Electronic Arts’ Origin digital distribution platform boasts a vast game catalog of AAA titles like Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3, but now the publisher is courting smaller developers. EA announced today that it will provide free distribution services for any successfully crowd-funded PC title for 90 days after launch.

EA is hoping to attract indie developers to Origin with the promise of 90 days of free distribution services.

The first crowd-funded project confirmed for Origin is Inxile Entertainment’s Wasteland 2. That game quickly surpassed its Kickstarter funding target earlier this year, climbing to over $2.93 million. Company CEO Brian Fargo said the 90 days of free distribution services represents a “major economic bonus” for the studio.

Gabriel Knight designer Jane Jensen also pledged her support for EA’s new crowd-funded promotion. She said, “It’s great to see a big publisher like EA opening up distribution opportunities for these games.” Jensen’s crowd-funded Pinkerton Road studio recently exceeded its $300,000 target.

EA confirmed to GameSpot this afternoon that Jensen’s inclusion in the announcement was only to demonstrate her support for the program and is not confirmation that her first title–Moebius–will be released as part of it.

EA specifically called out the Kickstarter crowd-funding platform as one that developers can utilize, though others are available. Those interested in hosting their title through Origin can complete a
submission form at the Origin publishing portal.

On top of announcing it would waive distribution fees for crowd-funded titles for 90 days, EA revealed today that Origin now boasts 12 million members, up from an 11 million user count announced earlier this month.

38 Studios’ massively multiplayer online game currently codenamed Project Copernicus is scheduled to arrive in June 2013. The news comes from Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, who revealed the date today during a press conference attended by Joystiq discussing the future of embattled Providence-based 38 Studios.

How often does a state official announce a release date?!

Further details on the game were not revealed, as Chafee simply stated, “What I understand is Copernicus is June ’13.” Requests to 38 Studios for confirmation of the date were not returned as of press time.

Also during the briefing today, Chafee announced that 38 Studios’ $1.125 million check to the state of Rhode Island has cleared. This fulfills the company’s first obligated payment on the game studio’s controversial 2010 $75 million loan from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC).

38 Studios founder Curt Schilling offered his first public comments on the issues surrounding the company last night through Facebook.

“To all the prayers and well wishes to the team and families at 38, God Bless and thank you! We will find a way, and the strength, to endure,” he wrote.

The RIEDC board Wednesday held an emergency meeting to discuss whether to provide additional assistance to 38 Studios to keep the company in business. While the board made no ruling on the matter, it is expected to consider the topic again on Monday.

[UPDATE]: Shortly after the publication of this article, 38 Studios uploaded a teaser trailer for Copernicus to YouTube. The trailer is a brief tour of the gameworld’s environments and can be seen below.

Earlier this week, a source told IGN Germany that Yager Development, which is presently finishing up Spec Ops: The Line for its June release, had been tapped to develop Dead Island 2. This is not the case, says Guido Eickmeyer, development director with the original game’s publisher, Deep Silver.

Dead Island 2 is not in development, at least not yet.

“We are neither working with Yager on Dead Island 2 nor do we have any contractual agreement with Yager about any project at this point,” he said.

The developer did not rule out working with Yager in the future, saying there is a “legitimate chance” the companies will one day team up. He even went as far as to say a future relationship could be on a project related to the Dead Island franchise.

Eickmeyer went on to explain that Deep Silver does not have Dead Island 2 “in concept or production with external partners” and that it is currently considering options for a sequel.

Dead Island was developed by Polish shop Techland and shipped in September 2011 to generally positive review scores. The game shipped 3 million copies and welcomed various add-on packs. Speculation about a follow-up sparked in November, when Techland filed a trademark application for Dead World.

Though a sequel to Dead Island is currently out of sight, a movie based on the property may see the light of day. Film studio Lionsgate optioned the rights from Deep Silver after the game shipped last year. Development of the Dead Island film will be led by The Mummy producer Sean Daniel and Stefan Sonnenfeld, who did postproduction work on various Pirates of the Caribbean films and X-Men: The Last Stand.

For more on Dead Island, check out GameSpot’s review.

The Tekken live-action feature film is getting a follow-up from one of the most acclaimed martial arts movie makers of the past decade. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ong Bak director Prachya Pinkaew has signed on to helm Tekken: Rise of the Tournament.

Jon Foo in the original 2010 version of Tekken.

Rise of the Tournament will be a prequel to the 2010 live-action film Tekken, which starred Jon Foo as Jin Kazuya and recapped his entry into the franchise’s ongoing Mishima family feud. While the report mentioned no casting decisions, it did say the film will be eschewing stars in favor of actors who more closely resemble their in-game counterparts.

Production company Crystal Sky Pictures is hoping a get a domestic theatrical release for the film this time around, but nothing has been finalized yet. There is also no word on a script or release date for the project.

An HBO Go app launched on Xbox Live last month, but it did so blocking out users of one of the biggest cable companies, Time Warner. That embargo has ended, as Microsoft announced today that Time Warner and Bright House cable subscribers can finally access HBO content through the app on Xbox Live.

HBO Go, now available for Time Warner customers.

The HBO Go app brings the network’s entire suite of programming to the Xbox 360, allowing gamers to stream shows like Game of Thrones, Entourage, and Deadwood. It is available only to those with a full HBO subscription and allows users to search and select programs via voice and gesture control through the Kinect.

Presently, the Xbox 360 is the only game console to offer an HBO Go app. In August 2011, HBO parent company Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said the streaming service would come to game consoles, but no announcements have been made for the PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii.

Swedish developer DICE will bundle all Battlefield 3 downloadable content for a onetime fee, multiple sources have told Battlefieldo. According to the site, Battlefield Premium will launch on June 4 alongside a double XP promotional period for PC gamers.

Battlefield Premium will offer early access to upcoming BF3 map packs, say sources.

The site reports that five Battlefield 3 expansion packs, as well as new camo and exclusive in-game items, are included with the purchase of Battlefield Premium. Additionally, players who purchase Battlefield Premium will receive early access to upcoming map packs, reports Battlefieldo.

To date, DICE has released just one add-on for Battlefield 3, the launch-day DLC Back to Karkand. Forthcoming map packs for the game include June’s Close Quarters, followed by Armored Kill and End Game. A fifth pack is rumored to launch in March 2013.

Earlier this week, the same site reported that Battlefield Premium would be a service, and offer a range of content drops in much the same way that Activision does with Call of Duty: Elite. No mention was made in today’s report of a price for Battlefield Premium. As of press time, DICE owner Electronic Arts had not responded to GameSpot’s request for comment.