One of the things that might have been missed in Nintendo's investor briefing last week (as Kotaku points out) is the fact that the company is really down on the idea of free-to-play and micro-transactions.

The United Kingdom's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) watchdog agency has given mobile phone app developers two months to adapt to new in-app purchasing rules that better protect children (and subsequently their credit-card holding parents) from in-game micro-transactions and messaging that generally encourages them to buy things to advance gameplay. The OFT has given developers a deadline of April 1 to make their apps for iOS, Windows Phone, and Android devices comply with new rules.

Norwegian MMO developer and publisher Funcom is under investigation for insider trading, according to this Eurogamer report. According to the report, staff were sent home today as Norwegian authorities collected documents related to an investigation into insider trading, though specific details about the investigation remain unknown as of this writing. Funcom's stock has also been temporarily frozen on the Oslo stock market.

It sounds far-fetched when someone says that playing something as innocent as Angry Birds is helping spy agencies gather information about you, but that is just what happens when users launch what this Pro Publica investigation claims is a "leaky app."

Sony Online Entertainment will shut down four MMOs in the next few months. The first two games to be shut down will be Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and Free Realms, which are scheduled to go dark March 31. Wizardry Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will also be shut down, but much later in the year - July 31.

Speaking specifically about Free Realms - which is available on both PS3 and PC, - SOE said that the game had reached its lifecycle:

Developer Toylogic has some good news for people who want to play its free-to-play faction-based RPG game Happy Wars but don't want to pay Microsoft a monthly fee: they can now play the game without having to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber.

Sony Online Entertainment will likely change its subscriptions model for its line-up of PC MMOs into a single system where users pay one fee for access to its entire catalog of games. In a recent Reddit thread, SOE head John Smedley said that the company would "likely move forward" with a plan to charge customers a flat monthly fee of $14.99 for access to its entire catalog of games on the PC.

In our very first episode of 2014, hosts Andrew Eisen and E. Zachary Knight talk about the latest poll on GamePolitics (about finding porn on a freshly purchased 3DS), Braid creator Jonathan Blow's comments on Farmville and Plants v Zombies 2, various licensing deals gone wrong, and Sherlock Holmes finally making its way to the public domain. Download Episode 82 now: SuperPAC Episode 82 (1 hour, 9 minutes) 79.6 MB.

Dave Roberts, chief executive of Electronic Arts’ PopCap Games division, will retire next week, according to a GamesBeat report. Roberts, who joined the company almost nine years ago will officially exit the company on January 8, with PopCap co-founder John Vechey taking over the job of CEO at the Seattle-based studio responsible for the Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled franchises.

Speaking via a thread on Reddit, Riot Games president and co-founder Marc Merrill defended his company against accusations of greed related to its ultra popular free-to-play MOBA game League of Legends. Responding to a Reddit thread where users complained about the lack of a new client for League of Legends Season 4, Merrill denied that his company was being "money hungry."

Disney is the latest company to receive pushback from gamers who are growing increasingly tired of free-to-play games having aggressive in-game micro-transaction schemes.

MMO company Perfect World Entertainment is making a major push into the free-to-play market on video game consoles. The company announced that it has completed a company expansion by creating a console division targeting current and next-gen consoles. Planned console products expected include current and future games from Perfect World Entertainment’s suite of developers, the company said.

Sony Online Entertainment announced that DC Universe Online is now available on the PlayStation 4 as part of the system's launch day lineup. DCUO was the first free-to-play MMO on the PlayStation 3, and is now one of the first available for the PlayStation 4. More information can be found below.

Trion Worlds today revealed a game called Trove that can best be described as a mix of Minecraft and a free-to-play online adventure RPG. Trion isn't saying too much about the game, save that it is a free-to-play online adventure RPG that has been in development by a small team inside the studio over the past year.

Trove will offer dynamically generated worlds that are "fully constructible and destructible, giving gamers an endless universe of worlds where they can adventure, create, and explore," according to Trion.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has partnership with South Korean publisher Daum Communications to bring the massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS) PlanetSide 2 to the region. SOE and Daum will showcase PlanetSide 2 at the G-STAR Global Game Exhibition in Busan, South Korea on November 14-16, 2013.

Daum has secured the exclusive publishing rights to the game, including dedicated servers, local customer support and payment gateways for South Korea. PlanetSide 2 will launch in the region as a free-to-play game.

Trion Worlds announced that last week's participation in the Extra Life charity marathon and a promotion related to it helped give its MMORPGs RIFT Online and Defiance a record-breaking week last week. The company said that over a quarter of a million new players joined their online games, RIFT and Defiance. Bookended by the relaunch of RIFT as a free-to-play game on Steam and the charity marathon for Extra Life, Trion’s celebration week included promotions, in-game special events, and giveaways across both games to celebrate both new and veteran players.

