The Runes of Magic team has finally revealed more about the Shadowforge Dwarves, a race that will arrive with the forthcoming Fires of Shadowforge content expansion. The information centers around the homeland of the Shadowforge Dwarves, Kingdom of Taffrock.

The new starting area “Yrvandis Hollows”

Taffrock, the subterranean kingdom of the Dwarves, was created long before the Great Banishment and the historic battle between the demons and the peoples of Taborea. However, through a failed experiment, the Dwarves fell in to an prolonged slumber and slipped away into oblivion. Yet when the royal scouts discovered them, they were awakened to new life, and the grandeur of their once forgotten kingdom unfolded once again. The magnitude of their architecture pays tribute to their ingenuity and craftsmanship, and allows Dwarves to explore five main zones: the central Administration District, the Crafting District in the east, the Arena Quarter in the north, the Trade Quarter in the west, and the Mining District in the south.

Find out more on the Runes of Magic site.

Warhammer: Wrath of Heroes has been steadily gaining momentum over the past several months. We managed to catch up with Carrie Gouskos to talk about all the changes including the new map and hero that arrive next Wednesday. Keep reading!

MMORPG.com: What about the new hero? Can you spill some details on him/her/it?

Carrie Gouskos: Amenadresh the Steward was briefly available in the closed beta, and we’re very glad to see him back. He’s a Liche Priest that can both curse the opposing team and bless/heal his own. He’s one of the more interesting heroes (I think) and brings another healer-type back into the mix, which I know a lot of people have been looking forward to.

Read more of Bill Murphy's Wrath of Heroes: Catching Up with Carrie Gouskos.

The Elder Scrolls Online has taken the MMO community by storm with both supporters and detractors weighing in on the discussion. Devs are aimed squarely at this particular market. We take a look at why that's the goal and some of the challenges devs will face. Read on!

The biggest is the single player experience that Elder Scrolls has set the bar with. In terms of RPGs not too many games can hold a candle to Oblivion and Skyrim. Both games gave an incredible new depth to the single player experience. That aspect most certainly has to be in the game. From what Matt Firor mentioned in his interview the IP lends itself to a fantastic experience and the team is trying to make sure they live up to the single player awesome that goes with Elder Scrolls.

Read more of Garrett Fuller's The Elder Scrolls Online: Targeting the MMO Market.

Sony Online Entertainment has released a new DC Universe Online video developer diary featuring Creative Director Jens Andersen and Game Designer Andrew Buschmann as they give a first in-depth look at New Iconics for Legends PvP. The Iconics for Legends PvP will be released with the "Last Laugh" DLC expected to arrive later this summer.

Funcom has officially announced that the release date for The Secret World will be delayed by two weeks. TSW will hit store shelves on July 3rd with the head start program for those prepurchasing the game to begin on June 29th. The delay and new release dates were announced during a financial briefing with investors.

Funcom today announced that the company has made a small adjustment to the release date for The Secret World. Due to market reasons, the ship date has been moved by two weeks to July 3rd, with Early Access starting June 29th. The new launch date places The Secret World in a more positive launch window which will benefit the launch of the game.

In addition to the above, the beta weekends have been dated:

• June 15-17
• June 22-24

Read the full announcement on the Funcom The Secret World site.

One of the most interesting features in Dragon Nest is the Guild PvP system. We managed to catch up with Alden Paguia to talk about just that and about the general state of the game. Read on!

MMORPG: Dragon Nest continues to be successful among players; can you give us a state of the game?  

 

Alden Paguia: The game is garnering a lot of excitement thanks to our new updates and we’re seeing overwhelmingly positive reactions from our players.

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Dragon Nest: Guild PvP Interview.

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Joystiq is reporting that both Big Huge Studios and 38 Studios have laid off their entire staffs. Last week, it was reported that 38 Studios had been unable to play their staff salaries in order to repay a government loan. Joystiq is quoting a "source with knowledge of the situation". 38 Studios is the developer of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

We'll keep you posted.

Image courtesy of Kotaku

This week, Som Pourfarzaneh and Rob "Grakulen" Lashley discuss Diablo 3, TERA, and Aion, betas for Torchlight 2, The Secret World, and Guild Wars 2, listener mail, and more! Check it out on our special GAME ON Podcast page.

Sony Online Entertainment has released a new trailer showing off what they are calling "air combat on a massive scale" for PlanetSide 2. They have released a brand new trailer with plenty of in-game footage. Enjoy!

