ArenaNet seems to be on target for hitting its planned 2012 release for Guild Wars 2, with plans now in place for a second beta test weekend that will happen in mid-June. The next beta will kick off at the tail end of E3, starting on Friday, June 8 at noon PT and ending on Sunday, June 10 at 11:59pm PT. As an added bonus, player progress from the game's first beta weekend has been saved, so you'll be able to pick up wherever you left off if you're coming back for more.

Repeat players can expect to see a few improvements to the overall Guild Wars 2 experience, with ArenaNet having addressed issues relating to "party movement into overflow servers, chat functionality, key bindings, server stability, performance" and more since the first beta test. You can get in on the beta either by pre-ordering the game or by keeping up with ArenaNet on Facebook and Twitter for giveaways that will be staged in the coming weeks.

Those who missed the first beta weekend should take a peek at our latest Guild Wars 2 hands-on preview to get a better sense of the game.

A newly released E3 2012 teaser image from Square Enix for Hitman: Absolution strongly suggests that some sort of multiplayer reveal is part of the plan for the yearly trade show. The image features a lineup of shapely she-assassins decked out with all manner of gear. Will Hitman: Absolution feature ladies-only multiplayer shenanigans?

That's certainly the suggestion in the above image. The all-silhouettes lineup is filled out entirely by women in skintight bodysuits and stiletto heels. Most of them appear to be wearing hoods and each one is carrying some sort of potentially lethal weapon. 

IO Interactive hasn't revealed any details about online play in Hitman: Absolution, though lead producer Hakan Abrak is on record as saying that the team is doing something "very, very interesting... on the online side" in a 2011 interview with Eurogamer. Given the focus in the Hitman series on stealthy play and careful maneuvering, any crack at multiplayer would pretty much have to be something more than "shoot everyone who's not on your team" to be taken seriously.

Sony's upcoming Smash Bros. Brawl-inspired fighting game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, was announced as a PlayStation 3 game, but new evidence suggests that it may be heading to the PS Vita as well. A series of domain registrations spotted by web sleuth Superannuation nod directly to such a game, though whether that's a pre-emptive maneuver to deter cyber-squatting or evidence of an actual development effort remains to be seen.

Informed speculation would certainly support the latter situation. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a crack at something entirely new for Sony. The PS Vita has already proven itself as a popular platform for fighting games, and you can bet that Sony will be looking to really blow out its games catalog in the coming years. A Vita version of first-party fighting game just makes good sense.

We got to take a first peek at the PS3 game earlier in May 2012, so be sure to check out our PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale preview for a more detailed look at the game.

David Cage, the founder of Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream, will be unveiling his studio's next game at Sony's E3 2012 press conference next Monday, June 4, a "trusted senior development source" tells CVG. The same source also revealed that the Paris-based game maker is working on two projects for Sony, though one or both may be aimed at a platform other than the PlayStation 3.

There's no word on what shape the mysterious E3 reveal game might take, but between QD's Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy, some sort of deeply interactive story-driven experience seems likely. Cage showcased the results of his more recent efforts in GDC 2012's "Kara" demo, prompting many to speculate that a new game reveal was imminent. This rumor certainly supports that. We'll find out soon enough, with less than a week to go before Sony trots out its upcoming lineup for E3-goers.

Blizzard took some time during the holiday weekend to step up and address fans left angered over recent Diablo 3 hotfixes that nerfed character abilities which were deemed to be too powerful. A lengthy new post on Battle.net speaks to the reasoning behind those changes while laying out a larger road map for future Diablo 3 patches.

It's looking like the next patch to be released will bring the game up to v1.0.3, tweaking things like the way damage is dealt out, particularly on the most difficult Inferno setting (Blizzard calls it too "spiky") and the costs associated with crafter training and gem combining. More changes will come in the following update, v1.1, which Blizzard calls the "PvP update."

If you're any kind of serious Diablo 3 player, you should definitely pore over Blizzard's detailed rundown and let them know what you think.

