Volition has released a new trailer for Saints Row IV, this time featuring an extended section of gameplay that was previously only shown within the confines of the PAX East expo in Boston.

The six minute clip is narrated by Senior Producer Jim Boone and previews several new features in the expansion turned full sequel, such as a mech suit, a dubstep gun, and an assortment of super powers. Check it out below.

Saints Row IV is due on August 23rd 2013 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Indie developer Wolfram von Funck has unveiled a new gameplay video for his in-development solo title Cube World, a voxel-based open-world RPG that takes inspiration from various titles including Minecraft, Diablo and Zelda.

While no release date has yet been given on when exactly this ambitious project, the new in-game video offers a look at just what exactly you can get up to in Cube World. Crafting, climbing, shooting magic from a staff, backflips, gliding, exploring, boss fights, cats, stealth and also a short glimpse at sailing are just some of the features on offer in this quite expansive world.

Check out the video below for a look at just what you can do in Cube World, and also a glimpse at the really cool looking map overlay as well. Swing by the official blog site for more info on the game.

Thanks to the folks at Tripwire Interactive, we have a number of beta keys to give away for the next title in the Red Orchestra franchise, Rising Storm.

Rising Storm is the next game in the award-winning Red Orchestra franchise. You know the great gameplay, innovative features and realistic audio and graphics of RO2 - Rising Storm will take this to the Pacific Theater, adding even more features, new levels, new weapons and new factions. The game will allow the player to fight across iconic locations from the famous island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, as the US Army and Marine Corps fight it out with the Imperial Japanese army and Special Naval Landing Forces.

Players will experience beach assaults, jungle fighting, close quarters night fighting and more across Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Saipan, among other iconic battles. The player is able to take the part of either side – American or Japanese – battling it out online in multiplayer on up to 64-player servers.

To grab yourself a beta key, simply be a member of AusGamers and head over to our giveaway page and you'll see the button to claim a unique key. Follow the instructions on the page to access the beta client on Steam and get playing.

Update: Sorry, we're out of keys already - we've asked for more, so stay tuned!

While Vancouver-based studio SKS Games may not have the longest history in video game development, after successfully publishing their first game last year titled End Night on iPad, the team comprised of Australian expat special effects artists - who have worked on films like Tron Legacy and 300 - have taken those bold visual styles into their debut PC title, a first-person open-world survival horror called The Forest.

As you would guess from the title, the game takes place in a forest after you are left stranded from a freak plane crash. You'll have to stay alive by trusting your survival instincts and learning how to build a shelter, hunt for food, maintain warmth, farm for food and set traps as you find you are sadly not the only one living in this forest.

As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants.

Build, explore, survive in this terrifying first person survival horror simulator.

SKS's Mick Solomons revealed that inspiration for The Forest came from various cult classic films like The Descent and Cannibal Holocaust. Solomons also explained that as the player you'll be able to choose "between combat with crude weapons or taking the stealthy approach" when it comes to fighting enemies.

Currently The Forest is expecting an alpha release later this year on PC, but has also just been placed on Steam Greenlight for community voting. The Steam page also mentions support for virtual reality goggles Oculus Rift, which will definitely help intensify the first-person horror elements.

According to a report by The Guardian, results from a recent Microsoft survey indicate that almost £30.9 Million worth of in-app purchases in games and other software on smartphones and tablets each month, are being made by children using their parent's devices unsupervised (thanks Polygon).

28% of parents surveyed said that their children had made app and in-app purchases without their permission, and of those parents, 83% said they had suffered from "bill shock" – noticing an increase in their "monthly bill statement" – as a result.

When asked to estimate how much these purchases had added to their monthly bill, these parents – the 83% of the 28% – claimed an average of £34.18. Microsoft has done the maths to suggest that this equates to a "monthly spend on unauthorised apps and in-app purchases" of just under £30.9m.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to The Guardian that the £34.18 figure is "for parents whose kids made app/in-app purchases without their permission, who also had bill shock – for these parents the bill shock amount averaged an additional £34.18 on their monthly bill".

The report explains that Microsoft hopes to combat the issue somewhat with their Kid's Corner initiative on the Windows Phone platform, a safety tool aimed at making it easier for parents to lock their systems down. But given Windows Phone's limited share of the smartphone and tablet markets, it's unlikely to make a big difference on its own --particularly when 17% of parents surveyed apparently share their device passwords with their kids.

