As if people need more MMOGs, NCSoft has announced that it has signed a publishing deal with Spacetime Studios to make a MMOG. Spacetime has worked on successful franchises such as Wing Commander and Star Wars Galaxies, and has shipped 14 previous titles, two of which have been million-unit sellers.

No details on the MMOG project were released.

On GameDaily.biz is word that developers behind Halo and Half-Life have joined together to form a new independent development studio – Giant Bite Games.

Today Seattle-based Giant Bite Games officially opened its doors. Founded by game industry veterans Hamilton Chu, Michael Evans, Andy Glaister, and Steve Theodore, Giant Bite describes itself as “a next generation game development studio focusing on the creation of excellent games and a fun workplace.”

Giant Bite’s team has a wealth of experience in making top-flight games, having worked on Halo, Halo 2, Half-Life and Counterstrike. They’ve also been involved in making key contributions to Microsoft’s DirectX technologies. Collectively Giant Bite’s executive team has shipped over thirty games with over twenty million units sold.

Hamilton Chu is a twelve-year industry veteran who’s served as Producer, Lead Producer and Executive Producer at Bungie for six years through the development of Oni for PC/Mac, Halo for Xbox and PC/Mac, and Halo 2 for Xbox. Michael Evans has been in the industry for ten years and he also held senior roles at Bungie. He was Lead Engineer and Project Lead on Oni, he led the multiplayer experience on Halo, and he served as an Engineering Lead on Halo 2. Evans also recently helped Rare deliver the title Perfect Dark Zero for the Xbox 360 launch.

Andy Glaister has been in the game industry for a whopping twenty-five years. He’s held senior developer or technical director positions at Viacom New Media, Kinesoft Development and FASA Interactive. When Microsoft Game Studios acquired FASA Interactive in 1999 Andy then began to work as a Development Manager in the game studios, working with developers such as Bioware, Gas Powered Games, Doublefine, Pipeworks, Gearbox, Turbine, Climax, Rare and Bungie. Most recently, he spent his last two years at Microsoft as the Development Manager for the Windows Graphics and Gaming team, managing all the programmers working on DirectX 10, display drivers, Windows Parental Controls, the DirectX SDK and the graphics and gaming features in the upcoming Windows Vista.

Steve Theodore joined the game industry in 1995, modeling and animating for Fasa Interactive’s Mech Commander. In ‘97 he joined Valve to work on Half Life, Team Fortress, CounterStrike, Team Fortress II, and several online projects. Following his time at Valve, Steve did research and development on the Granny animation system at Rad Game Tools from 2002 to 2004. Most recently, he was the Technical Art Manager for Zipper Interactive, helping them to transition to next generation graphics technologies. Steve also writes the monthly art column for Game Developer magazine.

The studio hasn’t announced its first project yet; it is currently in discussions about it.

Dragon Ball Z (PSP), Tales of Phantasia (GBA) and Avernum (PC) have all been shipped. Me and My Katamari has also gone gold.

Meanwhile, Runestone has announced that Seed, its upcoming MMOG, will officially launch on May 2. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth’s PC version has also been dated: March 27.

On Egosoft is a playable demo for X3: Reunion, offering the chance to sample the space exploration and combat title. However, people who are anti-Starforce might want to stay away from the demo, as the copy protection method is present in the demo. The file has been mirrored on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell and Worthplaying.

Orbital Media has sent out word that Scruge: Hive, its 2D GBA and DS action title, has been delayed to “early June.” A render of the game’s main character was released as a form of consolation.

Craving for an “over-the-top party game?” Namco Bandai has the answer for you: the company has announced One Piece: Pirates’ Carnival for the PS2. Set for release this Spring, the title will feature over 30 mini-games and up to four player gameplay. Some of the mini-games include pie-eating contests, teeth-gritting battles on stilts, pirate basketball and others. No other details were disclosed.

Downloads of a new patch for Knights of the Temple II can be found on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell and Playlogic, updating the game to v1.2.44. A playable demo was also released – it’s a 148 MB download from 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell and Worthplaying.

In-game ads have become the “in” thing recently, with Midway and other publishers jumping in on the bandwagon. THQ is the latest to join the club, as it announced that it has signed a multi-title relationship with Double Fusion that will see three upcoming games from the publisher see in-game ads. No names were mentioned, though this bit discloses that they will be “new, original properties for next-gen and licensed properties scheduled for release this Fall.”

A new Superman Returns screenshot non-in-game image has been released. It has been marked as a “visual target” of sorts, leaving one to wonder how bad the game might look.

