenhouse today, priced at $9.99.

The game puts players in the role of an alien with a Maw cohort. The purple Maw, simultaneously controlled by the player, absorbs the traits of the enemies it eats. Read more »

While this week's Xbox Live Arcade release is still a mystery, developer Twisted Pixel has announced that its downloadable effort The Maw will hit Xbox 360 next week.

Slated to arrive on Wednesday, January 21 at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), The Maw is an action-adventure game in which players run, jump, and feed their blob of a companion. Much like some other pink blob, The Maw can "absorb the traits of anything he eats." Read more »