Today Hi-Rez Studios has announced that the competitive free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend has been downloaded 1.2 million times to date.

The multiplayer-only game’s launch was preceded by a month long open beta, but the tally is still very impressive for a project which was entirely self-published and is a testament to how affectively a free-to-play revenue model can bring in the punters.

“We’re thrilled that over 1 million gamers have discovered the fast-paced and skill-based gameplay of Tribes,” explained a clearly excited Todd Harris, Hi-Rez Studios Chief Operating Officer. “It is truly the player support of the title that has driven the population growth and fuels our team to deliver updates.”

“We see the community expanding primarily through positive word of mouth,” he added.

“Since release we’ve already recognized seven players who have each individually referred over 500 new people to Tribes: Ascend. The game’s success allows us to give back to the community through free DLC updates, tournament events and expansion into new markets in coming months.”

We’re sure the free in-game gold to ‘encourage’ players to get their friends hooked as well certainly helped in getting Hi-Rez’s latest effort to breach the one million barrier.

If you’d like a more detailed analysis of Tribes: Ascend, and why you should play it this very second, check out the latest issue of MMOZine.

One LinkedIn user, Michael Joseph C., states that he “provided video game prototype, design and demo feedback on various AAA titles including the Battlefield: Bad Company 3, Dead Space 2, Devil May Cry 5 and other unannounced titles”, between 2009 and 2011.

Meanwhile, the profile of an ex-EA Software Engineer states that he worked on Mirror’s Edge 2 between July and August 2009, implementing “the wandering of crowd system within Unreal3 engine”.

Another ex-employee says that he was tasked with implementing “new gadgets and interactive features” into Mirror’s Edge 2, including “leaderboards” and a “mini-game embedded into mirror’s edge game story”.

Neither Battlefield: Bad Company 3 or Mirror’s Edge 2 have yet been officially announced by EA or DICE, although both have long been rumoured to be in development.

Last year, EA Games President Frank Gibeau said that the publisher “[hasn’t] killed Mirror’s Edge” and that the studio was “actively looking at how to bring it back in the right way.”

Gibeau also suggested that the game, whenever it does finally materialise, would run on DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine.

Could we see either of them at next month’s E3? How long is a piece of string?

According to the profile of David Payne (spotted by Superannuation), Saints Row 4 will release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. A release window for the title, though, isn’t provided.

This is in addition to this year’s Saints Row: The Third expansion pack ‘Enter The Dominatrix’, which ships as a standalone product this September.

This isn’t the first time that mention of a fourth Saints Row game has cropped up.

Last November, THQ’s Executive Vice President of Core Games Danny Bilson said that he “already [knows] what Saint’s Row 4 is about, and it is wilder than [Saints Row: The Third].”

“It’s a good example of how you take what you have and you say, ‘What can happen in the next?”

It’s unlikely we’ll get to see Saints Row 4 any time soon, though.

With THQ preparing to focus its efforts on promoting Enter The Dominatrix, a Saints Row 4 reveal during E3 seems an unlikely prospect.

Instead, the game will launch between January and March 2013.

The delay beyond the Christmas period will likely come as a major blow to the publisher. Yesterday, THQ reported an annual loss of $239.9m for FY2012.

Very little is still known about South Park: The Game, which is being headed up by Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian.

The game, which is rumoured to be called South Park: The Stick of Truth, pits players in the role of a new South Park character and will feature class-based gameplay.

It’s due for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Expect plenty more on it at E3.

Struggling publisher THQ has detailed their game line-up for the next financial year during a recent call to investors.

The South Park RPG, currently in development at Obsidian, is the biggest casualty of the year, as it’s been pushed into 2013, but THQ still has a very strong slate for the next twelve months:

• Darksiders II: August 14, 2012
• Saints Row: The Third: Enter The Dominatrix: September 2012
• Annual WWE Game: October 1st – December 31st  2012
• Company of Heroes 2: January 1^st – March 31^st 2013
• Metro: Last Light: Between January 1^st – March 31^st 2013
• South Park: The Game: Between January 1^st – March 31^st 2013

A notable absence from this list is Tomonobu Itagaki’s Devil’s Third. The next game from the creative force that revived Ninja Gaiden for the modern era is currently being shopped around to different publishers by THQ, as according to the CEO Brian Farrell the third-person action game no longer “fits THQ’s profile”.

Other omissions from the call include inSANE – a game currently in development at Volition under the expert tutelage of Guillermo del Tor – and an as of yet unrevealed shooter currently in production at Turtle Rock Studios, of Left 4 Dead fame.

Regardless with new entries in franchises like Darksiders, Saints Row: The Third and Company of Heroes on the horizon, we have strong hopes that THQ are well on the way back to becoming a profitable publisher once again.

You can grab a code by pre-ordering Hitman: Absolution at selected retailers, granting you instant access to Hitman: Sniper Challenge, a downloadable ‘experience’ that provides a taster of what to expect from the full game.

The standalone product also includes multiple unlocks and an exclusive sniper rifle that will be carried over into Hitman: Absolution on its release on November 20th.

