Joystiq reports that shooter designer Jeff Minter is following Minotaur Rescue and Minitron 2112 with a third iOS game. Deflex is a puzzler game in which players set down bats (left- and right-slanted lines), off of which a ball bounces into on-screen items. Each time the ball connects, the bat changes direction. The app is an adaptation of 1982′s Superdeflex.

Thatgamecompany has revealed the requirements for taking part in the limited beta for Journey. The beta will be restricted to “the very earliest adopters of Flower” who are also PlayStation Plus subscribers. The beta begins tomorrow June 28, and runs through July 12. Those who qualify should receive an invitation via their PSN inbox soon. If you currently don’t qualify, you still have a shot. More invitations are being given away via thatgamecompany’s Facebook page through 7pm PT tonight.

When LucasArts formally announced Star Wars: The Old Republic, they said that Star Wars: Galaxies, would continue. According to a recent statement, however, the last day of operation for Galaxies will be December 15.

“The shutdown of SWG is a very difficult decision, but SOE and LucasArts have mutually agreed that the end of 2011 is the appropriate time to end the game. We are extremely grateful to all of the SWG fans. We have had the rare opportunity to host one of the most dedicated and passionate online gaming communities, and we truly appreciate the support we’ve received from each and every one of you over the course of the past eight years.”

In recent weeks, hacker group LulzSec has launched a number of attacks on the likes of Nintendo, Bethesda Softworks, Epic Games, CCP Games, and Mojang. Now Gamespot reports that the group has announced its rampage is over and that the organization has disbanded.

“We are Lulz Security, and this is our final release, as today marks something meaningful to us,” the group said in a statement. “For the past 50 days we’ve been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could. All to selflessly entertain others–vanity, fame, recognition, all of these things are shadowed by our desire for that which we all love…So with those last thoughts, it’s time to say bon voyage. Our planned 50 day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance, leaving behind–we hope–inspiration, fear, denial, happiness, approval, disapproval, mockery, embarrassment, thoughtfulness, jealousy, hate, even love. If anything, we hope we had a microscopic impact on someone, somewhere. Anywhere.”

The group then proceeded to hack the site for Electronic Arts’ free-to-play shooter Battlefield Heroes.

A developer from Crytek has reportedly leaked information to Videogamer that the successor to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console will be at next year’s E3. The anonymous programmer also revealed that Timesplitters 4 is currently in production for the new machine, using DirectX 11, and that the game was being demonstrated behind closed doors at this year’s event. He then dished that the visuals for the game are a vast improvement over those for the Xbox 360. The company is also allegedly preparing for PlayStation 4 development. Neither Crytek nor Microsoft have commented on the rumor.

Double Fine’s publishing arrangement with Majesco for Psychonauts has apparently expired. Programmer Anna Kipnis “unofficially” revealed the news yesterday via Twitter. Double Fine has owned the IP since its original release in 2005 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. It has since been released via both Steam and the Xbox Live Marketplace, which is where curious gamers can find it today.

Gamespot reports that THQ has closed New York-based Kaos Studios, and its UK cousin, Digital Warrington. THQ has not mentioned how many employees will be let go due to the closures, but did state that impacted staff will be given the opportunity to apply for other positions within the company.

Kaos Studios’ Homefront franchise will be moved to THQ’s Montreal studio, which was founded last year under Patrice Desilets. The Montreal studio actively assisted Kaos with development of the title, and is currently creating a new IP for the publisher.

According to Gamespot, hacking group Lulz Security (aka LulzSec) breached Bethesda Softworks’ security on Monday. They acquired information from about 200,000 Brink players, but weren’t content to stop there. Yesterday, LulzSec launched denial of service attacks on a wide range of sites (including the Escapist), and brought down the Eve Online login servers.

Develop Online reports that Nintendo’s next generation console won’t come with playback capabilities for DVD or Blu-ray. The company stands by its aim to build devices specifically for playing games. Adding in the cost of a DVD or Blu-ray player would be redundant.

“We feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray,” said Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, last week at a Q&A session.

NASCAR.COM announced today the launch of the NASCAR Pro Championship, the first NASCAR social gaming experience. The game will be featured within Car Town on Facebook, and its launch coincides with the coverage of TNT’s Summer Series, which runs through the conclusion of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on November 20.

NASCAR Pro Championship is free to play ,and designed to provide Facebook users with the opportunity to compete against their friends in a sponsored race and complete challenges and activities that will earn them virtual rewards. Race winners will accumulate prizes to add to their Car Town garage. During the game, fans can race against virtual drivers on a series of three different tracks, and complete a variety of missions with their social network to win the coveted NASCAR Pro Championship title. Popularity rankings will also allow players to keep up with their friends and invite others to be their virtual fans.

During their Wii U reveal, Nintendo showed off such upcoming titles as Batman: Arkham City, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations. The reel of gameplay footage was really a hit, and made it very much look like the new console could compete with the other two big boy consoles. There’s also a very simple explanation for why it looked that way. In an interview with Game Trailers, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime was asked if the footage shown came from the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of those games.

“Absolutely, because we’re talking about a year away from when the system is going to launch. In terms of how good it looks, it’s going to be driven by what the individual developers do,” explained Fils-Amie. “The system is going to be 1080p. It’s going to be high definition. And so, again, tick that box — that’s done. Now it’s about, what is the new experience that we’re going to bring to bear?”

Alan Wake failed to materialize at E3 last week, so Joystiq checked in with Microsoft Game Studios VP, Phil Spencer, on its status. According to him, and using past sales as an indicator, Microsoft isn’t ready to publish a new game. “I don’t know that they’ve signed it with anybody,” he admitted, but also confessed that they would like to work with Remedy again and that conversations with the developer continue to take place.

id Software has pushed Rage back from its previously announced September 13 release date, and it will now arrive in stores on October 4. This puts it up against both Dark Souls and The Darkness II.

Rage is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth that’s recovering from an asteroid collision. Humans have emerged from underground arks (Fallout anyone?). Players assume the role of a survivor who has emerged and been subsequently outfitted with an array of performance-enhancing nanotechnology and some powerful ranged weaponry. It is based on the id Tech 5 engine, the latest development tool set crafted by John Carmack.

Minecraft has some new content coming that creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson refers to as an “adventure update.”

“We’re keeping the details secret so people can get surprises. The idea with this update is to flesh out the game a bit, making it reward exploration and combat more,” Persson said in his blog.

The update isn’t quite ready, yet. The source code will go out to a small test group before launch, and they’ll use the data collected to work out the final details.

According to Develop Online, three suspected hackers have been arrested in Spain in connection with the PlayStation Network break-in. Spanish police have suggested that the three are indeed connected to Anonymous. The three are alleged to have launched the attacks from an apartment in the northern port city of Gijon. The server in question may have also been used in similar attacks on two Spanish banks, an Italian energy company, and various government websites in Spain, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.

Anonymous has publicly denied responsibility for the data breach.