If you consider yourself the type of person who likes getting new video game features for free, then our next MAG patch – version 1.07, due in early August – is definitely something for you.

Yes friends, in just over a week from now, players will be treated to a number of features that you’ve been asking us for all summer in addition to a few surprises. Like what, you ask? Like these:

• A new “Happy Hour” Double XP bonus that’s applied to the first hour of any player’s gameplay session in a 24-hour period.
• Suppression will join Sabotage as a “Faction Neutral” gameplay mode, allowing any PMC to battle each other on any Suppression map.
• Faster download and patching code that allows us to update MAG with more content and bigger file sizes in a speedier way.
• Redesigned versions of the Flores Basin (Raven) and Alyeska Terminus (Valor) Domination maps that include new obstacles and repaired exploits.
• New lighting effects for more attractive and realistic environments.
• Various fixes to address bugs or glitches to improve MAG’s overall performance.

Of course, there are a number of other additions and fixes coming with MAG v1.07, but the points listed above should whet your appetites while you wait for the full list of changes closer to the update.

Watch this space for patch details next week and, as always, let us know what you think of these modifications on our official forums.

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It’s been almost six months since our massive online shooter, MAG, was released to stores all over the world, and the team here at Zipper Interactive is celebrating by giving something back to fans who continue to support our game and its community.

That “something” we’re passing along is also something that many of you have been asking us for with great enthusiasm for months. And so, it is with great pleasure, that I announce that starting today — right this moment in fact — that all maps in our “Sabotage” game mode are going “Faction Neutral!” If you ever wanted to play against the Valor PMC as a member of the competing Raven Industries on a map that belonged to the third faction, SVER, that option is now yours! We’d like to think of it as a way to experience existing content in an all-new way, and we hope you feel the same.

The best part? You don’t have to download a thing to do it. We’ve already set everything up so that all you have to do is log on to the game, select the Sabotage game mode with whatever your PMC of choice may be, and have fun. It’s just that simple.

We hope you enjoy this gift to you as much as we enjoy giving it, and once again, want to thank each and every one of you who have supported MAG in its first half-year. Hopefully, you’ll like what we have in store for the second-half just as much.

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We had a ton of fun during our last Play MAG with Zipper event, so we’re doing it again on Friday, 16th July! This time we’ll be spending our entire session playing MAG‘s new DLC, “Interdiction”, and we’d love to see you there.

If you haven’t tried it out yet, the Interdiction expansion introduces a brand-new gametype, three new faction-neutral maps, the Heavy Improved armor set and new ribbons, medals and trophies. You can download it today from thePlayStation Store for €7.99/£6.29. It’s fun for everyone!

Here’s our Interdiction play schedule:

• Pacific: 2pm – 4pm
• Mountain: 3pm – 5pm
• Central: 4pm – 6pm
• Eastern: 5pm – 7pm
• Hawaii: 12pm (noon) – 2pm
• Alaska: 1pm – 3pm
• GMT: 9pm – 11pm

We’ll see you on the battlefield!

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Tomorrow is the day that MAG fans have been waiting for as our first major DLC, “Interdiction,” will be made available for purchase from the PlayStation Store for €7.99\£6.29.

If you missed our post detailing Interdiction a few weeks back, allow us to sum it up for you:

MAG Interdiction is a brand new game mode built for 128 players. In it, two rival attacking factions fight to gain control of three different command posts while using armoured convoys for every squad on the map (that’s right, 16 APCs onscreen at once!). To earn the victory, teams must capture and hold as many objectives as possible to increase their score while simultaneously decreasing their opponents’ score across three all-new “faction neutral” maps (Iron Creek Quarry, Lake Bayano Spur, and Sovot Motorway).