Careless parenting obviously not being limited to the UK, the amount of revenue being generated in this manner globally must be quite boggling, and further challenges the ethics behind microtransation-driven free-to-play games.

Evolution Studios' PlayStation 4 exclusive driving title DriveClub looks set to be "one of the biggest titles for Sony from a DLC perspective" according to the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, as outlined by Gaming Everything (via VG247).

The site also details several other features that the racing title will offer, including the ability to play the game in an offline single-player session which will track everything you do in a single profile. The game will also be heavily online focused as well, reportedly having "lengthy multi-stage events that take place over a number of days."

The title also looks to be pushing user-generated content, with "user-created race challenges encouraged" and the chance to create events "based on different parameters: car type, track, time of day, weather, etc." The use of apps outside of the console game will also allow user to create challenges, offering a more "on-the-go" option to the game.

The game is also being described as not being a "simulation-based racer" but instead a more arcade-styled title with damage to cars not determining car handling.

DriveClub has yet to be given an official release date, however expect to hear more at Sony's E3 2013 conference.

Capcom has released their FY 2012-13 Proposed Budget, posting a 14.6 percent increase in sales for the year to 94.07 million Yen ($950M) however their net income has suffered a 55.8 percent drop to 2.97 million Yen ($30M). The company states that the significant drop in net income is due to recent restructuring costs as the company shifts focus for a future in which it expects development costs to rise on next-generation consoles.

As a result, consolidated financial results for ended March 31, 2013 increased in net sales but decreased 17% in operating income from the previous year due to increased cost of sales and higher selling, general and administrative expenses. Also, net income decreased due to special loss relating to the cost of business restructure that was necessitated by the overhaul of the development system.

Digital sales for the company saw their flagship title Resident Evil 6 selling 4.9 million units, however subsequently plateaued. As a result of this, the title did not meet Capcom's projection which were initially 7 million but was then downgraded to 5 million, however saw another shift from 5 million to 4.9 million. In contrast though the newest Dragon's Dogma franchise has become a "greater-than-expected hit product in the domestic market, which has high profitability, and became an unprecedented million seller in the recent years as an original title."

Titles "Minna to Monhan Card Master" and "Resident Evil: Outbreak Survive" also saw a large increase thanks to the increasingly widespread smartphone market, with both titles reaching more than two million memberships each. Capcom's first Wii U title, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, was also a "smash hit" however its package sales were generally soft.

Capcom also revealed future forecasts, with the company expecting a high profit at the next fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 with 97,000 million yen in net sales and 12,000 million yen in operating income. Development will also take a new direction, moving resources to growing area of "online games (mobile, PC online and downloads for consumer games)," but also ensuring large-scale titles such as Monster Hunter 4 and Lost Planet 3 are focused on domestic and overseas markets. A shift of focus will also be implemented in preparation for higher development costs in the next-generation console lineup.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Turbine have today announced that the closed beta for their upcoming free-to-play DC Comics-inspired MOBA Infinite Crisis has now launched. To celebrate the new milestone, Turbine has revealed a new Champion Profile video featuring the infamous Joker.

A homicidal maniac who terrifies even Gotham's worst criminals, The Joker cavorts into fights blasting opponents with explosive dolls and boxing glove-adorned RPGs. He is the master of turning innocent props into deadly weapons as he employs his contraptions to corral his opponents into a fatal trap.

For those looking to jump in on the action make sure you've signed up for the closed beta at the official website, and check out the video below.

Infinite Crisis is expected to launch later this year on PC.

Publisher Electronic Arts has reportedly elected to forgoe licensing deals with weapons manufacturers for the use of their firearms in its videogames, but will continue to feature the equipment in upcoming titles (from Reuters, thanks GI International):

"We're telling a story and we have a point of view," EA's President of Labels Frank Gibeau, who leads product development of EA's biggest franchises, said in an interview. "A book doesn't pay for saying the word 'Colt,' for example."

Put another way, EA is asserting a constitutional free speech right to use trademarks without permission in its ever-more-realistic games.