The fall 2012 release of Halo 4 is starting to become a very serious reality, with various online retailers now updating their product pages for the game to include store-specific pre-order bonuses. The various offers were all gathered together, with images, by All Games Beta, and all of the content comes in the form of weapon and armor skins.

The pre-order bonuses unfold as follows: ebgames.ca (aka GameStop: Canada Edition) offers a Forest Armor skin and an Arctic Weapon skin; UK retailer Play.com offers a Deadeye Helmet skin, Amazon offers a Web Armor skin, and the U.S. GameStop is offering what appears to be a variation on Canada's Forest Armor skin. Using the rest of the industry's common practices as an example, I would wager that we can also expect some sort of announcement concerning a larger pre-order package, one that isn't retailer-specific, at some point down the road as well.

E3 2012 is slightly more than a week away now, and you can bet that Halo 4 will have a major presence at this year's show. The 343 Industries-developed sequel hits stores this year, on November 6.

Bungie won't be making any announcements nor will it be showing up at E3 2012 "in any official capacity," the latest Mail Sack feature on Bungie Blog confirms. This means that any fans who were hoping to at last get a glimpse of the studio's first post-Halo project, known as Destiny, will be waiting awhile longer.

Details on the Activision-published title and franchise, Bungie's first post-Microsoft effort after the Halo developer struck out on its own, emerged in a recently unsealed contract between the developer and publisher. The planned series of "sci-fi action shooter games" will kick off in 2013, with additional releases to follow every other year and major DLC drops marking the "off" years.

The first Destiny game is known to be a Microsoft exclusive, and I would say it's a safe bet that any official reveal will come at the same time (or after) the next-gen MS console is announced. Unfortunately, that won't be at this years E3.

Here's a warning right off the bat that the leaked internal beta footage for Halo 4's multiplayer that is the subject of this post is blurry and largely unwatchable. It's also saddled with very NSFW music, so you'll have to dig up the video elsewhere on the Internet. Perhaps from one of our source links (HINT, HINT).

The footage was discovered by NeoGAF, with a subsequent update from Microsoft all but confirming the video's legitimacy. As the publisher told Kotaku, "We are conducting an internal beta test of Halo 4 which is a standard development practice for most video games. We have no plans for a public multiplayer beta for Halo 4."

There's plenty of discussion unfolding in the NeoGAF thread about what's happening in the video. You get a look at the new Railgun, Promethean vision (that lets players see through walls), assassinations and more. Just don't blame us if you watch the eight minutes of footage and walk away with severe eye strain.

Microsoft snatched up Skype in 2011, slightly more than a year ago now, and confirmed plans to bring the service to the Xbox experience, and now a new Microsoft careers job listing points to how and when that experience will take shape. A posting for Lead Program Manager on Microsoft's Xbox team states that the group "is focused on enabling amazing new in-game and in-console voice and video experiences for the next-generation Xbox" using the VoIP service.

Sure, the next-gen Xbox hasn't been officially announced. And sure too, Skype being paired with Xbox was basically an inevitability even if Microsoft hadn't confirmed it when the company was acquired. In-game Skype raises some interesting possibilities, but bear in mind it's more likely that Microsoft will simply use the VoIP service's solid and pre-existing framework to power the unannounced console's voice and video communications.

Not so long ago we heard some rumblings that Electronic Arts would be announcing a premium content delivery service and new DLC for Battlefield 3, and now a pair of rumors have emerged that point to both of these possibilities. European online retailer CoolShop (via MP1st) has a product listing up for Battlefield Premium with an expected release date of June 29, 2012.

If the listing for the Call of Duty Elite-like service is accurate, it will cost £35 (roughly $55 USD) and will include: 20 maps, 20 new weapons, 10+ new vehicles, 4+ new game modes, 30+ assignments, 20+ dog tags, and premium benefits "made up of skins, camos and most importantly early access to all DLC."

