Redwood City, Calif. - Gaming Giant Electronic Arts (EA) has signed two new partnership deals with independent games companies, including Gears of War publisher, Epic Games and the Japanese firm Grasshopper Manufacture.

Cary, N.C. - Video game publisher and game development tools provider Epic Games announced that it has acquired Utah-based game studio Chair Entertainment Group for an undisclosed sum.

Chicago - Midway Games (NASD: MWY) on Monday announced plans to publish "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe," licensed through Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the fall. The game will pit Mortal Kombat characters like Sub-Zero and Scorpion against Batman, Superman and other DC characters. Separately, Midway said it will publish developer Epic Games' "Unreal Tournament 3" for Xbox 360 this summer. The game has already shipped more than one million units worldwide for the PlayStation 3 and PC.

San Francisco - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced on Thursday that Epic Games will release "Gears of War 2," the follow-up to the 4.5 million-selling title for the Xbox 360, in November. The company also said that, before the launch of "Fable 2," a series of pub games will debut on Xbox Live that will feature elements that will carry over onto the Xbox 360 title when it is released.

Chicago - Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) and Epic Games on Monday announced the release of "Unreal Tournament 3" for the PC. Epic said it will also soon ship a version of the game for the PlayStation 3.

Cary, N.C. - Video game developer Epic Games has acquired a majority interest in Warsaw, Poland-based game developer People Can Fly, which is best known for its PC game "Painkiller."

Los Angeles - A legal skirmish has emerged between video game developer Epic Games, which created the Unreal Engine 3 game development engine, and Silicon Knights, a fellow developer that licensed the engine for use in its own titles.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. - Virtual Heroes, a developer of interactive learning applications for the federal systems, healthcare and commercial markets, said on Tuesday that it has licensed Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 for use in the development of serious games and advanced learning technologies. Virtual Heroes will use the Unreal Engine 3 in the development of its Dynamic Virtual Human Technology, which is targeted at the medical education and training market.

Los Angeles - Time Warner's New Line Cinema has acquired the film rights to "Gears of War," the popular Xbox 360 game from developer Epic Games and publisher Microsoft Game Studios, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

San Francisco - Developer Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios' "Gears of War" Xbox 360 shooter game took home the honor of Best Game at the 7th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, presented by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) as part of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Japanese game publisher Capcom said on Tuesday that it has licensed Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 game physics engine. Capcom said the engine will be utilized in an unannounced project being developed in North America.

Las Vegas - Developer Epic Games' "Gears of War" title took home eight honors, including Game of the Year, Thursday night at the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, an event organized by The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) at the industry's annual D.I.C.E. Summit.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft announced on Friday that developer Epic Games' "Gears of War" title, created exclusively for its Xbox 360 console, has now sold more than 2 million units in six weeks of release.