In addition to the new maps and gametype, Interdiction will also include the most powerful protection in the game, the “Heavy Improved” armour set, as well as a number of new in-game ribbons, medals and trophies. Here’s a reminder of what you can expect:

Ribbons

• Jump Start – Capture 2 Command Posts in a round of Interdiction
• Mowing the Grass – Get 10 kills with a vehicle turret in one round
• Dashed Hopes – Destroy 2 mines with gunfire in one round
• Cannonball Rally – Become an MVP (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in a round of Interdiction

Medals

• Roadside Assistance – Capture 10 Interdiction control points over your career
• Landscape Architect – Get 50 kills with a vehicle turret over your career
• BOD – Destroy 20 mines with gunfire over your career
• Designated Driver – Earn 5 Interdiction MVPs over your career

Trophies

• King of the Hills (Bronze) – Earn the Roadside Assistance medal while playing Interdiction
• Red Ball Express (Silver) – Earn the Designated Driver medal while playing Interdiction
• Road Runner (Gold) – Capture 3 Interdiction control points in a single round

As a special “thank you” to everyone who’s playing MAG this week, we’re also bringing back our popular “Double XP” promotion over the weekend. That means that whether you purchase our new Interdiction DLC or not, you can expect to grab twice as much experience for your battlefield efforts starting Friday, June 25 (at 7:01am GMT\8:01am CET). Just be sure to finish any game you start in order to benefit from the additional XP, as folks who leave a game early won’t receive the bonus. Our Double XP Weekend ends on Sunday, June 27 at 11:59pm Pacific Time (6:59am GMT\7:59am CET).

Oh, and one final note: All MAG players will have to download a small “Interdiction Activation Patch” starting today. It’s only 4MB in size and prepares your copy of MAG to be compatible with the Interdiction game mode. Again, Interdiction itself can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for €7.99\£6.29 and weighs in at 440MB.

Thanks to all our fans for keeping us going these past five months – see you on the Sovot!

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It’s been just over four and a half months since MAG released worldwide and 930,000 battles, 1.7 million players, and 1.1 billion kills later, the time to expand is now.

Zipper Interactive is proud to announce that the Interdiction expansion pack is coming to PlayStation Store on 23 June 2010 for €7.99.

Included is a brand new game mode called Interdiction. Built for up to 128 simultaneous players, Interdiction challenges two rival factions to attack and seize control of three command posts with the aid of several heavily-armed convoys on three brand new maps: Lake Bayano Spur, Sovot Motorway, and Iron Creek Quarry.

To make it even more interesting, we’ve made all three maps completely faction neutral, allowing all sides to play any map whenever they want. In addition, we’ve given every squad their own APC vehicle (that’s 16 APCs on the map at once!). To win, players must capture and hold as many objectives as possible to increase their score while concurrently depleting their enemy’s. In short, Interdiction mode equals crazy battlefield mayhem.

A new game type and three new maps isn’t all we’re packing either. As an extra bonus, we’re also adding the ultimate in MAG protection: our Heavy Improved armour set. Trust us when we say that it doesn’t matter if you’re Raven, Valor, or SVER; if you don the Heavy Improved armour consider yourself a walking tank.

Oh, and one other thing: to reward you for spending your hard-earned money on our new DLC, we’ll also be including a handful of brand new in-game medals, ribbons and trophies! What are they? Glad you asked!

Ribbons

• Jump Start – Capture two Command Posts in a round of Interdiction
• Mowing the Grass – Get 10 kills with a vehicle turret in one round
• Dashed Hopes – Destroy two mines with gunfire in one round
• Cannonball Rally – Become an MVP (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in a round of Interdiction

Medals

• Roadside Assistance – Capture 10 Interdiction control points over your career
• Landscape Architect – Get 50 kills with a vehicle turret over your career
• BOD – Destroy 20 mines with gunfire over your career
• Designated Driver – Earn five Interdiction MVPs over your career

Trophies

• King of the Hills (Bronze) – Earn the Roadside Assistance medal while playing Interdiction
• Red Ball Express (Silver) – Earn the Designated Driver medal while playing Interdiction
• Road Runner (Gold) – Capture three Interdiction control points in a single round

So that’s the Interdiction Pack. Again, you can pick it up for €7.99 from 23 June, but don’t think that we’re stopping there – we still have a lot planned for MAG in the coming months.

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