Electronic Arts and EA DICE announced that the classic Battlefield multiplayer mode, Conquest, and capture the flag are available for free download for Battlefield Bad Company starting on August 7th.

Reuters reported that a Thai video game distributor, New Era Interactive Media, halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on Monday after an 18 year old student confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate the action in GTA IV.  The high school student is currently in custody and faces not only murder charges but likely death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing a 54-year-old taxi driver with a knife at the weekend.

In addition to a $34.8 million loss on Midway’s books, The Wheelman and This Is Vegas are being pushed back to 2009.  No new dates have been handed down, but thankfully it appears as though Midway should make a comeback in 2009.

Rockstar has confirmed this week that Grand Theft Auto IV will ship for the PC on November 18 in North America and on November 21 in Europe.  The PC version will also include expanded multiplayer functionality that hasn’t been detailed yet.

Swedish developer Massive Entertainment, most famous for World in Conflict, is the latest entity to hit the Activision Blizzard chopping block.  Activision has decided to place the firm up for sale despite its commitment to excellence and wealth of development talent.  Also, there is some concern that the World in Conflict franchise could be sold separately from Massive, as Activision, not the development studio, owns the rights.

Fable 2’s official release dates were announced.  October 21, 2008 will be the day 360 RPG enthusiasts in North America will receive Fable 2.  Unfortunately for our friends across the pond, the European ship date isn’t until October 24.

Former art director of Blizzard’s Diablo III, Brian Morrisroe, has left the company to pursue other opportunities outside of the gaming industry.  However, the company spin suggests that it was of his own volition and that the art direction will remain unchanged.  Here’s what Blizzard had to say:

"[Morrisroe] recently resigned to form a startup technology company (outside the game industry), which is why we’ve posted about the open position.  This change won’t impact the game…we’re really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring onboard will work with the other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward."

Sony announced the expansion of their closed beta test for PlayStation Home.  The closed beta will begin at the end of August.  In order to be part of the select few, consumers will have to download a new Home theme as their application and then will be granted access according to their usage of PSN.

EA’s getting back into gangster with Godfather II.  The new game, currently in development, extends the original story with new experiences in 1960s Florida, Cuba, and New York.  It also introduces action-strategy gameplay via The Don’s View mechanic to give you the big picture of your criminal empire.  The game will be available on both PS3 and 360 in February 2009, and it is being developed by EA’s Redwood Shores studio. 

Thanks so much everyone and we will see you next week!