MP1st also heard from its source -- the same that first tipped off the Battlefield Premium news -- that an unannounced fifth DLC pack called Aftermath will be released in late 2012 for Battlefield 3, though the CoolShop listing makes no mention of it by name.

4J Studios faces some steep challenges in bringing Minecraft's "Adventure Update" content to the Xbox 360 version of the game, a new OXM interview with 4J CTO Paddy Burns reveals. The developer did a stellar job of porting the core experience to a console platform in Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, but it still amounts to a port of an earlier version than what is currently available on the PC side.

"This is going to be the most difficult update due to the sheer amount of changes, and also the underlying architecture changes that come with it. We're looking forward to the challenge," Burns said. Adventure Update adds a range of game-changing features to the Minecraft experience, including more elaborate environments (biomes), underground mine tunnels and strongholds, a hunger meter, an experience system, NPC-populated towns, and Creative Mode, to name a few things.

Next up for the console release is an update that will bring it in line with v1.7.3 of the PC game, which notably added redstone-activated pistons. The PC release continues to be superior, but console users should definitely give this game a whirl, as our own Stephen Johnson was more than happy to recommend in his Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition review.

Blizzard Entertainment continues to be busy coping with a rocky launch for Diablo 3, so much so that the delayed launch of the game's real money auction house has been pushed back once again. A new post on Battle.net notes that the auction house is coming to Diablo 3 "soon," but it won't be making it's previously stated May 29, 2012 launch.

This is the third delay so far for the real money auction house. It was originally supposed to be available at launch, though that was pushed back first to May 22 and later to May 29. The lengthy Battle.net post also addresses a few of the other ongoing conversations surrounding Diablo 3, including some recent controversial hotfixes, ongoing balancing efforts, and complaints about hacked accounts.

The popular video game documentary Indie Game: The Movie will be available for purchase on digital platforms starting June 12, 2012, the official website confirms. In addition to being able to purchase the movie directly through the website, fans will also have the option of snatching it from either iTunes or Steam. Yes. Steam. No matter where you buy it, you'll be paying $9.99.

Pre-orders are already open for DVD and Blu-ray versions, though there's no set release date yet for these. A response on the official website to a reader comment indicates that boxed copies of the film should mail out soon after the digital launch, possibly sometime in July, but the physical copies still need to be designed and manufactured. 

For those who aren't familiar, you should definitely check out our Indie Game: The Movie review. It's a solid piece of filmmaking that offers a deep-dive inside look into the world of indie development.

Kojima Productions treated attendees at a recent Zone of the Enders HD gathering to the news that work is underway on a new Enders game which stands as a direct sequel to Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. It seems that the project is in the earliest stages of development, with the NeoGAF poster noting that "right now they are still experimenting with the feasibility of making [a sequel]." Which is probably code for "EVERYONE BUY THE ZONE OF THE ENDERS HD COLLECTION WHEN IT'S OUT."

Very little was revealed about the planned game, referred to for now as the Enders Project. We know that it is a direct sequel to The 2nd Runner and that the story unfolds against the backdrop of an ancient civilization (as opposed to the previous games' futuristic world). A screen rendered in the Fox Engine was shown, and I think it's reasonable to speculate that the game will use that engine as well, assuming it happens.

In related news, the event also included confirmation that the Zone of the Enders HD Collection will be released in Japan on October 25, 2012 (via All Games Beta).

The very likely-looking rumor that BioWare would in the near future be releasing a Rebellion DLC Pack for Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode has turned out to be true, a new BioWare Blog post confirms. The content pack will be released on May 29, 2012 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC platforms as a free download for anyone who has the game's Online Pass.

Of course, you'll need to actually unlock much of the new content by earning enough credits in multiplayer to buy booster packs, which you also have the option of spending real dollars (or MS Points) on. That said, Rebellion brings quite a bit more in the way of "out of the box" playable content into Mass Effect 3 than its predecessor, the Resurgence DLC Pack, did.

Read More »