Legal experts say there isn't a single case so far where gun companies have sued video game companies for using branded guns without a license.

But EA's legal theory is now being tested in court. Aircraft maker Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc, has argued that Electronic Arts' depiction of its helicopters in "Battlefield" was beyond fair use and amounted to a trademark infringement. EA preemptively went to court, suing Bell Helicopter to settle the issue.

Whether EA will be taking a similar approach with similar deals like vehicle licensing in racing games is unclear, but the publisher's claim "politics and NRA comments critical of game makers had nothing to do with its decision" on the firearms move suggests it's possible.

Update: tech blog Ars Technica claims that EA, nor it's biggest competitor Activision have directly paid licensing fees to feature firearms products in the games in the past, so this report is simply a continuation of that strategy.

After the PlayStation 4 unveiling offered no news on the next title in the series, Sony has announced that more details on the Gran Turismo franchise will be revealed at an event set to commemorate the series' 15th anniversary, according to a post on the official website.

The event will be taking place at the Silverstone Circuit raceway in Northamptonshire, U.K on May 15, with series designer and producer Kazunori Yamauchi said to be at the event to "provide an update on the future of the Gran Turismo game."

Yamauchi-san is set to provide an update on the future of the Gran Turismo game at Silverstone. His passion for all things automotive is evident in the ever-increasing levels of realism and attention to detail in Gran Turismo, and the huge range of cars for which it is famous. Strong relationships with the many manufacturers that have featured in the franchise have led to some fascinating co-operations with the automotive world; such as the Red Bull X2010 ultimate race car, GTbyCitroën concept, a design co-operation for a display featuring on the real Nissan GT-R and an innovative new app developed for the Toyota GT86.

Jim Ryan, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe stated that "the Gran Turismo franchise continues to be extremely important to PlayStation,” while also mentioning that "15 years of GT was an event worth celebrating along with our colleagues from the Americas, Asia and Japan."

A new teaser video was also released alongside the announcement, which offers a look at some fancy racing cars and the series' logo counting upwards to five before finishing with a cursor. Check it out below.

Activision Blizzard has today revealed their latest financial report for the first quarter of 2013, and with it news that Blizzard's MMO, World of Warcraft, has again dropped in subscriber numbers, down to 8.3 million subscribers from last reports of 9.1 million (via ShackNews).

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick stated during the financial conference call that the company is "concerned" about the recent drop . "While we have had a solid start to the year, we now believe that the risks and uncertainties in the back half of 2013 are more challenging than our earlier view, especially in the holiday quarter," he told investors in a prepared statement. "The shift in release dates of competing products, the disappointing launch of the Wii U, uncertainties regarding next-generation hardware, and subscriber declines in our World of Warcraft business all raise concerns, as do continued challenges in the global economy."

Kotick believes that in "releasing new content more frequently" the still number one MMO will be able to soften the recent subscriber drops, although admits that numbers for the title will still be down by the end of the year, citing recent competition from free-to-play titles as the major concern. Kotick also added that "we want to make it easier for lapsed players to get back into the game."

Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime also stated that competition from China's more prominent free-to-play titles played a part in the subscriber drop, with a decrease in the casual player amount as well. Morhaime also said that when casual players return, the company needs to make it easier for them to do so.

"It is important to use the transition from when players leave and then come back to make the experience less overwhelming," Morhaime said. Blizzard also plans to continue looking at player behavior and preferences when creating and releasing content updates for the MMO, one of which is coming later this month. "People consume content quickly. We need to create more innovative content to keep people engaged."

Developer DICE has confirmed that ongoing denial of service attacks on the server infrastructure for Battlefield 3 are behind the disruptions to the game's multiplayer component over the last several days.

Despite our security measures, we have been working around the clock to mitigate the impact of an ongoing denial-of-service attack on our Battlefield 3 game infrastructure over the last several days. While the motives are unclear, the focus of the attack has been interference with network communications preventing access to multiplayer gameplay. At this point, no user data is involved. We share your frustration about the impact this has had to our service and the ability for many of you to play Battlefield 3. We are working tirelessly to mitigate the problem.

Although the games servers themselves are hosted by third party companies around the world, their operation is dependent on centralised infrastructure of the Battlelog service for cheat protection, game stat tracking and persistent item unlocks.

