So maybe you need to stock up on Replay Badges, re-spec your Power Type, or finally get some Prometheum Keys to open up those Lock Boxes that have been cluttering your inventory – now is the time! From Style Items to Vault Tickets, everything in the in-game marketplace is half off starting with today’s PlayStation Store update.

So tell us what you think in the comments below, or track us down and Like us at Facebook. We love to hear what you guys have to say because it’s the community that helps make DCUO better. Have a great summer, and we hope you enjoy the sale. We’ll see you in-game!

Welcome back from E3! I’m sure you all are pretty pumped for what’s to come this year in the video game world. A slew of new AAA titles, new features, and new announcements from our favorite games. Speaking of our favorite games, as the executive producer of DC Universe Online, it is no surprise that what I’m most excited about coming out of E3 is DC Universe Online’s new DLC pack! That’s right, more new content for a game that is already free-to-play! And the best part is…you don’t have to wait much longer to jump into battle.

Tomorrow, we launch DCUO’s highly anticipated fourth DLC pack: The Last Laugh. We are greatly anticipating the release of this new pack as it is the first time we have created a major update almost entirely focused on player-versus-player (PvP) combat. The Last Laugh will include hours of multiplayer gameplay in the Safe Houses and Headquarters, an all-new weapon, and new Light-Powered and Kryptonian Legends PvP characters.

The story revolves around The Joker, who decides that the Heroes and Villains has been working too closely to defeat Brainiac. His solution? Create some chaos! The Joker hacks into the security systems of the Hero and Villain Safe Houses and Headquarters, thereby allowing for invasion scenarios. With The Last Laugh, we’re introducing Safe House PvP battles, which are four-on-four battles that take place in new maps created using the in-game Safe Houses. What’s more, there are three new game modes as part of the Safe House battles, each with its own unique strategies and objectives. We’re also introducing Headquarter Battles, which are massive eight-on-eight battles that take place in either the Justice League Watchtower, or the Hall of Doom. In all of these battles, iconic DC characters and other NPCs will join the fray to add another challenging layer to the chaotic battles. Lastly, we are giving players a new brawler-style weapon, The Shield, to take down opponents!

We created The Last Laugh purely for the players that like to take the fight to each other in DCUO’s amazing PvP combat. It’s going to be a lot of fun and add so much more to the gameplay experience. I hope you take the opportunity to prove to the world whether heroes or villains will be triumphant — see you in-game!

It’s been three years since Free Realms first came out, and what better time for a reminder of all the fun to be had in Free Realms than…our third birthday! Yes, that’s right folks – Free Realms officially turned three this weekend. Can you believe it? No? Neither can we! Time flies when you’re having fun!

As the first massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) for the PlayStation 3, it has been an exciting journey for us thus far and we have been beyond thrilled with the response we have gotten from the community and media. For those that haven’t jumped into the action, Free Realms is a free 3D online world for all ages where you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.

From building and decorating your own house, to inviting your friends over for a dance party, the fun is limitless in Free Realms. As the go-to place to join up with friends, you and your friends can do everything together including battling enemies throughout the year, searching for lost treasure, dueling with other players, cooking up meals, or racing cars.

With Free Realms’ birthday upon us, all of Sacred Grove is in a tizzy getting ready for the big celebration. Join Queen Valerian’s special cake bake-off where the best chefs are invited to compete for the honor of serving their special cake at the final Birthday Bash; you’ll have a handful of daily repeatable quests that will prepare you for the big birthday party, and also a new piñata pet!

Lastly, it wouldn’t be a birthday without Cakenstein! The Frankenstein of a cake returns to ruin the Birthday Bash, and as part of the birthday’s world event, it is up to you to stop him!

We think this will be a birthday for the record books. It has more than two dozen main story and daily activity quests as well as Cakenstein world event; however, at its heart, it’s about joining up with your friends to discover, explore, compete, chat, and share achievements and just have fun!

We’re a year older, yet, we’re only three and there is definitely more to come! So come join us in Free Realms; all you have to do is download the game on your PC or from the PlayStation Store, and log in! Also, keep up with all things Free Realms by “liking” our Facebook page and following us on Twitter! Hope to see you in-game soon!

This is my first blog post as a member of the DCUO team and I could not be more excited. As a life-long comic book fan and game developer it’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to work on a game that includes my two all-time favorite characters: Swamp Thing and Batman.

