Supreme Commander developer Gas Powered Games is producing a new expansion pack to its impressively large-scale PC real-time strategy game. Again designed by Supreme Commander creator and Gas Powered founder Chris Taylor, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance will add a new playable faction (a "mysterious" one, as today's announcement notes), a total of over 100 new units, and a single-player campaign set in the aftermath of the first game's Infinite War.

"Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance is not only the continuation of the epic story that is unfolding inside the game's universe, it is the continuation of our goal to move the bar for RTS gaming even higher than ever," said Taylor. Total Annihilation, the designer's 1997 RTS developed by Cavedog Entertainment, was widely praised for its intricacy and focus on overarching... Read more

Blizzard today announced that its eagerly-anticipated strategy sequel StarCraft 2 will be in playable form at this year's BlizzCon convention. Demo stations will be set up throughout the grounds, allowing players to participate in multiplayer battles.

Earlier this month, Blizzard also revealed that it would be handing out beta keys to attendees for an as-yet unnamed title. Unfortunately for fans, Blizzard VP of game design Rob Pardo told MSNBC last month that StarCraft 2 will not make it to stores this year. "Some people were hoping, because of how advanced the game looks, that we'd have it out by Christmas, but that's definitely not happening," he said.

BlizzCon 2007 will be held on August 3-4 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. To those looking to get in on the action, know that BlizzCon tickets are currently sold out.

Over at GameSpot you can find the second Guild Wars: Eye of the North development diary. Designer Ben Miller writes about the new content and features to be found in the expansion pack.

Valve's PC gaming and distribution platform Steam will gain a host of new community features, including personal Steam pages and profiles, care of a free update slated to arrive in July.

Among the various new options is support for voice chat and the ability to track former opponents and easily check out their in-game performance at a later time. In addition to the customizable user profile and web page, players will be able to create and join groups as well as schedule games with their friends. This functionality will be supported by all games available on Steam.

Valve may be taking aim at Microsoft's Games for Windows Live program, which aims to bring the Xbox Live experience to the PC platform but ... Read more

Telltale Games today announced that its well-received first season of Sam & Max adventure games has been released through Valve's Steam service. Telltale concluded the season in April, and has stated its intention to follow up with a second season.

All six episodes are now downloadable, each for $8.95; until June 22, each episode has a 10% discount applied for a final price of $8.06. ... Read more

EA Mythic has sent out an Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn trailer, showing off the various improvements offered by this expansion pack. No release date has been announced.

Japanese developer and publisher Capcom has announced it will begin selling its titles through Valve's PC digital distribution platform Steam. Today's announcement marks the latest of Capcom's efforts to support the PC, which include upcoming ports of the former Xbox 360 exclusive Lost Planet: Extreme Condition as well as Devil May Cry 4. The company's embrace of Steam marks the first time a Japanese publisher has embraced the digital distribution service.

Capcom's Steam offerings will begin later this week with the release of Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, which originally appeared on PlayStation 2 and was only recently released on the PC. A PC version of ... Read more

GameAlmighty.com is where you can find the latest Overlord Q&A. Kevin Mullard of Codemasters and Lennart Sas of Triumph Studios are asked about the amount of research they did into being evil, minion loyalty, the origins of evil looking armor, the Overlord's motivating actions, minion control, the Dark Tower and the game engine.

Yorba Linda, California-based Iocaine Studios has announced that its tactical action game ThreadSpace: Hyperbol, a finalist in the 2005 Independent Games Festival, is being revamped and further developed for a full PC release. Publisher Atari will be handling distribution worldwide.

"After the excitement of being a finalist in the Independent Games Festival, we reworked the game a bit and brought it to the next level," said Iocaine Studios president Jason Fader. "We've worked incredibly hard and believe in this ... Read more

When EVE Online developer CCP merged with pen and paper roleplaying developer White Wolf last November, CCP announced that it had already begun work on an MMO based off White Wolf's World of Darkness property. Now CCP marketing director Magnus Bergsson has shed some more light on the project, suggesting the game is at least four years from release.

"We're not really hiding any information about [the release date], we just don't know yet," Bergsson told Eurogamer. "The actual design and exactly how it's going to be is being created right now, so when we actually know all of that we can guestimate how long it's going to take. These games ... Read more

Never one to let its high-paying fans go without a reward, Blizzard has revealed that those attending its BlizzCon convention this year will receive a key that guarantees the opportunity to beta test an upcoming Blizzard game.

