pixel-mine posts

It's been an usually busy day for layoffs and shutdowns for online games. With today's word that Dungeon Runners is closing shop and CrimeCraft's dev team dealing with mass layoffs comes word that another smaller game, the free-to-play online team based action game Fireteam Reloaded, will shut down its servers on September 30.

The game, which officially launched in June 2008 after several months in open beta, was developed by Pixel Mine. A revival (kind of) of another shut down online game called simply Fireteam, the development team for the new game told Blue's News today that "the Reloaded version just never found the audience we needed to sustain event he maintenance costs of the servers."

Last month, Texas governor Rick Perry made a keynote speech at E3 where among other things he talked about the state's recently passed grant program for game developers. Now the first of those incentives has been awarded to Austin-based Pixel Mine to help develop their free-to-play action game Fireteam Reloaded.

The press release does not state how much money was given to Pixel Mine but does say the grant came from the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. While the grant does come with some strings (games must match "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the citizens of Texas," according to The Daily Texan) apparently the action of Fireteam Reloaded was looked over and given the "A OK" sign to receive the grant.

Casual themed MMO titles tend to lean toward being cute and cuddly for the kids. Not so for the just announced title Secondland Lands. Developed by Callipydian Games, the title is being designed to be a kind of edgy retelling of the classic fairy tales. The game premise has two characters , Little Bo Peep and Red Riding Hood, with players taking sides in their apparently fight against each other. Other classic characters like the Three Bears will also pop up.

The game will be hosted by Pixel Mine and use the micro-transaction system they have developed to help fund the title. Secondhand Lands is currently in closed beta; there's no word yet on when it will go live.

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	The feds take Take Two to court over merger with EA Now things are getting interesting. Remember how Electronic Arts announced they would hold off on their bid to merge with Take Two Interactive while the Federal Trade Commission conducts an investigation on said deal? Well apparently Take Two doesn't want to play ball. According to a story in Reuters the FTC issued a subpoena to Take Two asking for documents in their investigation of the merger proposal. The problem? Take Two has refused to comply with the subpoena.
	Penny Arcade Adventures now available on Steam Valve has sent word that Hothead Games' Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-slick Precipice of Death, Episode One, is now available for purchase over Steam. One day soon, even you will be available for purchase over Steam.
	New Prince of Persia might have co-op multiplayer after all Prince of Persia PR guy Chris Easton told website videogaming247 that Ubisoft might reconsider its earlier statement that Prince of Persia won't have co-op multiplayer. Admittedly, Easton didn't suggest that the game definitely will have co-op; he just said that it's being considered.

Pixel Mine has announced Fireteam Reloaded, a team-based action game available for free via the Pixel Mine digital distribution service. A sequel to Fireteam, "Fireteam Reloaded aims to deliver even more fun, great characters and non-stop action to the gaming community that everyone can enjoy for free," according David Reese, President of Pixel Mine.

Fireteam Reloaded features three character classes able to wage war across two maps and four different gameplay modes. Players communicate using "state of the art voice chat technology," and spectators can drop items into the game to assist their favorite teams.

Visit Pixel Mine's website to download the Pixel Mine launcher and, subsequently, Fireteam Reloaded.

Pixel Mine Games today launched its micro-payment based gateway for downloadble games, Pixel Mine Portal. The portal, which is a small free-to-register executable application, connects gamers to a world of new third-party developed PC games. At launch the service will include Iron Will Games' Ashen Empires and Dransik along with Beta versions of Fireteam Reloaded and Callipygian Games' Secondhand Lands.

Pixel Mine Games promises the service will be updated throughout the year, adding up to four new games from third party independent developers.

"We want to make games that we like to play and help developers like us get their titles to market." Pixel Mine President David Reese said in a press release, "Our internal billing and payment system allows developers on the portal to gain more from their hard work and retain ownership of their intellectual property."

The Pixel Mine Portal allows gamers to browse and play Pixel Mine games, check stats and chat with friends. Gamers can also purchase tradable tokens, which can be used throughout the Pixel Mine Portal library with a future plan to allow players to earn tokens for special prizes and items.