TERA fans will want to check out the fourth eBook called "Death at Forgeheart" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. As with the first three, "Death at Forgeheart" is $0.99 through Amazon.com.

It tells the story of two detectives—an aman and a baraka—who must trust one another long enough to solve a murder that could doom the federation.

Read a sample and grab the purchase link on the TERA site.

In response to the player base, Perfect World International developers have released a ton of new high-level content for players. Among other features, Imperial Fury updates many of the current dungeons and adds a new, more difficult iteration of each as well.

PWI: Imperial Fury introduces the brand new Advanced Endless Universe instance. Sweeping changes have also been made to the Lunar Glade and Warsong City instances, which have been revamped to challenge experienced players.

Read more about Imperial Fury on the Perfect World International site.

The Mythos Global team has announced that a new patch has been applied to game servers that raises the level cap to 60 and adds a new zone for players to adventure in. Called "Fog Island", the zone features a whopping twenty-three new dungeons for players to check out. The team released a new trailer to show off the update.

Phenomic and EA have announced that Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances has officially hit retail release. The game is localized in eleven languages from around the world.

As the first free-to-play, cross-platform MMO strategy game, Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances is the only game to offer true, anytime, anywhere gameplay. In the coming months, the game will feature cloud-saved game data to make it accessible across web browsers and mobile devices. Players can play from their desktop at home, or on the go from their smartphone or tablet.

Find out more on the C&C Tiberium Alliances site.

GamersFirst has announced that v1.8 has officially deployed on APB: Reloaded servers along with the notice that all players will receive a free one day Premium Code due to the length of time it took to get servers updated.

Just because we are feeling generous (and because our downtime and maintenance took much longer than usual) we have pre-loaded ALL ACCOUNTS with free 1-day Premium Codes. These can be redeemed anytime in the next 7 days, and after that they will magically disappear from your account again.

To redeem your 1-day free Premium Code, just log in to the game, then launch the Armas Marketplace, and then click "Redeem Code" at the top of the page.

Grab the details on the APB: Reloaded blog.

Rock Hippo has announced that the latest update to Brawl Busters has been deployed. Called "Big Brawl in Little China", the update brings the Chinatown Arena into the game as well as several awesome weapon enhancements.

Ready for a new map?  Unleash the fury on the new Chinatown arena, an area with a truly far east flavor. Hone your skills and get stronger than bamboo to stand a chance. Weapons customization is getting an update: now players can choose to make their own weapons one of a kind by loading their favorite action attacks onto them.

Find out more on the official Brawl Busters site.

KoramGames has announced that a new PvP experience will be coming to Spirit Tales on June 6th. The new system will allow players to actually become a dungeon boss and to take on other players trying to defeat them. How's that for a twist?

"The upcoming addition to our PvP system is just another way Spirit Tales looks to revolutionize the MMORPG genre," said Yann Wang, General Manager. "Gamers have always longed to play as the big bad boss, and very few games even offer this option. Not only will our players be able to transform into a dungeon boss in our 1v5 Monster Boss PvP, but they will also be able to compete against their friends as one."

Read more on the Spirit Tales site.

The Aika Online team has announced that the next content expansion, "Epic III - Descent", will arrive on servers on June 14th. The level cap will increase to 85 and new skills and armor will arrive into the game to compliment the increase.

The Caelium Cores have failed and Aika’s sky islands are falling toward the demon-infested lands below. Soon the five rival nations must find a way to fight off human foes and demon enemies at the same time. Aitan will find the mainland riddled with daunting opponents, but an increased level cap of 85 lets them rise to the challenge! Face down the toughest enemies using entirely new skills and win the latest, most powerful armor for each class from the new Vanguard Set, the first AA Rank PvP armor set with increased stats stronger than any other in game.

Find out more on the Aika Online site.

Gala Networks EU has announced that the Rappelz expansion, "Epic VII Part 4: Ancient Legacy" is now live on all servers. The new Rappelz includes the “Cubric” dungeon for Master Class parties which offers players a chance at finding epic items. In addition, the new creature, “Lydian”, is available as a new companion. The team has also added new enhancements to the UI.

Restricted to Master Class players in the new Cubric Dungeon, the final event called “A Fistful of Medals” will contain the toughest challenges and greatest rewards. If players manage to kill the dungeon end-bosses, they will be awarded with exclusive medals which can be exchanged for items. Moreover, there will be a ranking event in which the players who gather the most medals during the event’s duration will win real prizes worth 2,500 EUR. This event will run from 28th May to 26th June.

Read more on the Rappelz site.