Electronic Arts announced this week that it has canceled Command & Conquer, the free-to-play reimagining of the popular real-time strategy game. In a blog post developer Victory Games announced that fan reaction to the alpha of the game is what put the final nail in the coffin for the project:

RuneScape makers Jagex say that the recent introduction of RuneScape Bonds into the long-running MMO has reduced gold farming activities by as much as 81 percent. Bonds were introduced into the game on September 26. A Bond in RuneScape cost $5, £3 or €4.25 each and can only be redeemed in-game. Bonds are redeemable for 14 days of RuneScape membership, eight Squeal of Fortune spins, or 160 RuneCoins. Multiple Bonds can also be redeemed for RuneFest tickets (RuneFest is a fan gathering that will take place at the Tobacco Dock in London on November 2).

After hitting a major milestone with Plants vs. Zombies 2 - 25 million downloads on iOS devices - PopCap Games' has decided that it is finally time to bring the free-to-play strategy game sequel to Android devices worldwide. The Android version of the game is available right now through Google Play and features full integration with Google Play's Game Services.

The Android version of Plants vs. Zombies 2 includes all the same features and functionality found in the iOS version, according to PopCap.

Softbank and GungHo Online are making a substantial investment in Finnish free-to-play and mobile gaming juggernaut Supercell. The company is selling a 51 percent stake for $1.53 billion to Japan’s SoftBank and game developer GungHo Online Entertainment. The strategic investment will make Supercell a subsidiary of Softbank, with the funds being used to fuel Supercell’s global expansion.

EVE Online and DUST 514 maker CCP Games has hired veteran game producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon. Gaudechon will serve as the executive producer of DUST 514, CCP’s free-to-play first-person shooter on PlayStation 3. Gaudechon will drive future development of the persistent-world first-person-shooter DUST 514 at CCP’s Shanghai studio, according to the company.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced that "new, current and returning EverQuest II players" will be able to purchase high level characters in its free-to-play MMO beginning today. This, the company says, will allow players to jump right into the Tears of Veeshan expansion, when it launches in November. To celebrate the launch of the program, SOE will allow players to create one permanent Heroic Character for free as part of its "Hero's Call" event. That will run from October 1-15.

The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning app and game developers that high-pressure monetization in programs that are aimed at children needs to be avoided going forward. The OFT made its announcement today after months of investigation (which began in April) into allegations that some free online apps and games for children were using questionable tactics to get children to purchase in-game items - often without parental consent. The OFT examined 38 games related to this practice and drafted a set of guidelines for UK developers.

In July of this year, EA announced that it would be shutting down its German studio, EA Phenomic. The company handled the ongoing development of a number of free-to-play online games including Spellforce, Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, and Battleforge.

PopCap's latest entry in the popular Plants v. Zombies series on iOS is very popular. According to the company, the free-to-play Plants vs. Zombies sequel has been downloaded nearly 25 million times since its launch on August 25. PopCap claims that this represents more than the total lifetime downloads for the original Plants vs. Zombies. Of course, being that this game is free-to-play and the original costs $20, you can kind of see why this one might be more widely enjoyed (people like free stuff).

Developer Splash Damage has decided to rename its free-to-play PC action game Dirty Bomb to Extraction. Given how the NSA might put you on a special list for searching for the term "Dirty Bomb," we think that is the best move for both fans and the Brink developer. Splash Damage also announced a publishing deal for Extraction with Nexon for launch in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

In an Engadget interview that took place last week during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, Electronic Arts COO Peter Moore said that the company no longer ships games that are "offline."

Speaking at length with Engadget following his company's Gamescom 2013 press event, Moore said that EA's current dedication to online functionality in its games is unmatched:

"We don't ship a game at EA that is offline."

In a memo sent to employees today, Big Fish Games CEO Paul Thelen announced that the company is laying off 49 employees in its Seattle office and shutting down its office in Vancouver. Projects in the Vancouver office would be moved to Seattle.

EA's recently released free-to-play iOS sequel has the distinction of being the "most successful mobile game launch" in the company's history. Developed by EA studio PopCap Games, Plants vs. Zombies 2 has been downloaded 16 million times since its launch last Thursday on Apple's App Store.

Microsoft confirmed today at Gamescom that its Xbox One fighting game Killer Instinct will release for free with one fighter (Jago) and that each additional character will cost $5.

Microsoft also plans to release DLC combo packs with multiple characters and extras too; the Combo Breaker Pack ($20) will offer the first eight characters from the game (six at launch, two later on down the road); and the Ultra Edition ($40) which features eight characters, accessory packs, costumes, and a digital copy of the original Killer Instinct game.