DICE's technical director Johan Andersson has revealed that the Frostbite 3 engine, the same engine that will be running Battlefield 4 and the next titles in the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series, is not able to run on Nintendo's Wii U console.

The response comes after a fan questioned whether any titles running on the Frostbite 3 engine would be coming to Wii U, which Andersson explained that previous experiments with the Frostbite 2 engine yielded "not too promising" results, choosing not to "go down that path."

The confirmation of Frostbite 3 not running on the Wii U has also put a damper on those expecting any upcoming Star Wars games to be available for the console after the recent Disney and EA agreement, with Andersson revealing that all games developed under DICE or Visceral will be running on the Frostbite 3 engine.

Greg Johnson, creator of the weird and wacky Sega Genesis title Toejam & Earl, has revealed his latest creation, Doki-Doki Universe for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita via the PlayStation Blog.

In development by studio HumaNature (not to be confused with Human Nature), Doki-Doki Universe has been described by Johnson as an "RPG/Simulation/Interactive Story game," which will be available in the form of a free download and consist of "a light version of the game where players can fly around a Universe and take fun personality quizzes."

In Doki-Doki Universe, you’re a robot named Model QT377665, or QT3 for short (QT – get it?). Your human family said to wait here on this asteroid, and they would be right back to get you.

That was 11,432 days ago. Bummer.

To make matters worse, an alien that looks like a green hot-dog, named Alien Jeff, finds you and gives you some bad news: It turns out your model is getting recalled and scrapped, because you apparently don’t have enough “humanity”… whatever that is.

The free game will also include the Doki-Doki Mail messaging app, which will also be available on mobile platforms, allowing for cross-platform chat. Those looking for the full game will be able to purchase it separately.

Independent studio Dynamighty has taken to the PlayStation Blog to announce their partnership with Sony to bring their action side-scrolling title CounterSpy (working title) to both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.

As an elite member of C.O.U.N.T.E.R., your goal is to infiltrate, sabotage, and strike at the heart of two opposing Super Powers embroiled in a frenetic Arms Race that threatens the existence of humanity. You are countering the insane plans of these Cold War foes, raiding their seemingly impregnable bases and undermining their mad military machinations, all before they can launch their ever more ridiculous weapons of mass destruction against each other.

Comprised of former LucasArts and Pixar talent, lead developer David Nottingham took to the blog to outline just what to expect from the title, including a look at one of the levels that the San Francisco studio is working on.

No launch timeframe has been given yet, however you can also expect the title on mobile platforms however no further information was given and no mention on whether it will be coming to PlayStation 4.

Those eagerly awaiting the chance to play as Lobo in NetherRealm's Injustice: Gods Among Us fighter will be happy to know that the first add-on character is now available for purchase on both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace (thanks Joystiq). Touted as a mighty mercenary and bounty hunter, Lobo is also known for his love of space-cycles and cigars.

Lobo is available for free to those who have purchased a Season Pass, however is also being sold separately for 400 MS Points or $5 on PSN. The space-cycle fanatic will be the first of four downloadable characters, with Batgirl following shortly after.

NetherRealm has also added three new packs alongside the release of Lobo, including the Teen Titans pack which offers alternate costumes on Cyborg, Raven and Deathstroke. For those looking for a bit of change to the usual look of Catwoman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn you can also grab the Bad Girls pack - both at 240 MS Points or $3 on PSN. The third pack is on offer for Season Pass holders, which changes costumes for Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Deathstroke to their alternative "Flashpoint" design for 320 MS Points or $4 for PSN.

For those eagerly awaiting the commencement of the third annual Dota 2 International Championships, Valve has revealed a supplement to the tournament in the way of the Interactive Compendium. Available for $10, the compendium will deliver various news on the tournament but also allow you to play games with other fans for fun and bragging rights.

The Interactive Compendium is also offering those who purchase the virtual book "special virtual item drops throughout the tournament," but also allowing you to vote on tournament-related community polls, such as the selection of which player should receive awards based on their play in the tournament. Valve has also revealed that for every purchase of an Interactive Compendium, 25% of the price will go directly into the prize pool which is currently at a base of $1.6 million.