Speculation as to the game's identity has run wild, with the popular theory being that of the recently announced StarCraft 2. While this may be the case, Blizzard has previously announced plans to release a new World of Warcraft expansion every year, with this year's title having gone unmentioned to this point.

Attendees will also be given a second code, to either unlock a murloc suit for ... Read more

Developer Monolith Productions needs a name for the sequel to its 2005 shooter F.E.A.R., and it is soliciting gamer suggestions at its Name Your Fear website. As reported last year, Monolith and parent company Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment own the rights to the F.E.A.R. universe, but not to the name itself. While original F.E.A.R. publisher Vivendi Games plans to publish its own non-Monolith-developed sequel using the actual branding, Monolith will essentially be developing a true sequel in all but name.

The site features the Games for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 logos, suggesting a multiplatform approach. At the time that Monolith's sequel was initially announced, the company stated its intention to lead development ... Read more

TimeGate Studios--responsible for the Kohan series and the recent F.E.A.R expansion, Extraction Point--has revealed that it is currently developing three games for unknown platforms. The company plans to announce the titles sometime this year.

"TimeGate is hard at work on three new games, each of which is poised to smash through the competition thanks to the company's ability to create engrossing new worlds and to seamlessly blend genres to deliver the best games possible," said Evolve PR director Tom Ohle, whose company now handles public relations for TimeGate.

TimeGate's website lists three games in development: two unnamed FPS projects, as well as an MMO. One of the games is likely to be the ... Read more

Publisher 2K and Toronto-based media company Bitcasters have finished work on HistoriCanada: The New World, a mod for the Firaxis Games-developed Sid Meier's Civilization III that focuses on key situations and scenarios of Canada's history. With the game now complete after two years in development, 2K will be donating copies of both Sid Meier's Civilization III and HistoriCanada: The New World to 100,000 Canadian high school students, along with a demo of Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Civilization IV.

Created with the assistance of multiple scholars, HistoriCanada: The New World puts players in charge of an early Canada-based European or Aboriginal ... Read more

Blizzard VP of game design Rob Pardo (pictured left) has confirmed that the recently announced StarCraft 2 will not be released in 2007. "The only thing I can give you [that's] concrete is it's not going to be this year," Pardo said to MSNBC. "Some people were hoping, because of how advanced the game looks, that we'd have it out by Christmas, but that's definitely not happening."

"Different companies have different philosophies on how long they spend on products," he continued, explaining that Blizzard redesigned ... Read more

Shadowrun Post-Launch Interview on FiringSquad chats with FASA Studios manager Mitch Gitelman about the newly released PC / Xbox 360 multiplayer shooter. Topics include feedback from the Xbox 360 beta, the lack of a PC beta, use of the Games for Windows – LIVE service and demo plans.

In keeping with the times, a new cryptic game teaser website has launched at the address Exoriare.com. A brief statement sent out to the press this morning proclaims, "FROM THE PRODUCER OF THE MOST CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED REAL-TIME STRATEGY GAME OF ALL TIME* COMES A NEW FORCE IN GAMES DEVELOPMENT." A second asterisk clarifies that online review aggregate site Game Rankings is the metric being used to supply the superlative.

A quick check on Game Rankings reveals that Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes holds the distinction of being the top-rated strategy game, implying that the producer in question is John Johnson. Doing a domain registration check on Exoriare.com confirms Johnson as a contact, along with Company ... Read more

GameTap today officially announced a partnership with game designer American McGee (pictured left) and American McGee's Spicy Horse studio to distribute American McGee's next game, American McGee's Grimm, through the online GameTap service. As American McGee revealed earlier this month in a now-removed blog post, the action-adventure American McGee's Grimm will be released on a per-episode basis and consist of 24 total episodes.

Each episode of American McGee's Grimm will be based off a classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale--such as Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, or Snow White--with a dark and distinctive American McGee-esque twist, much ... Read more

Developer SayDesign and publisher Codemasters are working on a PC title based off the Lionsgate's Oscar-winning 1987 film Dirty Dancing. Starring Patrick Swayze (right) and Jennifer Grey (left), a special edition of the movie was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray, alongside a limited theatrical run, in commemoration of the film's 20th anniversary.

Described by today's announcement as a "premium action puzzler casual game," Dirty Dancing - The Video Game is slated for a late 2007 release. The official site promises "a fantastic variety of fun mini-games" set at the fictional Kellerman's Mountain House Resort, with players earning "camp dollars to purchase Dirty Dancing memorabilia, cabin furnishings, and the all-important dance lessons with Johnny and Penny." ... Read more