If you've been holding out hope for an invite to the World of Warplanes global alpha, take heart. Wargaming.net has just announced that it's moving its aviation shooter into closed beta on May 31st.

The company says its "army of test pilots will be increased drastically" as a result, so be sure to sign up on the official WoWP website. World of Warplanes is a lobby-based flight combat game set during aviation's golden age. It features aircraft ranging from 1930s biplanes to 1950s jets. For more on the game, check out our recent interview with producer Anton Sitnikau.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Nexon's recent acquisition of Taiwanese publisher Gamania will be scrutinized by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), according to a report in the Taipei Times. A hostile takeover is alleged, and FTC chairman Wu Shiow-ming said the commission will "ask Nexon to comment on its definition of Gamania's market share, the particular field it defines Gamania as being in, and its current relations with Gamania."

This will help determine whether Nexon has violated the Fair Trade Act, which mandates that any merger involving a company with more than 25% market share in a particular field must be reported to authorities.

Gamania contacted the FTC, ostensibly out of concern for Nexon's impact on the Taiwanese gaming industry. "It would be absolutely detrimental to the development of Taiwan's online gaming industry if a large-scale foreign corporation was allowed to take control of the local industry's operating channels and resources, whether the integration is horizontal or vertical," the company said.

MMOs have to make money; that's a fact of life (and of business) ArenaNet President Mike O'Brien knows quite well. In an interview with VentureBeat, O'Brien explained how the studio is handling the monetization for Guild Wars 2 and blasts RMT companies for their practices.

O'Brien addressed why Guild Wars 2 is being offered not as a straight free-to-play title but as a retail product with an up-front cost. "The answer is we're really focused on creating the highest-quality MMO, not the lowest-cost MMO," he replied. "I think Guild Wars 2 is one of the best values in gaming, period. Where else can you get this many hours of enjoyment, of content, of polish, of replayability, for $60?"

He also took the opportunity to expand upon his own blog post covering microtransactions from a few weeks ago. "Creating a microtransaction system that doesn't upset or alienate your player base is straightforward, once you clearly define what's in-bounds and what's out-of-bounds," O'Brien stated. He says that ArenaNet wants to be "open and honest" with players regarding the in-game store options and promises that these will be "non-essential additions to the game and convenience services" only.

O'Brien also had strong words about the shady practices of RMT companies, practices that ArenaNet is trying to combat by offering its own in-game RMT system. "Where there's a real profit incentive, someone out there in the world will lie, cheat, and steal to make that profit, " he said. "By letting players trade directly with each other, we take the power away from RMT companies and give it to the entire playerbase."

Yesterday we told you about an adult MMO called Orgia Romanus that's causing a stir due to its focus on sexual content. While the game is certainly taking an over-the-top approach, it's by no means the first MMO to walk this path.

Indie titles like Sociolotron and portions of virtual worlds like Second Life are renowned for their focus on various taboo topics, while more traditional titles like Age of Conan and Mortal Online have dabbled in avatar nudity and adult-oriented quests.

But what if an MMO came along that managed to incorporate adult topics in a manner devoid of sensationalism? Sure, it's a tall order, but let's assume it's possible. Would you play it, or do you steer clear of anything with the "adult" label?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Who could resist the opportunity to see one's very own custom super-villain face off against the heroes in Champions Online? One glance at the contest's forum thread shows that many couldn't; a wide variety of nefarious villains were proposed in page after page of contest entries. After much deliberation, Cryptic has finally announced the winners of its Design A Villain contest. However, with so many entries, Cryptic upped the number of winners from five to seven and promised that another round of winners will be announced at a later date.

The grand prize winner who will see both of his creations featured in an upcoming 10-man Alert is Fryguy8544. Runner ups are Ubusunagami, Akwartz, Rianba, chezpizza, Azathoth-Sothoth, and CCat76; their villains will also be featured in the game.

Congratulations to the winners! To check out the winning submissions with their corresponding costumes, visit the official announcement linked below (you'll need to log in to the forums to see the pictures). And for those whose submissions weren't chosen this time, keep watch for the next waves of winners.

If last week's Project Copernicus flythrough had been a hopeful note, the latest news out of 38 Studios is another downturn. Following a meeting today, the Rhode Island EDC board decided to take no action to help the ailing company at this time. Governor Lincoln Chafee said following the meeting that the financial situation of the studio remains unchanged from last week, but did note that the company has seen some layoffs and underwent unspecified internal shifts.