Tomorrow we are launching our largest, most impressive DLC pack yet with The Battle for Earth. There’s a lot to like in this new pack: three Duos, an Alert, two Raids, new gear and rewards and an incredible new power set – Earth Powers – that lets you deal damage or play the Tank role in an exciting new way. My personal favorite new Raid is set in Themyscira, the ancestral home of Wonder Woman. Our team of talented artists did an amazing job crafting this beautiful new zone, and the design team went above and beyond in creating a cooperative combat experience that is fun, challenging and rewarding. You and your friends will need to use all of your skill and a lot of strategy in order to conquer this Raid and take down Brainiac’s Avatar of Magic. The Battle for Earth culminates with a major showdown against Braniac, and sets the stage for a new chapter in the game’s ongoing narrative. I can give you one hint: Future Lex Luthor and Future Batman will be key players in the future of DCUO.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of our players, and welcome all of the new folks. We continue to grow and attract thousands of new players every day. That’s good news for everyone as far as I’m concerned. The more people that play the game the richer the experience we can offer. The team is working hard to address feedback from the community and will continue to issue regular game updates, along with quarterly DLC pack releases. It is an incredibly exciting time for DCUO as we’re going to be introducing some great new features this year and I can’t wait to share the details with you. See you in-game!

Nothing says love more than the Stone Abomination right? No? Oh… well… that’s probably because you have yet to hear the tale behind the Festival of Hearts in Free Realms. Sure, everyone knows that Festival of Hearts celebrates love, but not many know the tale of how the festival originated. This is a tale of love that transcends time, and has been retold from generation to generation all around the land.

Long ago, two young pixies – Rylan and Arianna – met while adventuring in the place we now call Merry Vale. Upon first glance, they were smitten with each other and planted a flower together at the spot where they first met. The two young pixies vowed to see each other every day, meeting near their flower in Merry Vale. Every time they met, Rylan would bring a present to his sweetheart; sometimes flowers or chocolates, other times balloons or hand-printed poems. Their romance was the stuff of legend, until…

But I’d better not spoil the fun. I’ll let you guys find out for yourselves starting February 7th! Log into Free Realms and find out what happens to these two lovebirds. And of course, don’t forget to check out the new Valentine’s goodies in the PlayStation Store; there are surprises for everyone.

For those of you who are new to Free Realms, you can jump into the game for free. We are a Free-To-Play MMORPG and you can find us in the PlayStation Store under the PS3 Games category, under the letter F. Get the game and you can play and make new friends online in Free Realms, or you can play with your current PSN friends who have also downloaded the game for free!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and be sure to share your Festival of Hearts adventures with the team on our Facebook page and Twitter handle @FreeRealms!

• We’ve seen more than 3.5 million hero characters and more than 2 million villain characters created
• More than 2.3 million registered users on the PS3
• Players have logged a total of more than 3.6 million days of playtime
• We’ve added more than 1,200 new NPC characters, 200 new quests, 2,500 new items and 1,800 new encounters

And that list doesn’t even include all of the new features we’ve put in the game, such as the new Research & Development system that we released yesterday with Game Update 8.

It’s clear we’ve been a little busy this past year, but we’re not slowing down at all for 2012. This year will see even more adventures, new missions, new DC heroes and villains, more chances for you to group with your friends for battle, amazing new gear and some exciting new features. We look forward to you joining us in the coming year and beyond.

Hope you’re enjoying the most wonderful time of the year – the holiday gaming season! One of the chief perks of a massively multiplayer online game is that the developers have a lot of freedom to make changes to the world, including creating special events throughout the year. In DC Universe Online, we’ve just begun our new holiday-themed event Season’s Greedings, which gives players fun new things to do set in a festive new look. As you make your way around Gotham City and Metropolis, you’ll see that both are decked out in celebration of the season. But that’s only the beginning!

All players are able to take part in a fun Holiday event starring our newest DCUO character, Larfleeze, the leader of the Orange Lantern Corps. Orange Lanterns? Yes, the Orange Lanterns, much like the Sinestro Corps or the Red Lanterns, are rivals of the Green Lanterns and are powered by the orange light of avarice, aka “greed.” Being a greedy little guy, it makes sense that Larfleeze wants all of the holiday presents for himself. As the player, it’s up to you to track down the stolen presents, battle Larfleeze’s deadly orange light constructs, and report your success back to Hal Jordan (if you’re a hero) or Sinestro (if you’re a villain) to collect your just desserts.

In addition to all of the fun, we’ve also added some great new holiday items to our in-game marketplace and vendors so you can make sure your character is dressed just right for the season. I mean, who wouldn’t want to fight crime dressed as a heroic snowman?

DCUO is now free to download and play on PS3. Just look for the game in the PlayStation Store and check it out. Season’s Greedings is running until January, so you have plenty of time to jump in and experience the holidays DCUO-style. We hope everyone has a great Holiday and wonderful New Year. See you in 2012!

Do you love the winter snow but not when it comes to shoveling it? Are you tired of holiday shopping? Take a break and see what awaits you under the Gifting Tree as we celebrate Snow Days in Free Realms! Snow Days brings to life the legend of the Gifting Tree. Known as the oldest pine in Sacred Grove, the tree is the enchanted center piece of Snowhill and blooms with presents every winter. Folks from all over Free Realms are encouraged to gather around its base every day while it is in bloom to receive an abundance of magical gifts, and until all the presents have fallen from its branches. The selfless nature of the tree spread the spirit of giving throughout Sacred Grove, and began the tradition of Winter Holiday.

