Welcome to The Black List, your one stop shop for the stories published on the site this week.

MONDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Black Death > Parisian independent Darkworks has commenced work on its latest project. Black Death is a survival horror game set in a city overrun by a mysterious black smoke. While this alone sounds like a major public health concern, the authorities will have more to worry about than a few cases of smoke inhalation. Those unfortunate enough to be effected by the noxious cloud tend to mutate into barbarous monstrosities hell bent on wreaking havoc at every opportunity. READ MORE

TUESDAY NEWS Gears of War 3 > Try to picture yourself toiling away for years on what you sincerely hope will be a great game. Now, imagine how you would feel if your work was stolen months prior to its release date and made available free of charge. As reported by GameSpot, this is the unpalatable scenario currently facing Epic Games. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception > Are you ready for your first taste of one of the year’s most anticipated PS3 exclusives? The Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception multiplayer beta, which has thus far been restricted to PlayStation Plus members and purchasers of inFAMOUS 2, will be made available to all PSN users from today. By the time the beta concludes on 13 July, you’ll have had access to three maps and nine adversarial and cooperative game modes. READ MORE

THURSDAY NEWS nanoBITES 47 > Petroglyph Games has commenced an open beta for its forthcoming PC action strategy title Rise of Immortals. The latest contender for DotA’s crown is due for release later this year. This is just one of the stories in this week’s edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

FRIDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Dishonored > Arkane Studios has been keeping things on the down low since its acquisition by Zenimax Media in August last year. That approach seems certain to change, with the today’s announcement that the developer has commenced work on Dishonored. The game will be co-directed by Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith, the lead designers of Arx Fatalis and Deus Ex respectively. READ MORE

Recent instalments of The Black List: 02.07.11 l 25.06.11 l 18.06.11 l 11.06.11 l 04.06.11

Note the presence of boxes/crates in the background. This is indeed a video game.

Arkane Studios has been keeping things on the down low since its acquisition by Zenimax Media in August last year. That approach seems certain to change, with the today’s announcement that the developer has commenced work on Dishonored. The game will be co-directed by Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith, the lead designers of Arx Fatalis and Deus Ex respectively.

Print magazine Game Informer has revealed that it will feature Dishonored in its August issue, in the process describing a game containing elements of action and stealth, along with plenty of scope for player choice. Though it is difficult to discern precisely what is occurring on the cover itself, it may hint at a period (or perhaps even steampunk) setting for the game.

In recent years, Arkane has contributed to the likes of BioShock 2 and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. However, it has been almost a decade since it served as the sole developer on a finished PC or home console title. This project therefore looms a significant test for the talented French studio.

Zebimax will be publishing Dishonored (via its Bethesda Softworks label) on 360, PS3 and PC in 2012.

Image Credit: Game Informer

NanoBITES captures those small but important morsels of gaming information that otherwise might slip between the cracks.

ITEM! Hypnotic black and white platformer Limbo will soon be available to a wider audience. Playdead co-founder Dino Patti told Edge that the former XBLA exclusive will be coming to PSN and Steam, though a release window is yet to be announced.

ITEM! Veterans of Titan Studios (Fat Princess) have formed a new development house. The new team will be known as Carbon Games. According to the studio’s formal announcement, the move will enable them to create the “games we want on the platforms we want.”

ITEM! Petroglyph Games has commenced an open beta for its forthcoming PC action strategy title Rise of Immortals. The latest contender for DotA’s crown is due for release later this year.

ITEM! The developer known as “][“ has revealed its latest project, a colourful PSN game entitled Dyad. In a post on the Official PlayStation Blog, studio founder Shawn McGrath has described it as “an abstract racing game” influenced by “fighting games, puzzle games and classic arcade shooters.”

ITEM! PC graphics show pony Crysis may be joining its sequel on the 360 and PS3. As reported by IGN, US classification body the ESRB has listed Crytek’s sci-fi first person shooter on its public website.

Recent instalments of nanoBITES: 30.06.11 l 23.06.11 l 02.06.11 l 26.05.11 l 19.05.11

And just when Tiger Airways thought things couldn’t get any worse…

Are you ready for your first taste of one of the year’s most anticipated PS3 exclusives? The Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception multiplayer beta, which has thus far been restricted to PlayStation Plus members and purchasers of inFAMOUS 2, will be made available to all PSN users from today. By the time the beta concludes on 13 July, you’ll have had access to three maps and nine adversarial and cooperative game modes.

While the original Uncharted was strictly a single player game, the first sequel introduced a number of (generally well received) multiplayer modes. This time around, developer Naughty dog is aiming to transform multiplayer into an “active cinematic experience”. Translation? Expect to encounter a range of extravagant scripted events… over and over again.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is scheduled for release on PS3 on Thursday 3 November 2011. This is a great time to be an Uncharted fan as a second title, Uncharted: The Golden Abyss is also in the works, this time for the recently announced PSVita.