Once you’ve got your code, you’ll have to head over to HitmanSniper.com and follow the instructions on how to redeem it.

We labelled Sniper Challenge “a shining example of what can be achieved when a publisher truly seeks to reward its most loyal customers” when we took a look at it last week, calling it “absolutely brilliant”.

For more information on Hitman: Sniper Challenge, check out our huge hands-on preview.

Today CCP Games has confirmed that the Inferno expansion for EVE Online will hit servers next Tuesday.

The content, which will be cost existing subscribers nothing extra, centres around overhauling existing features in the game in accordance with player feedback.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Mercenary Marketplace – pay the best guns-for-hire to settle your scores or make yourself available to the highest bidders in the most notorious PVP universe in gaming.
• War Declarations – reworked systems to help you wage war and keep track of your legacy.
• Missiles and Launchers – savour every moment from launch to impact with missile launchers and dramatic new missile effects.
• Factional Warfare – enlist in a faction and join the entry-level game of conquest with more rewards and deeper gameplay than ever before.
• Visual Updates – Enhanced graphics on ship models and increased options in the industry-leading character creator.

“There has never been a more exciting time to try EVE and become the spaceship pilot you always knew you should be,” proclaimed Jon Lander, EVE Online’s senior producer. “The EVE universe is, now more than ever, staggeringly ripe with possibilities for adventure, stories, profit and, well, really satisfying explosions with the new missile effects.”

EVE Online recently hit the headlines thanks to the ‘Burn Jita’ event which saw thousands of players seeking to ‘reboot’ the game’s economy by making the most active quadrant in the galaxy the centre of death and destruction. No doubt CCP are seeking to use this renewed interest to bring new players into gaming’s most notriously free universe and frankly who can blame them?

Frogster has announced that the European version of action MMORPG TERA is getting its first patch today.

Be the lord of all you survey, well the town at least.

The update includes the introduction of a violence toggle in the options menu, thus satisfying those who have an unhealthy amount of blood lust, and an extension of the political system which will enter full swing on Wednesday, 23rd May with guild leaders able to run for office in fifteen Aborean provinces.

The winners will be selected in a vote which is available to all characters who are level twenty or above – time to get cracking on those alts people!

There are a multitude of other fixes in the update and they can be viewed by visiting TERA’s official website.

Expect a bulky review of TERA in the next issue of MMOZine, out 31st May.

Blizzard are currently reporting that gamers worldwide are currently struggling to activate and play Diablo III due to battle.net servers not being able to cope with demand.

We blame this guy.

“Please note that due to a high volume of traffic, login and character creation may be slower than normal. If you’re unable to login to the game or create characters, please wait and try again,” reads a statement on Diablo III’s official Facebook page.

“We’ve temporarily taken our Battle.net websites offline and launched more servers to accomodate for the traffic. We hope to resolve these issues as soon as possible and appreciate your patience.”

The aforementioned problem occurs when gamers try and sign-in to their battle.net account, with thousands of users reporting that their request, and subsequent requests, are being denied leading to a nondescript ‘Error 37′ pop-up breaching their screen.

These issues will be very embarrassing for the developer which stated that the sequel was their most pre-ordered game to date, so they had a rough idea of player numbers before launch. Not to mention the fact that they coped with the thousands of gamers who took part in the open beta just after Christmas without incident.

Diablo III is the latest Blizzard release which needs a working internet connection in order to be played, and this morning’s problems have led some to question whether that kind of DRM measure is necessary for an experience which the majority of users will enjoy  playing on their own.

Frankly we don’t know the answer to that question but there’s a great deal of vitriol floating around Twitter. It’s worth noting that there are plenty of players currently enjoying Diablo III online, but there’s definitely a considerable contingent who haven’t been able to and with a game that’s been so highly anticipated by its doting fanbase that’s certainly a disappointment.

Update: Blizzard has announced that the battle.net issues have been fixed and all those that bought the game should be able to log-in without incident. Hooray!

According to a Gamasutra source “close to the matter”, the cash was awarded “as part of a review of the available evidence” leading up to the trial between the two parties that’s due to commence later this month.

The ex-IW leads are currently embroiled in a legal battle with Activision over unpaid royalties and damages from allegations of fraud following the pair’s dismissal from the company in March 2010.

West and Zampella have previously been awarded $22m as a launch bonus for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

However, the accrued sum is said to be “only a small portion” of what the pair are seeking in litigation.

Activision, meanwhile, is reportedly suing the pair for $400m.

The publisher claims that the pair breached their contract and, according to GameSpy, “conspired to steal the Modern Warfare brand in conjunction with Electronic Arts.”

But documents uncovered earlier this month could add another twist to the tale.

It was reported earlier this month that Activision may have breached its contract with Infinity Ward over the development of Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

According to leaked documents, the two companies reportedly agreed in 2008 that “any Call of Duty title set in modern day (post-Vietnam), near future or distant future, which shall be under the authority of Infinity Ward”.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which is set in the year 2025 and due for release this November, is currently being developed by Treyarch.

The trial goes to court on May 29^th.