Ubisoft has revealed the pre-order items that will be available to eager players who reserve their copies of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. You can check out the list below to see what retailers are offering what bonuses.

• GameStop Black Island pack: The deadly black ship, a Captain Morgan costume, and his silver flintlock pistol.
• Amazon Hidden Mystery pack: Extra treasure-hunting mission on Mystery Island, Stede Bonnet’s ship and Sted Bonnet costumes, and multiplayer items.
• Walmart Sacrificed Secrets pack: Captain Drakehis dual-wield swords and pistols, his picture, title, and relics.
• Best Buy Lost Treasures pack: Ivory wheel and spyglass relic.
• Target Trove of Mystery pack: Iron wheel and astrolab relic.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U on October 29. You can check out the most recent trailer for the game by heading here.

If achievements, trophies, and badges aren’t enough for you, you’ll be happy to know that Valve has introduced a new type collectible. Steam Trading Cards is now in beta, and you can start earning them in a number of Valve titles.

You can start earning them now in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, Portal 2, Half-Life 2,Team Fortress 2, and Don’t Starve from Klei. Collecting a set will allow players to convert the cards into badges, which will randomly unlock an in-game emoticon, Steam profile background, a discount for a different Steam game, or 100 XP to increase your Steam Level.

Badges can be upgraded by collecting another full set of cards, earning players 100 additional XP. Levels translate into increased friend list size and additional showcase slots for favorite games, best achievements, screenshots, and more. Showcases unlock at Steam Level 10 and expand every 10 levels after that.

Half the cards will drop in-game. The other half can only be secured via trading with other members of the community. You can read the full rundown on the Steam Trading Card FAQ.

Today City Interactive announced a new third-person action/RPG set in a fantasy world that pits man versus god.

Tomasz Gop is the executive producer of Lords of the Fallen, and was the former senior producer of The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings. Gameplay-wise, the two IPs sound similar; CI describes Lords of the Fallen as a “hardcore action-RPG featuring an advanced combat systems and robust class skill trees,” where players make decisions that “alter both the world and their character thus dramatically impacting the storyline.” The combat and story of The Witcher 2 were both excellent, so we won’t complain if Lords of the Fallen features likeminded design elements.

Lords of the Fallen is set in a medieval fantasy world plagued by a supernatural being called the Fallen God. The world’s inhabitants are divided into supporters and detractors of the Fallen God; the game’s human protagonist, Harkyn, falls into the latter category. On his Linked In profile, Gop highlights “fighting against the formidable Lords and Generals that command [the Fallen God's] demonic army” as a key feature.

Lords of the Fallen is being developed for next-gen consoles and PC and is currently slated for a 2014 release. Apparently the game is coming along nicely, as CI will be showing off a live gameplay demo of Lords of the Fallen at next month’s E3 press conference.

In the meantime, all we have to go on is the above concept art and the press release below.

WARSAW, POLAND – May 16, 2013 - CI Games, a fast-growing international publisher and developer of interactive entertainment, today officially announced Lords of the Fallen, a challenging fantasy action/role-playing game (RPG). Development of the game is being led by Tomasz Gop, former senior producer of the award-winning The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings. Lords of the Fallen is a demanding and strategic third-person action-RPG experience being created for next generation consoles and PC, coming in 2014.

“Our team is building Lords of the Fallen specifically for players who enjoy taking on huge challenges, where the odds are stacked against them,” said Tomasz Gop, executive producer, CI Games. “From the very beginning, Lords of the Fallen will intrigue and satisfy players’ hunger to explore each corner of a brand new world, freely customize and build their own character and take down some of the most epic enemies ever seen.”

Lords of the Fallen is a hardcore action-RPG featuring an advanced combat systems and robust class skill trees. Set in a richly created fantasy world where the Gods have failed mankind, players will take on the role of a human named Harkyn who sets out on a quest to stand against an apparently unstoppable supernatural force. Players travel across a world that is deeply dived by those that follow and others that resist, the Fallen God. Along their journey they will be faced with a series of decisions that will alter both the world and their character thus dramatically impacting the storyline.

Lords of the Fallen will be presented live at the Electronic Entertainment (E3) Expo in Los Angeles, California at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 11-13, 2013.

When 2K Sports enters the squared circle for the first time as a WWE partner, it will be doing so on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As for versions on Wii U or handhelds, the prospect isn’t terribly good.

Via Twitter yesterday, WWE Games official account replied to an inquiry regarding platforms on which this year’s installment will appear. The response is going to be disheartening for some.

We reached out to 2K Sports about Wii U and handheld versions, and a representative told us that, “we do not have anything more to share than what’s already out there from our press materials.” This isn’t a denial of what the WWE Games account tweeted, but it isn’t the solid confirmation that Wii U, 3DS, and Vita owners were hoping for. Next generation plans have not been addressed either.

Even if we don’t know which platforms it will be arriving on, we do know that WWE 2K14 lands on October 29, 2013.

