massive-entertainment posts

While PC gamers are still waiting for our port of the recent console action game Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (it's due out in the first quarter of 2011) publisher Ubisoft is looking to make even more games in the best selling game franchise. This week the publisher confirmed via its Twitter page that one of its internal developers, Massive Entertainment, is now working on an Assassin's Creed game.

That revelation is interesting since Massive is known as a maker of PC exclusive RTS games. It started out under Vivendi Games' with the two sci-fi Ground Control games and then created the terrific alternate timeline "Soviet Union invades the US" RTS game World in Conflict. Ubisoft bought the developer in 2008 and released the expansion pack World in Conflict Soviet Assault in March 2009. Until this week there's been no word on what the developer has been working on for Ubisoft.

[via Kotaku]

The team at the DRM-free PC gaming download site GoG.com are taking a bit of a break from adding new games owned and/or developed by Activision with their newest entry. Today they have added the underwater action shooter game AquaNox which was first released in 2001 from developer Massive Development (not to be confused with Massive Entertainment who made the Ground Control and World in Conflict games).

AquaNox is actually a sequel to 1997's Archimedean Dynasty and was noted at the time for its then advanced graphical effects. Nvidia used the game as a showcase for its GeForce 3 graphics chip which had support for transform and lighting effects. You can now download and purchase AquaNox for $5.99.

Game download site Gamersgate is continuing its week long celebration of its 2.0 revamp (or upgrade or reimagining . . . take your pick) and has put another game on sale for just one day (today actually) It's World In Conflict: Complete Edition, the new collection for the RTS game from developer Massive Entertainment.

For today only you can get this game (which has the original title and the new Soviet Assault expansion pack) for just $14.99 which happens to be a 50 percent savings from its normal Gamersgate price. Remember you can also still get the WWII RTS game Men of War on Gamersgate for just $11.99 until May 31.

Now that World in Conflict developer Massive Entertainment has been bought by Ubisoft, the developer's founder has decided to leave. Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that Martin Walfiz has departed the company for currently unknown reasons.

In a statement Ubisoft said, "Ubisoft is saddened by the recent departure of Martin Walfiz from Massive Entertainment and we wish him all the best in his future projects." Walfiz launched the Sweden-based developer in 1997 and helped to created the acclaimed sci-fi action-RTS games Ground Control for publisher Vivendi Games before leading the creation of the alternate history based game World in Conflict in 2007. Ubisoft bought Massive in late 2008 and released the stand alone expansion pack World in Conflict: Soviet Assault just last week.

This high-impact trailer marks the release of World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, the first expansion for one of the best strategy games of 2007. It includes campaign missions from the Soviet perspective and new weapons for more mass destruction than ever. The game is available via digital download through select retailers like Gamersgate.

Download HD World in Conflict: Soviet Assault Launch Trailer (137 MB)
Check out all World in Conflict: Soviet Assault downloads

This trailer for World in Conflict: Soviet Assault runs through some of the major characters players will encounter in the upcoming expansion. Some of the faces will be familiar to those who played the original game. Soviet Assault takes place in Europe in an alternate history where World War III breaks out, and this time players will be able to experience the story from the Soviet's perspective. The game is scheduled to release for retail and digital download stores on March 12.

Download HD World in Conflict: Soviet Assault 'US vs Soviets' Trailer (203 MB)
Check out all World in Conflict: Soviet Assault downloads

World in Conflict: Soviet Assault: PC owners will be able to download this stand alone expansion pack to the terrific 2007 RTS game this week. It's set in the 1990s where the Cold War never ended and the Soviet Union stages a full scale invasion of the US. The expansion from developer Massive Entertainment and publisher Ubisoft adds six new single player missions on the Soviet end of things along with two new multilayer maps. If you don't have the original game you can also pick up World in Conflict Complete in retail stores this week. it has both the original game and the expansion pack.

While PC owners have been waiting for the RTS expansion pack World in Conflict: Soviet Assault for a while the game was also supposed to be released for consoles. At least that was the plan when the game was going to be released via Vivendi Games. However the dumping of the World in Conflict franchise (thanks to the Activision Blizzard merger) and its purchase by Ubisoft have apparently made the game a PC exclusive.

IGN reports that an Ubisoft spokesperson stated, "World of Conflict: Soviet Assault will be released for the PC later this month. A console version of World in Conflict is not planned for release at this time." As we reported previously the game will be released as a stand alone digital download title on March 10 in the US. The game will also be part of a World in Conflict Complete edition (combining the original title with the expansion) for both digital and retail release.

Set to the song "Koop Island Blues" performed by Koop, this montage trailer highlights the heavy weapons commanders will have at their disposal in World in Conflict: Soviet Assault. Mass destruction has never been so mellow. The game is expected to release for the PC later this month.

"World In Conflict: Soviet Assault features six new single player missions and eight new multiplayer maps all played from the perspective of the Soviet side of the conflict. "

Download HD World in Conflict: Soviet Assault "Destruction Blues II" Trailer (92 MB)
Check out all World in Conflict: Soviet Assault downloads

It looks like developer Massive Entertainement and their new owners Ubisoft are aiming for an early March release for the World in Conflict: Soviet Assault release. The expansion pack for the 2007 alternate history RTS game will be released in the US on March 10 and in Europe on March 12, according to a recent post on the developer's message board.

There's also more info on exactly what is contained in the expansion. Soviet Assault will have a new single player campaign with a total of six missions plus two new multiplayer maps. There's no word yet on pricing for the US version of the game which will be released as a stand alone game via digital download, including Steam. Also Ubisoft will release the World in Conflict Complete edition, combining the original game with Soviet Assault, as both a digital download and a retail release. Keep in mind that Steam versions of Soviet Assault won't work with a store bought version of World in Conflict. Likewise a Steam version of the full game won't work with a store bought version of Soviet Assault.