According to ZeniMax Online Studios' general manager, Matt Firor, The Elder Scrolls Online will require a $14.99 monthly subscription fee. Firor added: "We'll talk about further discounts, etc. later, but for now, we are very happy to finally announce our model. It's very simple - you pay once per month after the first 30 days and the entire game is available to you."

Firor did say that ZeniMax would offer up discounts if gamers purchase multiple months at a time, and the developer will be supporting game time cards. The ZeniMax GM also said that the decision to require a "flat fee for continued, unlimited access" would allow the developer to remove "sacrifices" that other pricing models would've forced them to do. Firor continued:

We're building a game with the freedom to play - alone or with your friends - as much as you want. A game with meaningful and consistent content - one packed with hundreds of hours of gameplay that can be experienced right away and one that will be supported with premium customer support. Charging a flat monthly (or subscription) fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to make, and the one that fans want to play. Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren't willing to make.

We all know HTC is going through troubled times, but at the same time they've seen some decent success with some of its latest smartphones. The Taiwanese company has even enlisted the help of Robert Downey Jr, or Iron Man, in its latest advertising campaign.

But, the company still has issues. Reuters has an interesting interview lineup, where they've interviewed over a dozen of former, and current HTC executives, who talked about HTC's CEO, Peter Chou. They said they Chou was a quick decision maker with an attention to detail, which stop HTC from climbing higher up the smartphone success ladder.

Chou's traits have, however, helped the company over the last few years, as Chou could quickly make a decision on a product, or quickly snap together a concept for a new device. Reuters did talk of an offsite meeting two years ago where the HTC CEO sketched his plans for the design, price and launch date of the Sensation XL a mere three months before its launch.

If you've been waiting for the first expansion to Diablo III to drop, Gamescom 2013 is the time for the announcement. The first expansion for Diablo III has been dubbed "Reaper of Souls."

Reaper of Souls will introduce a bunch of new content, including a new act, a new character, two new games modes (Nephalem trials and Loot runs) and a continuation of Diablo III's story arc that goes deeper into Diablo's mythos. Reaper of Souls chronicles the twisted fate of Malthael, who is an Archangel who fell from his position as the Archangel of Wisdom from the Angiris Council, who is a powerful sect that rules the high heavens.

The new character in Reaper of Souls is the Crusader, which looks like a mix between Diablo II's Paladin and Diablo III's Barbarian classes. The Crusaders are heavily armed and have stacks of armor, and should come with some nifty abilities. The description of the Crusader states they will reap "heavy, heavy damage."

Crytek has announced a next-gen CryEngine, which is an evolution of their top-tier graphics engine. Crytek has taken this launch with a different attitude, offering commercial game licensees with up-to-date access to the latest features that CryEngine has to offer.

The new CryEngine has support for current and next generation platforms, including the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and the most surprising of all: Nintendo's Wii U. This is a surprising move, considering EA won't be releasing any Frostbite-powered games on Nintendo's 'next-gen' console. Hopefully Wii U-based developers will jump onto using the new CryEngine, and fast.

Microsoft is committing to pushing Kinect down the throats, or living rooms, of every single Xbox One owner, where corporate VP Phil Harrison telling CVG during an interview that Microsoft's upcoming next-gen console will never be sold without Kinect.

Harrison went as far as stating that the Xbox One "is Kinect", adding that "they are not separate systems." Harrison said he currently owns the NSA spy box gaming console, saying that it's a "very magical experience" to power up the console through a voice command and load his profile. He added: "They are not separate systems. An Xbox One has chips, it has memory, it has Blu-ray, it has Kinect, it has a controller. These are all part of the platform ecosystem."

He continued: "It makes you think about your relationship with technology in a slightly different way. It's personal. It makes you think, I wish more devices would do this."

Well, LG, where did this come from, eh? The South Korean giant has just announced that it's developed a new 5.5-inch display that crams in an insane 538 pixels per inch.

This sets a new record for pixel density in smartphones, with the closest panel in something like the HTC One having 'just' (we can say that now) 468 PPI, and the iPhone 5 having a now dismal 326 PPI. LG has also said that the new 5.5-inch high-pixel panel is "only 1.21 millimeters thin with a 1.2 millimeter bezel measured in LCD modules."

This achievement makes it thinner than any other display... in the world. 538 PPI on a 5.5-inch panel gives us a resolution of 2560x1440, on a mobile phone, which is the same resolution of the monitor I'm writing this news on. Crazy stuff. Life must be Good at LG right now.

Something that just hit my inbox minutes ago is from Riot Games, announcing that they've had their US-based servers hacked. The attack didn't hit all of its servers, but just a 'portion' of its US servers.

The hackers were able to access usernames, e-mail addresses, salted password hashes, and some first and last names. Riot Games is also investigating that approximately 120,000 transaction records from 2011 that contained hashed and salted credit card numbers has been accessed. The League of Legends developer is contacting these players to alert them.

In order to hopefully escape more issues, Riot Games will require players in the US to change their passwords within the next 24 hours. Once this time hits, you'll be automatically prompted to change your password anyway.

Today, Mad Catz announced the launch of its new Force Feedback Racing Wheel designed to work exclusively on Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One gaming console. Mad Catz says that the wheel has been specifically designed to offer the most authentic driving experience one can possibly have on an Xbox One.

The steering wheel has been CNC machined out of aluminum and then wrapped in genuine suede leather to provide a solid yet comfortable experience. Furthermore, the wheel is packed full of technology, including dual next-generation force feedback motors and high precision buttons, to ensure the highest performance possible. If that wasn't enough, the entire steering wheel is removable in the event the user wishes to upgrade in the future.

"As we approach the Holiday season, excitement continues to mount for Xbox One and we're pleased to announce our second premium product for the console" said Darren Richardson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. "We have previously commented on how the enhanced performance of Xbox One opens up additional scope for innovation and believe that the precision engineering and customization of the Force Feedback Racing Wheel will appeal to the passionate racing gamer."

During the Gamescom event being held in Germany this week, ROCCAT Studios announced the addition of a new high-quality gaming headset to its lineup of gaming peripherals. The new ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 digital gaming headset is the successor to ROCCAT's Kave 5.1.

The company says that the new Kave XTD is based on community and customer feedback and that the new headset builds on foundations laid by the original headset by improving existing features and integrating completely new innovations of its own. The headset features a fully-equipped desktop remote that integrates a built-in premium 5.1 sound card. Additionally, ROCCAT Smart Link technology is built-in. This technology lets the user pair their smartphone to the remote via Bluetooth. This new feature allows users to make and receive calls through the headset while gaming.

The remote also features built-in 5.1 speaker ports, which allow users to hook up their existing sound systems and easily toggle between the headset and speaker output without having to change settings in the PC software controls. ROCCAT says that the Kave XTD 5.1 provides a true, rich 5.1 surround sound. The headset features three driver units per ear cup, which are aligned at a 12 degree angle. This allows the headset to deliver an immersive and crisp sound while weighing 25 percent less than its predecessor.

This week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the formation of a new initiative whose goal is to make the Internet available to every person on the planet. The announcement was kicked off with the launching of a new website, Internet.org, which also happens to be the name of the initiative.

Internet.org's aim is to conquer three specific challenges: affordability, data efficiency, and developing business models that will provide incentives for companies to help bring cheaper, more plentiful Internet access to emerging markets around the globe.

"Everything Facebook has done has been about giving all people around the world the power to connect," Zuckerberg said. "There are huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy. Internet.org brings together a global partnership that will work to overcome these challenges, including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it."