Founder Curt Schilling did not directly respond to press inquiries, stating that he would answer questions when he is able to do so. He did, however, state that he was not taking further taxpayer money. Whether or not there will be a company there to take any money in the near future is still very much in doubt, however, and while Chafee has been a bit more diplomatic about aiding the studio, he has stressed that any assistance would be far on the conservative side.

If you've been slacking when it comes to keeping up with EverQuest II tradeskill news lately, the recent Game Update 63 (otherwise known as Skyshrine) featured quite a few noteworthy tweaks. Sony Online Entertainment has posted a dev interview detailing some of the larger changes, including the addition of several hundred new craftable items.

SOE's Brian "Omougi" Ferguson says that Carpenters and Alchemists got a lot of love during this patch, and combat-only players will be pleased to know that crafters can now make even more handy upgrades. There are two new consumables for each class archetype, and Ferguson is particularly fond of the tank versions which gives meatshields an additional 20% damage reduction for 12 seconds.

Full details are yours at the official EQII website.

Well-known World of Warcraft guild Method secured a world first kill on Diablo III's Skeleton King in inferno mode just a few days after launch but was beaten to the game's completion by a single person. Players have been in outrage all week as server instabilities and login difficulties plagued the game's launch.

League of Legends revealed upcoming champion Darius this week and announced huge client updates that seem set to double the game's frame rate. Blacklight: Retribution released a new Netwar game mode, combining capture the flag and control point gameplay. Heroes of Newerth released its new support hero Riftwalker, Dota 2 released classic hero Treant, and Rise of Immortals took a close look at melee damage-dealer Tzai. Upcoming MOBA Smite will be entering closed beta at the end of the month, and Torchlight II's beta will soon end for the last time.

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MMOs in an existing franchise always present certain issues: You need enough conceptual space to advance a game's storyline, but you may not want to be locked in to never doing another title in the franchise. So The Elder Scrolls Online has to be set in just the right time period for the game to work. In a recent video interview, creative director Paul Sage and content designer Rich Lambert sat down to talk about the why behind the when.

Sage and Lambert explain that the real draw to this particular time period was the fact that there's neither a great deal of recorded in-game history nor a lot of huge events that might affect future titles -- it's a time when almost anything can happen without derailing future events in the universe. The duo also discusses keeping the game aligned with existing lore and ensuring that nothing gets thrown off by mistake. Those looking forward to the game will want to watch the full interview, which goes into more details regarding specifics of lore and setting.

Season Six is being readied for a move to STO's test server, Tribble, in the next couple of weeks, according to the most recent Ask Cryptic as answered by the game's Executive Producer, Dan Stahl. The new patch will contain fleet starbases and a new fleet advancement system but not much else in the way of story-based content.

That's not unexpected, however, as not one of the previous Season releases really ever contained story-based content; they've merely been game-technology pushes, and I understand that Season Six will be no different.

However a couple of things have come out to the game in the past few weeks that have ruffled some hard-core Trek-fan feathers: Caitian Carriers and Ferasans.

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Ultima Online is preparing a continuation of the game's latest global arc with tomorrow's patch. Act VI of The Awakening asks players to assist in crafting a number of alchemical preparations, with a number of rewards available for players who actively try to crack the puzzle of the correct ingredients. More information will be available from the official site as well as an in-game NPC. If you need more time to prepare, don't worry -- the quest is going active in July and lasting until mid-August.

If you're not willing to wait, the new patch also sees a revamp of the Covetous Dungeon. The first floor remains largely unchanged, but levels two and three both feature a new system for the game in which players accumulate points for defeating monsters that can later be turned in for new rewards. Last but not least, vanilla plants have been added to the game's gardening system, giving players another new thing to explore when not fighting monsters or preparing for the next part of The Awakening.

If the eeriness of the truce between the Elyos and the Asmodians in Aion's new land of Sarpan wigs you out and makes you long for a good old-fashioned tussle, you can always head on over to Tiamaranta. Although the entire zone is not open for PvP, all four corners and the center are cordoned off for your opponent-bashing pleasure. In fact, Tiamaranta's Eye is often hopping as both sides contest mobs and try to land one of the bosses.

But even if you aren't in the mood for a bloody round of patty-cake, there is plenty of PvE and exploring to be had in this ecologically diverse land with a variety of new mobs to see (and dispatch) and new tasks to accomplish. Not able to make the trip yourself right now? Join Wings over Atreia's guided tour and get a taste of Tiamaranta.

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Permadeath is one of those game mechanics that seems destined to forever be nibbling away at the fringe of the MMO genre than invited to the cool kids' table. Many players find themselves aghast at the notion of losing all their hard-earned progress with one untimely demise, and it seems like game developers agree with them: Very few MMOs have any sort of permadeath option.