The in-game economy of Diablo 3 has been destabilised by a recent glitch that reportedly made its way into the most recent patch, allowing players to duplicate their gold income via an Auction House exploit. The discovery was made by various members on the Diablo 3 forums after patch 1.08 went live earlier today, which appears to have allowed users to generate in-game currency with a simple procedure.

Blizzard has said little on the matter officially, however players are reporting several bans being dealt to those abusing the exploit, including a notable Twitch video-streaming player by the name of Inigo. Those who have purchased items on the Real Money Auction House are also starting to receive refunds, with the entire Auction House system seemingly having been taken down in response to the glitch.

It is unclear whether a rollback of the servers will be implemented to fix the issue, which might be necessary if the game's economy has become too destabilised by the unexpected activity.

Update: Blizzard has now issued a formal Q&A response to the matter. Here are the particulars in regard to a potential rollback and account bans:

Q. Will there be a rollback?
Our priority is to fix any issues with the game client first—that's what we're working on right now. After we've addressed the situation, we'll need to determine whether or not a rollback is appropriate. We know this is an important issue for all of our players, so we’ll be sure keep you informed of what's happening and will provide any updates in this thread, as well.

Q. Will players be banned for using this dupe?
We're currently in the process of reviewing the accounts involved and taking appropriate actions, including temporary locks, suspensions, and/or bans. Our exploitation policy for Diablo III can be found here, which should give you an overview of the kinds of activities that are and aren’t cool within the game.

More details over on battle.net.

Polygon are reporting that during Electronic Arts' fourth quarter earnings call president of labels Frank Gibeau unveiled that the publisher will have a "full reveal" for next-gen titles from developers DICE, EA Sports and BioWare during E3 2013.

"Regarding next-generation consoles, we are under a non-disclosure agreement with our platform partners, however, we're planning a full reveal at E3 including more next-generation titles in development for FY14," Gibeau said. "This will include breakthroughs in graphics and gameplay for some of our biggest franchises including Battlefield, FIFA, Madden, NBA Live and Need for Speed. We plan to unveil new titles from EA Sports, BioWare and DICE and a first look at some brand new games."

Speculation on what exactly DICE could be working on sticks to a possible sequel to their 2009 first-person title Mirror's Edge, with Gibeau recently stating it was "on the list" of possible projects. DICE's latest announcement was Battlefield 4, which was unveiled during GDC 2013. BioWare is expected to reveal more information on Dragon Age 3: Inquisition which was revealed last year, but has yet to show the actual game.

During the conference call Gibeau also briefly touched on a brand new engine in development by their EA Sports brand, said to be shown alongside the Frostbite 3 engine at E3 2013. Gibea stated that these new engines will power "all of our development on the new systems" and will be "powering the games you'll see at E3 in June."

According to a report on Polygon, acclaimed game director Patrice Désilets, has once again departed Ubisoft Montreal, the studio he left in 2010 to establish THQ Montreal, before winding up back where he started when Ubisoft acquired his new team during THQ's bankruptcy proceedings.

Ubisoft reportedly issued the following statement regarding the split:

The acquisition of THQ Montréal in January allowed Ubisoft to welcome 170 experienced developers, including Patrice Désilets, to our existing and renowned workforce," an Ubisoft spokesperson told Polygon. "Unfortunately, since the acquisition, the good faith discussions between Patrice and Ubisoft aimed at aligning Patrice's and the studio's visions have been inconclusive. As a result, Patrice has left the studio. Our priorities remain with the teams already hard at work on projects in development. They are at the root of Ubisoft Montréal's past and future successes.

However, a statement provided by Désilets himself describes less amicable circumstances:

Contrary to any statements made earlier today, this morning I was terminated by Ubisoft," Desilets told Polygon. "I was notified of this termination in person, handed a termination notice and was unceremoniously escorted out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to my team or collect my personal belongings.

"This was not my decision."

"Ubisoft's actions are baseless and without merit. I intend to fight Ubisoft vigorously for my rights, for my team and for my game.

Désilets served as creative director on the original Assassin's Creed and is largely attributed to the birth of that popular franchise.

THQ Montreal had reportedly been working on two projects, codenamed 1666 and Underdog, and the rumoured discontinuation of either or both projects after the acquisition is thought to be the cause of the conflict.