Amsterdam - MMO Life, the operator of a network of regional portals for multiplayer online game players, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $1.3 million in initial funding from investors including Klaas Kersting and Alexander Roesner, of Gameforge, and ex-Endemol media executive Pim Schmitz.

Lyon, France - France-based video game publisher Infogrames, the parent company of Atari, announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Los Gatos, Calif.-based Cryptic Studios, a developer of massively multiplayer online games, for $27.6 million in cash and shares.

Los Angeles - Video game publisher NCsoft will shut down the servers on its "Tabula Rasa" massively multiplayer online game in February, because "the game never achieved the player population we had hoped for," according to a note on its website. The game was developed by veteran designer Richard Garriott ("Ultima"). The company said it will make the game free to play in its last weeks, starting on Jan. 10.

Irvine, Calif. - Activision's (NASD: ATVI) Blizzard Entertainment studio said on Thursday that the second expansion to its massively popular "World of Warcraft" online multiplayer game, "Wrath of the Lich King," has sold 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale -- making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. The previous record of nearly 2.4 million copies was set last year by the game's previous expansion, "The Burning Crusade."

Paris - French video game publisher Ubisoft announced this week that it has acquired Sweden-based game studio Massive Entertainment from Activision Blizzard (NASD: ATVI).

Irvine, Calif. - Video game publisher Blizzard Entertainment, which recently merged with Activision (NASD: ATVI), announced on Tuesday that its "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online game has now surpassed 11 million players worldwide. Blizzard plans to release its latest expansion, "Wrath of the Lich King," on Nov. 13. The game first debuted in 2004.