Ludia, a Montreal-based mobile game developer, has recently announced their very first partnership with Wizards of the Coast — best known for their role-playing games — to develop a game based on Dungeons & Dragons. The upcoming mobile game based off of D&D dubbed Warriors of Waterdeep, is slated for a Spring 2018 release which should be here soon hopefully.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Wizards of the Coast on such an enduring and wildly popular entertainment franchise,” said Alex Thabet, CEO of Ludia. “It’s important to us that our game stays true to the Dungeons & Dragons storytelling ethos and the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting. We can’t wait to share this game with fans!”

In addition a new trailer has been released that can be seen above. Sadly there’s not a whole lot of information available at the moment, however, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. If you happen to be a Dungeons & Dragons fan, I suggest signing up for the email news list on the official website for the latest info.

Code named Project M, Netmarble Games has recently made an announcement about a brand new, mysterious Magic: The Gathering mobile game in development with the team at Wizards of the Coast. Similar to Netmarble‘s other games like Star Wars: Force Arena and Marvel: Future Fight, Project M will follow in the same footsteps by featuring real-time multiplayer online battles.

We’ve been told that Netmarble has been working closely with Wizards of the Coast on the game design and animations to make sure it portrays Magic: The Gathering in the best way possible. In Project M players will be able to choose their Planeswalker, modify their deck of creatures and spells, and come up with different strategies across the MTG Universe. Additionally, each creature and Planeswalker will be fully animated in the game.

As of now there’s no exact release date specified, but the email I received said “later this year” so I guess we’ll see until further notice. Because of that we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as time goes on.

Electrified Games, a leading independent developer of mobile and online games, have announced that Jonathan Epstein has been named as chief executive officer of the company. Epstein has previously served as chairman of the board of the company, and has been working in an executive role at the company since May of this year.

A developer of award-winning games for more than twenty years, Electrified Games is expanding its operations from its foundation of work-for-hire business to the development of original mobile games. The company was recently named by mobile gaming industry powerhouse ngmoco as one of its key third-party partners for an upcoming title to be deployed on the Mobage platform. Electrified is also co-developing a mobile title that will be launched in India and other markets in January of next year, and expects to launch two other original mobile titles in Q1 of 2013.

Electrified has developed or designed more than forty different titles across multiple platforms since its formation, for leading publishers including Wizards of the Coast, Disney Mobile, Sony Online Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and leading brands such as VISA, Sports Illustrated Kids, and others. The Electrified team has won numerous awards and recognitions for their work as independent game developers.

“The opportunity for great game designers and developers, in the mobile and social games markets, has never been better,” said Andrew Leker, Electrified Games’ founder, “and we now have a world-class leader to help us realize our growth plans. Jon’s been working with Electrified Games in various capacities for more than 7 years, and I couldn’t be happier to finally have him in our CEO seat.”

Epstein joined Electrified to help the company move aggressively into the creation of original IP, and was integral in forming its new distribution partnerships. As CEO, he succeeds company founder Andrew Leker, who as president will continue to oversee Electrified’s development studios.

Epstein has held numerous leadership positions in the games industry. He was the founding CEO of GameSpot, which transformed the landscape for gaming media and remains a major destination and brand more than fifteen years later. As president of GameSpy Industries, he played an integral role in tripling the company’s revenues and positioning it for its purchase by IGN Entertainment, where he then served as EVP and General Manager of the company’s media properties. Epstein then joined United Talent Agency to help spearhead the formation of their digital media practice. He then served as CEO of the in-game advertising company Double Fusion, and prior to joining Electrified was president of Omek Interactive, managing all sales, marketing, and business development for the gesture recognition technology company.