The fifth annual charity dinner auction by Child’s Play has raised more than $225,000 over nearly 20 separate auctions, which will go to its network of some 45 worldwide hospitals.

The auction’s highlights were rare Halo merchandise, including a set of in-game armor normally available only for Bungie employees. Valve also joined in on the auction, giving out Orange Box merchandise and a tour of its offices to one gamer for $2,500.

With the Penny Arcade Expo underway, Hothead Games revealed that the first episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness will be downloadable on Xbox Live Arcade in early 2008, with future installments to follow. The game will also be available on PC, Mac and Linux users sometime later this year.

A demo of the game is being shown at the expo. More details can be found on the game’s website.

Gamers’ charity Child’s Play has proudly raised over a million dollars, bringing smiles to thousands of children across continents. The program saw people donating money and gift items for children spending time in hospitals and is now in its fourth year.

The organizers of the program, creators of Penny Arcade, also announced results of the Child’s Play Charity Dinner which saw an appearance in a Penny Arcade strip go for $10,000; a voiceover line in Halo 3 for $9,000; signed Xbox 360 and Wii for $1,200 and $3,700, respectively; and more. Auction sales picked up over $200,000.

Just to show how popular Penny Arcade has become, and how much their dark influence is corrupting our souls, Hothead Games in conjunction with Penny Arcade has announced plans for a cross-platform episode game based on the comic’s characters and universe.

“We’re really excited to be working with Hothead Games on our first electronic adventure,” said writer Jerry Holkins, his clawed feet resting atop a huge slab of granite. “From the moment we laid eyes on them, it was clear they had the technical and creative chops to execute our grim vision. Now that we have pooled our strengths, our dark work may truly begin.” Holkins then paused to eat a rat whole.

The first game, entitled Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, will be a comic adventure game initially available for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. It will also be released for next-generation consoles later. The game will be available via digital download and will be delivered in episodic format with new content coming out several times a year.

No release date was announced.