(The car looks like shit. And the monster thing… it seems it’s floating.)

S2 Games will be testing uncharted waters when they release Savage 2: A Tortured Soul only through digital distribution this Fall. The company has announced that all customers who pre-order the game before April 15 will receive instant guaranteed beta approval. The title will retail for $30, an “unusually low” price-point for a “triple-A” game.

It hasn’t been disclosed when the beta will start, though one would expect it to begin soon after April 15. Also, no other goodies were announced for the pre-order deal.

Both Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Naruto: Ninja Council have been shipped for the Gamecube and GBA, respectively. Clash of Ninja is a fighting game where players may choose from one of eight different Naruto characters, while Ninja Council for the GBA is a side-scrolling action game, letting players control Naruto or Sasuke.

Shadow Hearts: From the New World, the third title in the RPG franchise, has also been shipped. The game stars 16-year old detective Johnny Garland, as he investigates an escaped criminal, along with a monster appearing through mysterious “windows”. Shadow Hearts 3 offers improvements to the series’ Judgment Ring combat system, a new story, and over 60 hours of play.

Sony’s Pursuit Force has also been shipped throughout North America, letting PSP owners chase and shoot gangs in the bus, in school or anywhere public. The game has players controlling a renegade cop who doesn’t play by the rules, engaging in high-speed car chases and taking down criminals. More than 50 different rides have been included in the game, which includes speedboats and helicopters.

If you were looking forward to more Driver action then you just might want to check out Driver: Parallel Lines, which Atari announced has gone gold. Fourth in the series, Parallel Lines will be available for the PS2 and Xbox later this month.

Driver: Parallel Lines places gamers in New York City during two distinct eras – the 1970s and today – and centres on TK, an 18 year-old driving prodigy seeking fortune and fame. Gifted, popular and arrogant as hell, TK is one of the best drivers-for-hire in town and is known by everyone – from the pimped-out street hustlers, petty criminals, and racer boys to the shadowy crime figures that pay for his skills at the wheel. TK gets involved with a scheming group bent on taking down one of the biggest names in the underground crime scene. However, TK gets double crossed and ultimately is imprisoned for 28 years.

Fast forward to 2006 where the action kicks back in, and TK is older, meaner, and hell bent on settling some serious scores. TK needs to call on every driving trick in his considerable repertoire to tame the over-powered road machines that 2006 presents him. After twenty-plus years in jail, it’s time to hit the streets once again.

The game features an in-game soundtrack of 80+ songs from both the ’70s and the current era. Lineup of artists include Blondie, David Bowie, MF Doom and others, along with Public Enemy, Paul Oakenfold and other artists who created songs specifically for the game.

Step CG has announced development of Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka 2, the sequel to their 2D adventure game. Scoop:

The events of game occur several months after Vakula and Oksana (the main characters of the previous game Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka) have married. Young wife (Oksana) asks her husband (Vacula) to influence the head of the Dikanka village Golova. He doesn’t want his daughter, Oksana’s best friend, to get married with Petrus – young Cossack from the village, however, unfortunately absolutely penniless.

Summer, heat. The quiet and measured life of the Ukrainian village Dikanka goes by. The Ivan Kupal holiday is quite near. According to the legend, on the night to Ivan Kupal holiday the fern blooms. The one who will be able to get the mysterious flower, obtains powerful possibilities, for example, access to the cursed treasures and, consequently, to innumerable wealth. Petrus dreams to become rich and agrees to the proposal of strange man, who recently arrived in Dikanka…

Game is based on the novellas from the cycle of Evenings on the Farm near Dikanka by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol: Evening on the Eve of Ivan Kupal Holiday, Sorochinskaya Fair, May Night, or Drowned Woman, and it also contains the numerous elements of folk tales and legends.

The fans of the first ‘Evenings’ will meet with a pleasure familiar characters from the first chapter, learn that borders of Dikanka and magic forest are substantially enlarged, and the estate of Pannotchka contains new secrets.

Through a short press release, CDV announced that it has formed a new studio with Digital Reality to create top-tier strategy titles for next-generation consoles and handhelds. Duvbbed WHIZ Software Kft, the studio’s first title is expected to ship in Q4 2007, with details coming soon.

Expansions for Zoo Tycoon weren’t enough – Microsoft Game Studios and Ensemble Studios also announced plans for an expansion pack for Age of Empires III. Due in stores this Fall, the expansion will provide new ways to play and win, new gameplay elements and content including new civilizations, a new single player campaign, Home City enhancements and additional maps and units. Additional content will also be added to the European civilizations as well.