In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in big sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Disney Interactive Studios, Capcom, Next Level Games, Budcat Creations, and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

In-game commerce network PlaySpan has announced that it has hired Eric Hartness as its chief marketing officer. In his new role, Eric is to lead PlaySpan's Marketplace and microtransaction platfom marketing efforts.

Eric joins PlaySpan after almost nine years with Electronic Arts where he was most recently Vice President of Marketing for its Redwood Shores studio and games including Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Simpsons Game, The Godfather, and Dead Space. Previously, Eric led EA's digital distribution and subscription businesses developing new online revenue streams and maximizing existing ones.

Prior to time with EA, Eric worked as a consultant with Acxiom and A.T. Kearney and held marketing positions with R.L. Polk, Entergy, and Mattel.

"I am extremely pleased to have Eric on the PlaySpan team. As the industry moves beyond game subscriptions and legacy payment models, Eric's experience will be a critical component to extending our industry leadership position," said Karl Mehta, CEO and co-founder of PlaySpan. "We're ready to take micropayments and microtransactions to mainstream gamers, virtual worlds, and social network users around the world."

Trilogy Studios, a developer of virtual worlds and casual MMOs has announced it has partnered with Shanghai-based UltiZen Games, to "expand the company's online game development capabilities".

In addition, Trilogy has announced that it has expanded its operations domestically, adding dozen new hires and leasing more office space at its Sherman Oaks headquarters.

UltiZen Games is to "leverage its online game technology to help Trilogy publish and operate its growing casual MMO game business," reserving office space for Trilogy within its Shanghai studio, as well as dedicating a development team to work on its projects. In exchange, Trilogy is to "assist UltiZen Games with its goal to transition from an outsourcing company to a full-fledged game publisher and operator. "

"At a time when news of corporate downsizing is running rampant, we are very proud to report our company's growth and continued expansion," said Michael Pole, chief executive officer of Trilogy Studios. "Our new relationship with UltiZen coupled with the extension of our domestic operations, will allow Trilogy to further our goal of elevating the virtual world and casual MMO game platforms. We're offering consumers more entertainment value and businesses the opportunity to expand their brands in innovative and engaging new ways."

Publisher KingsIsle Entertainment has announced that over one million unique users have registered for their free-to-play, tween-orientated MMORPG Wizard101 within five months of its launch in September 2008.

The company awarded the millionth registered player with a free one year subscription to the game along with an "interactive commemorative plaque" featuring their name in-world.

In addition, all current and future players are to receive 101 free "crowns"—the world's micro-transaction based currency—automatically in their account. Several items which cost less than 101 crowns have been added to the title, including a limited pet.

"The response has been absolutely overwhelming," says Elie Akilian, founder and CEO of KingsIsle. "We knew the game would appeal to families but we were surprised to see how well the game resonates with the hardcore set. The mechanics are a cross between a traditional Collectible Card Game and an old-school turn based Role Playing Game, and that makes us incredibly unique."

EYA Interactive, who has announced themselves to us as "one of the world’s premier multimedia entertainment service providers" has announced that it is to open a closed beta for the American launch of Titan Online, it's upcoming free-to-play MMORPG.

An "epic title based on traditional Asian culture", Titan Online is based on the Korean novel Mo Siang. Though a Korean, the novel and game are set in ancient China, where players are to "experience historic Chinese locales and meet influential figures from various dynasties."

Developed in-house by EYA Interactive, Titan Online utilizes a real-time battle system.

“Titan Online will offer North American fans a new RPG experience,” says Han Joo Lee, EYA Interactive’s global service manager. “With an extensive and profound martial arts world, a powerful formation system, unique guild system, and pet system, users will find themselves in a beautifully fresh and distinctive RPG environment.”

Billing and fraud management software provider Vindicia has released its 2008 performance metrics, pointing to "across-the-board growth" and highlighting the company’s expectation to "capitalize on the year’s success with accelerated growth in 2009".

The company expects to reach profitability in 2009 on forecasted revenues of between $6 to $8 million, a 100% increase over 2008 revenue—as a result of the company handling approximately 160,000 online transactions a day, for a total of over 58 million in 2008, billing $1 billion in revenue for its customers.

Across 2008, the company added new customers—such as Outspark, Cryptic, FireSky and Multiverse—and continued to work on its on-demand billing and fraud management solutions, Vindicia CashBox and Vindicia ChargeGuard.

“Last year was a critical year of growth for our company,” said Gene Hoffman, chairman and CEO of Vindicia. “We increased penetration of key vertical markets including online gaming and software and expanded our product portfolio, establishing both the technological and operational infrastructure required to scale to meet the needs of the largest and most sophisticated online merchants. Our customers tell us that Vindicia is providing a service of critical importance to the core of their business, one whose importance has only increased in the face of the weak economic conditions.”

Aeria Games were last in touch with us to let us know they were going to publish the bizarrely named MMORPG Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu in Europe, and now they're letting us know that their Diablo-esque MMO Cronous is "entering a new realm" with the addition of Player vs. Player.

An addition that had apparently been in the works since the official launch of Cronous, the title juices up the usual PvP shenanigans with the addition of a virtue system. As players kill other players, they become more "evil", and can only regain their virtue by killing monsters, playing an NPC or using virtue-raising items.

