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Transformers fans will be able to play an all new online game based on the "cars into robots" property. Today Hasbro announced that the Transformers franchise would be adapted into a new online game created by Jagex, the makers of the hugely popular fantasy browser-based MMO Runescape.

Details are scarce but the game is slated to launch sometime in 2012 for North America, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. In the press release Jagex' CEO Mark Gerhard states that the developer "will utilize every bit of our development and publishing expertise to deliver a dynamic and action-packed game." Last August it was announced that NetDragon would create a Transformers-based MMO for Asian markets.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be the fourth game from publisher Activision based on the 'robots in disguise" toy line from Hasbro as well as the third movie-based game. It will apparently also be the first Activision Transformers game that won't have a PC version. The official press release for the game makes no mention of the game getting a Windows PC port.

That's a bit of a shame since this upcoming game will be developed by High Moon Studios who also developed last year's solidly reviewed title Transformers War For Cybertron. It's still possible that a PC version could pop up. Activision waited until later to announce its PC version of Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions in 2010.

[Via Blue's News]

Transformers may be more than meets the eye but for the people at toy company Hasbro the long running robot franchise is also about taking to other media including movies, of course, and games. The fan site TFW2005.com recently listened in on Hasbro's Investor's Day internet feel and learned some interesting stuff about future game plans.

First is that Hasbro announced there will be a sequel to Transformers: War for Cybertron in 2012. The original game, which came out in June of this year from developer High Moon Studios and publisher Activision, got solid review marks and apparently sold well enough to get a second game ordered.

Second, some of you may remember that a Transformers MMO was announced for Asian territories earlier this year. Well Hasbro now says that game will be ported to other countries as well. We have hopes that there will soon be a way for US players to control transforming robots against thousands of others.

Looking for more Transformers to fight with on the robotic streets of Cybertron? Well, there's a DLC for that. With two new characters and five new maps, War For Cybertron's new offerings definitely fall in line with the classic DLC model. The trailer shows off the two new characters and a small (very small) sample of the maps in the pack. Overall, if you want more Transofrmers, you'll love this DLC and you'll love this trailer. Otherwise, it's nothing to get particularly excited about. Just the same old trailer DLC from any company gets.

Download HD Transformers: War for Cybertron Map & Characters Pack 2 DLC Trailer
Check out all Transformers: War for Cybertron downloads

As shown in a previous video, the story for Transformers: War for Cybertron will be split into two campaigns, one from the Autobot point of view and the other from the Decepticons'. It looks like Transformers fans are evenly split in supporting either faction, so choosing either campaign should provide a fulfilling experience. Additionally, players won't have to go it alone, since the game will allow up to two buddies to drop into the game for cooperative play and help take down some of the tough bosses. Players will be able to choose their favorite side when the game releases on June 22nd.

Download HD Transformers: War for Cybertron 'Campaign & Mission Design' Developer Video (75 MB)
Check out all Transformers: War for Cybertron downloads

Everyone is the hero of their own story, and the same applies for Transformers: The War for Cybertron, which will feature two distinct campaigns telling the story from both sides. Although the war is often referred to in Transformers lore, the conflict that divided that Autobots and Decepticons has never been covered in any medium until this video game. When playing the Decepticon campaign, Megatron is seen as a hero trying to return Cybertron to a golden age. Fans might be surprised to learn the Optimus Prime was never formally recognized as a leader, but stepped up to the role when there was nobody else left. Players will get an more in-depth look at what happened during the conflict when the game releases on June 22nd.

Download HD Transformers: War for Cybertron 'Storyline' Developer Video (96 MB)
Check out all Transformers: War for Cybertron downloads

Atari is already facing a lawsuit from developer Turbine over Atari's alleged actions with the Dungeons and Dragons game license. Now D&D's current owner Hasbro has also filed its own lawsuit against Atari, claiming "five different breaches of their licensing agreement" for the D&D game rights.

According to Hasbro's press release, Atari may have sought to enter a "sublicensing relationship" with another publisher, Namco Bandai. Hasbro says this is a violation of its agreement with Atari, saying, "We have been working for several months now to reach resolution with Atari, and they have left us with no other choice than to pursue legal action." Hasbro is looking to terminate its D&D game license as well as "compensatory damages for economic losses suffered."

Atari has already responded to Hasbro's allegations and sent Big Download an official statement which can be read below in full:

Atari has had a long and rich history with the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, investing millions of dollars into numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful games that have generated significant revenue for Hasbro. Hasbro has resorted to these meritless allegations, in an apparent attempt to unfairly take back rights granted to Atari. Atari has sought to resolve the matter without cooperation from Hasbro. We regret that our long-time partner has decided to pursue this action. Atari will respond appropriately through its legal counsel in court.

Last week we reported on the upcoming launch of Monopoly City Streets, a browser-based version of the classic board game that used Google Maps as the basis for the streets (including possibly your street and address). Since then the game has launched . . . and in doing so has hit a small problem; it's just too popular.

According to the game's official blog site, traffic for Monopoly City Streets has been far above their expectations. Their own stats say the game has gotten 1.7 million visitors "but the figure is likely far higher". As a result the development team has been doing some improvements on the back end and they plan to reset the entire game sometime this week.

Hasbro's flagship board game Monopoly has been adapted to the PC many times but later today (around 1 pm ET) a very different online only version of the game is scheduled to launch. Monopoly City Streets will allow players to compete against online opponents and will allow everyone to use Google Maps to build their real estate empire.

Yep, that means that you could buy your own street and possibly the house you live in as part of the game. You get $3 million of those great Monopoly dollars to start out with and you earn rent from those properties you purchase. You can build up your properties with better houses, hotels and other building to increase your rent and trade properties with other players. This online game is apparently designed to promote a new Monopoly board game and will be online for a limited time.

The fight between Scrabble and Scrabulous continues to unfold. As we have reported earlier, Scrabble owners Hasbro filed a lawsuit claiming the developers of the Facebook word game application Scrabulous violated their copyrights because their game was too similar to the real Scrabble game. Later Facebook decided to take down Scrabulous.

Now the Scrabulous creators, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, have returned with a new Facebook word game, Wordscraper, that looks and feels much different than their first effort. Will this new alteration keep the Hasbro folks from any more legal action? Stay tuned. Meanwhile the official Scrabble Facebook game, developed by Electronic Arts, has come back online after hack attacks forced its shutdown on Tuesday.