Every year we see a new Call of Duty title released right before the holidays. What is this year’s Call of Duty about, and who’s making it? It turns out that this year’s Duty development, unsurprisingly, falls on Infinity Ward’s shoulders — the folks who created the much lauded Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – and it’s named “Call of Duty: Ghosts.” The first-person shooter is arriving on a whole mess of platforms this November 5th, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, but also PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox — given that we don’t know release dates for the PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox, it stands to reason that Ghosts will arrive on a different date for those platforms. It’s also likely we’ll see a handheld version on Nintendo’s 3DS made by someone other than Infinity Ward, but we’ve got no direct word on that just yet. More ambiguous, Nintendo’s Wii U isn’t listed, but it stands to reason it’ll head that way as well (the last series entry, Black Ops 2, got a Wii U version).

The “Ghosts” in the title references … well, we’re not entirely sure. Previous CoDgames featured a character named “Ghost” fairly prominently, though the plurality indicates a game about more than one individual. Infinity Ward head Mark Rubin calls Ghosts ”a new sub-brand” in the CoD franchise, and it’s getting a new (unnamed) game engine to boot — another indicator that previous characters aren’t involved. We’re holding out hope that the often over-serious, dramatic tone of previous CoD games is being completely thrown out in favor of a goofy game about hunting ghosts. The bullets pass right through their ethereal form! Run for your life! We’ll hear more about Call of Duty: Ghosts at Microsoft’s big next-gen console unveiling on May 21st, so hold tight.

Today Lego has announced a new, free mobile and browser-based Star Wars game. Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles allows players affiliate with the light and dark side by choosing to play as either Yoda or Count Dooku.

According to Lego’s press release, the game takes place on Coruscant, desert planets, and industrial factories. There will be 15 levels along with 5 bonus missions. The first half of the levels will be available for iOS and web browsers May 4, with the rest arriving this summer. Lego says you’ll also be able to unlock new content by transferring your Lego ID between the browser and iOS versions of the game. The free game will arrive on Android devices alongside the second half of the levels this summer.

Learn more about Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles and create your Lego ID by visiting the official Lego Star Wars website. While you’re there, check out a couple of the funny and adorable CG vignettes for The Yoda Chronicles.

Rockstar has been teasing Grand Theft Auto V’s box art with a painted mural in Manhattan, but now it has been officially unveiled for all to see.

It falls in line with the typical Grand Theft Auto box art’s of the past with a collage of characters and scenes from the game.

Grand Theft Auto V is releasing September 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Zombie MMO The War Z has been hacked, according to the company, and subsequently taken offline. Users’ info has been taken, but not any payment or billing info.

A statement from the company reads in part:

We are sorry to report that we have discovered that hackers gained access to our forum and game databases and the player data in those databases. We have launched a thorough investigation covering our entire system to determine the scope of the intrusion. This investigation is ongoing and is our top priority. As part of the remediation and security enhancement process we will be taking the game and forums down temporarily.

We are issuing this Security Alert to all Survivors as a precaution so you can take some precautionary measures on your own. We have already taken a number of steps to increase security and are continuing to work with external advisors and investigators to identify and implement measures to minimize the chance of this happening in the future.

The data accessed included email addresses used to log-in to the forum, forum passwords which we encrypt, email addresses used to log-in to the game, encrypted game passwords as well as in-game character names and the IP addresses from which players log-in to the forum and to the game. If you posted other information to the forum it is likely that such data was accessed as well. We do not collect the names or addresses of our gamers so that information was not impacted unless you posted it on the forum. We are investigating whether additional information may have been obtained.

OP says that no payment or billing info was taken since all payments are handled through a third party, but it suggests you change your passwords even though they were encrypted.

The company says it has hired outside investigators, is updating its servers and services, and adding additional security.

“This has been a humbling experience for us,” the statement reads. “While we all know that there is no guaranty of security on the internet, our goal is to try our very best to protect your data. We sincerely apologize.”

Just a few days after releasing a teaser for Thief, the full trailer is now available online, even though it still hasn’t appeared on the official Thief YouTube channel. The trailer shows Garrett preparing his tools and waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in and nab an expensive-looking necklace from a safe. The trailer also gives us a better look at Garrett, who has been redesigned by Eidos-Montreal for the new game.

Tomb Raider released with the best first week sales of any game in the franchise. So far, it has also had the biggest opening of 2013. Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher and creative director Noah Hughes shared Tomb Raider’s sales numbers recently at a panel at GDC.

Square Enix’s now former CEO, Yoichi Wada, recently stepped down from the company citing poor sales of games like Hitman: Absolution, Sleeping Dogs, and Tomb Raider.

Hughes told Joystiq, when asked about Square Enix’s insistence that the game was not performing well, “Certainly we’re proud of what we achieved, and I think for the most part, the whole organization is happy with what we did.” Gallagher said, “Actuals and expectations, I guess, are two slightly different things. What I’m telling you is the actuals, and they’re communicating expectations.”

As of March 26, Tomb Raider had sold 3.4 millions copies. Tomb Raider released on March 5.