Some of those that recently bought GSC Game World's S.TA.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and Egosoft's X3: Terran Conflict were temporarily unable to activate and play those games, due to reportedly resolved problems with the TAGES-run authentication servers.

Both games utilize TAGES DRM to enforce a 5-machine activation limit, and received a resurgence of attention as they were featured in the Steam Holiday Sale. The promotion saw 10-75% discounts on games sold via the PC digital distribution service.

Upon attempting to run either game, first-time players were told that they needed to activate their copy with a serial number. Some attempts were met with a network timeout error, while others, such as Shacker Stucky_101, report they that had no problems.

The issues began cropping up en masse between December 26 and 31... Read more

The first X3: Terran Conflict trailer is now available to show Egosoft's new space simulation game set in the X3 universe. The stand-alone game is set for a PC release later this year.

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Developer Egosoft has announced X3: Terran Conflict, a stand-alone sequel to the X3 space simulation series, on its official forums.

X3: Terran Conflict will be a "culmination of the X trilogy," with the final chapter centering around Earth and its relationship to the rest of the universe. The PC game will also feature more missions than any previous title in the series, and allow players to take on the roles of various characters, such as a military pilot.

Look for X3: Terran Conflict in the third quarter of 2008.