However, this most-severest-of-severe death penalties does persist. Some players elect to form guilds and meta-groups to pursue a permadeath lifestyle in their games. A few upcoming titles, such as Salem and Wizardry Online, have permadeath as a core mechanic. Even the recently released Diablo III has a "hardcore" permadeath mode for the brave at heart.

The question we put before you today is yet another nibble that may never be noticed by the mainstream, but it's important to consider: Is permadeath worth including in MMO design, even as an optional mechanic or server, or should this brand of death penalty kick the bucket once and for all? Vote after the jump!

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A long time ago on a server far, far away, the Imperial forces BioWare prepared a Star Wars: The Old Republic update to rule the online world: patch 1.3. Called Allies, patch 1.3 will usher in a group finder, character transfers, and legacy perks.

The group finder will aid in banding together interested adventurers to tackle operations and flashpoints. Lead Designer Daniel Erickson said that the time is ripe for the feature, as players are spread out in levels and are rolling plenty of alts. Saying that BioWare wants to "respect the communities" that have formed, Erickson reports that the group finder will not be cross-server.

He also revealed some of the other key features for patch 1.3. Additional perks to the Legacy system will allow players to customize their experience; we'll see new ports, earlier access to mounts, and bonus XP modifiers for PvP. The patch will also change social gear to fit the armor type of the class using it, server transfers, and the ability to add augments to any crafting items. Looking past 1.3, Erickson promises a "return to big content" with patch 1.4.

If you're a fan of the SWTOR novels, you'll also be delighted to hear that Drew Karpyshyn announced that his next novel, Annihilation, is scheduled for November 13th.

You can watch the patch 1.3 preview video after the jump!

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Pocket Legends. Star Legends. Dark Legends. And now... Arcane Legends?

Yes, it appears to be true! Spacetime Studios is working on a fourth title for its popular mobile MMO library, filing a trademark that has since been approved. The application for a U.S. federal trademark was submitted on April 5th and was given the thumbs up May 10th. As one of its categories is "electronic game software for cellular telephones," we can reasonably deduce that Arcane Legends will launch on mobile devices in the same manner of its older siblings.

Spacetime Studios told us that it will release an official announcement of the title later this week. The studio recently released the vampire-themed MMO Dark Legends on iOS and Android devices.

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This must be the day for sexy MMO news. On the heels of one risque announcement, we have a trailer for the latest Vindictus EU update that features a scantily clad lass named Succubus and a demonic colossal called Glas Ghaibheleann. Succubus is, well, a succubus, and she's also a raid boss who will challenge players like no other.

Except for maybe Glas Ghaibheleann. He's also a raid boss. While he's not quite as attractive as his partner-in-crime, he's equally deadly. Nexon says that the pair will awe players with their appearance and unique abilities. Get a load of the latest Vindictus EU update in the video after the cut.

[Source: Nexon Europe press release]

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As I mentioned last time, I'm currently test-driving the EU servers. As such, my Age of Conan subscription fee is spoken for, and my US server characters are now relegated to free-to-play status. Since I'm still deciding on an EU main (I just rerolled after getting a PoM to 22), I figured I'd use this week's column to take a quick look at my veteran account through the eyes of a free-to-play customer.

When AoC Unchained debuted last summer, I read the account services matrix like everyone else, but to be frank, I didn't pay it much attention because I'd always been a subscriber. In the back of my mind, I figured that anyone who's halfway serious about Age of Conan would want to sub up, and my experiences this weekend have only reinforced that notion.

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As many Guild Wars players know, Guild Wars 2 takes place in the same world and often in the same areas -- just 250 years after its predecessor. Because of this, ArenaNet elected not to wipe the slate clean and start over with 100% new environments but instead to incorporate old locales and landmarks into its upcoming game.

Guild Wars fan Claire became fascinated with this concept and has dedicated a new blog to documenting all of the visual changes in the world between the first and second game. It's called Project Tyria, and each post consists of several Guild Wars locales contrasted with screenshots of the same areas from the sequel.

Claire writes, "I've always loved the graphics of the Guild Wars games and have grown to love the world of Tyria. We were there in the before times, and now we arrive again in the after."

It's fascinating to see how ArenaNet has envisioned 250 years taking its toll on the monuments, cities, and vales of the original game; realizing the importance of keeping the world accurate for the hardcore fans seems to be a noted priority for the team. Head over to Project Tyria to see more on the comparison screenshots.