You can begin your quest by meeting Candi Ivy, a Winter Holiday celebrator who looks after the Gifting Tree in Snowhill. After providing you with the Gifting Tree’s history, Candi Ivy will launch you into a fun quest to collect the presents under the tree. Additionally, for those of you who are members, you will have a chance to earn even more gifts by displaying your giving spirit and helping others through the holiday activities.

For those seeking high-intensity fun, Winter Holiday brings two activities that are pulse-pumping and action oriented. “Snowball Fighting” debuts this Winter Holiday to give players snowball abilities and revolves around player-vs-player battles. You can jump into a snowball fight by simply running over snowball “power ups” placed throughout the battle arena. And you can’t miss the “Snowman Showdown” – it’s the Winter Holiday’s main event! The Showdown pits players against the Abominable Snowman and holiday robgoblin – snowmen whose sole purpose is to snatch presents from the Gifting Tree. You and your friends are charged with defeating the snowmen and the Abominable Snowman in order to claim your reward.

It’s going to be a fun and festive season in Free Realms and we hope you can join us! Thank you, and welcome, to all of our new players. We hope to see more of you in game soon. I mean, why not jump in and try it out? It’s free! You can find us in the PlayStation Store under the PS3 Games category, under the letter F (for Fun, Friends, and Free Realms of course!). Happy Holidays, everyone.

You may have seen a few weeks ago when we announced that more than one million new players had jumped in to DCUO since the launch of Free-to-Play. That number is definitely larger now, and growing by roughly 6% each day. We love seeing all of the new heroes and villains in game, and hope you and your friends keep coming back to experience the great new adventures we have planned for the coming year.

But enough bragging! You probably want to know what’s going on with the new DLC, which hits PlayStation Store tomorrow. Lightning Strikes has something fun for players of all levels. You can amp up with the new Electricity power set, which offers supercharged new ways to heal yourself and your allies, and also gives you some pretty devastating damage abilities. Make sure to create a new character and see how fun this new power can be. Everyone will also get a chance to chase down some new bounties. Members of the Teen Titans, such as Cyborg, Kid Flash and Starfire, and the Rogues, including Captain Cold, Heat Wave and Trickster are on the loose, and you and your friends can earn some great rewards for taking them down.

For the high-level players, Lightning Strikes introduces a new map for you to fight in and a tough new combat duo, both of which revolve around Barry Allen, otherwise known as The Flash. The Central City map lets you get a glimpse of The Flash’s home city, which is having some problems thanks to a quickly unraveling Speed Force. In this new zone you will find a number of solo and group missions, tons of combat, and probably even some members of the opposite faction to fight. The Flashback Duo sends you and a friend on a critical mission to help save The Flash himself. Travel back in time via the Speed Force to the night Barry Allen gets struck by lightning, and stop the sinister forces trying to prevent the rise of the Scarlet Speedster. And let’s not forget that Lightning Strikes also introduces some great new gear for you to grab.

Thank you, and welcome, to all of our new players. We hope to see more of you in game soon. I mean, why not jump in and try it out? It’s free! Happy Holidays, everyone.

Remember back in September when we announced that DC Universe Online was going to be Free-To-Play? Well, it’s here! Starting today you can download DCUO from the PlayStation Store for free, and play all you want with no monthly fee required. Experience the game play features that have gotten players excited about DCUO since it launched, including the intense, fast-action brawler style combat system that makes it feel more like an action game than a massive online game. Now, you can see for yourself how DCUO offers the best of both worlds. Fight, fly, speed, battle with friends, pummel your enemies, explore the amazing locales of the DC Universe, hobnob with Wonder Woman… all for free!

We’re really excited about this transition because you all have been asking us to make this change, and now we’ve done it – we’re making DCUO accessible to so many more players. We heard all of you out there who told us at conventions, on Facebook and elsewhere that you’d love to jump in to the game, if only it didn’t have that pesky monthly fee. Well, now’s your chance. With our three levels of access there’s something for every type of player. Free-To-Play. Your way.

Are you a new player? Then just jump in and play for free. If you buy a few of the awesome items in our marketplace or a DLC pack (totaling at least $5), then you’ll get permanently bumped up to Premium Access, which gives you extra features such as more character and inventory slots. You can continue to play at Premium Access for as long as you want with the option to purchase extra features, or jump in to a Legendary membership for a monthly fee and get access to maximum game features and all DLC packs. Don’t want to pay that membership fee for a while? No problem, you’ll automatically become Premium Access if you drop your Legendary membership.

And for you current players, you may have already noticed that you’ve already been migrated to a Legendary membership. Former players, come on back! You’ll be granted automatic Premium Access as soon as you log in. We have all the details on our website if you want to know more.

We look forward to seeing all of the new faces, and old friends, zipping around Metropolis and Gotham City. Let’s hear from you in the comments below. See you in game!