Developed the Korea-based Lizard Interactive, Cronous is an action role-playing game that features a level system but also a skill system—as players accumulate experience and levels, they gain "skills" that lower-level players can't use.

"With this alternative style of play now available, players will have the option to engage one another in battle adding a entirely new element of strategy to Cronous," said an Aeria Games representative. " Aeria's production team is proud to present a long-awaited gaming feature."

Toronto-based publishers G4Box and Wicked Interactive have announced that their open beta for military first-person shooter MMO Cross Fire has been a "tremendous success", gathering more than 25,000 players since its launch on January 30th.

Developed by the Korean developers SmileGate and Neowiz , Cross Fire is to continue its open beta through February.

Cross Fire's open beta marked the beginning of the title's persistent military-ranking and stat-tracking features, and introduced in-game friend lists and a clan system into the game. The title's "flagship feature" is its "Ghost Mode", which puts one team in possession of cloaking technology, rendering them invisible to the opposing team. This team of "ghosts" is armed only with knives, and must hunt the enemy team.

"We knew there was an audience out there that was really anticipating Cross Fire, so we expected a good result," said Garvin Yeung, CEO of Wicked Interactive. "But even we are amazed by the overwhelming response that Cross Fire has garnered thus far," added Howard He, CEO of G4Box.

GMG Entertainment, a publisher of digital currency cards, has announced its 2008 performance—you may remember that Vindicia has just done so too, and like Vindicia GMG are bullish about their performance, claiming "extraordinary growth" with an eightfold increase in revenue across the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, with GMG generating 40 percent of its annual sales in that quarter alone.

Across 2008 GMG launched digital currency cards with partners including Artix Entertainment, GamesCampus, IMVU, Outspark, Octopi, Three Rings and WeeWorld.

With one month of January data available, GMG also reports that its first quarter 2009 sales are "performing above expectations, and are stronger than some months in the second half of '08."

"While the nascency of the space can be credited for some of GMG's 2008 exponential growth, we really attribute the steady results to the multiplier effect of new partners going into new retailers with an increased consumer awareness of digital entertainment prepaid cards as the perfect gift or as an impulse purchase. This effect coupled with building our team out with the incisive management Jeff and Tim bring all help to service our partners, consumers and retails in a meaningful way," said Rob Goldberg, CEO of GMG Entertainment. "Even in these tough economic times, consumers will continue to turn to the online and Free-to-Play/Microtransaction gaming space as a cost effective use of entertainment dollars that need to be stretched."

Offerpal Media has announced that it has closed a second round of funding—with $15 million of investment led by D.E. Shaw Ventures and participation from existing investors InterWest Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners, and as we didn't think that news was interesting enough on its own, we're rounding it out with an interview with Offerpal Media's CEO, Anu Shukla.

We talk to Shukla's to get her take on his company's offering—which offers virtual world developers and publishers a way to integrate advertising with their virtual worlds through targeted offerings that allow the players to (for example) earn in-game currency.

Can you describe what Offerpal offers to MMO developers?

Anu Shukla: Offerpal Media monetizes virtual worlds and MMOs by allowing their users to earn points or other types of virtual currency in exchange for taking part in targeted advertising offers including free trials, discounts, online surveys and more. Our turnkey platform plugs into the publishers web site or application through an I-Frame to help them start making money right away.

In turn, what does it offer to consumers?

AS: Most virtual worlds and MMOs nowadays use virtual currency to allow consumers to purchase virtual goods or premium services. Previously, consumers only choice was to pay real money for these virtual currencies, but Offerpal provides consumers with an alternative payment method—by completing advertising offers—in order to earn virtual currency for free.

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in big sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section this week, including positions from Telltale Games, Konami, Krome Studios, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

Free-to-play publisher Nexon has announced Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria, a new expansion for its one of its most popular MMORPGs (which we covered once in an Online World Atlas.) The expansion is to include new races, such as Elves and Giants, new locations, quests, skills and items.

Players will be able to download the expansion for free beginning Feburary 26th, and it includes several improvements for players who play the title for free, such as the ability to play the game's main storyline quest, more "rebirths"—a method by which characters reset their level while retaining skills—the ability to become paladins and dark knights, and the use of spirit weapons.

In addition, the new location—the continent of Iria—is three times the size of Ulad, the original continent of Mabinogi. The title is to also to debut a new user interface including an "exploration chronicle" and enhanced character creation.

"Mabinogi sets the tone for a new generation of free-to-play RPG games in North America with its art style and high social gameplay," said Min Kim, vice president of marketing for Nexon America. "Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria features a comprehensive suite of free content which will open the doors for both existing and potential users to truly immerse themselves in the world of Mabinogi and Nexon's roster of high quality free-to-play games."

San Jose-based online game publisher, GamesCampus has announced that it has partnered with Ukash, an online cash payment solution, to provide European players an alternative to paying for their online purchases with credit card. Using Ukash, players can perform micro-transactions in the company's lineup of free-to-play MMO titles such as Asda Story and Shot Online.

In celebration of the partnership, GamesCampus has kicked off a site-wide event where players redeeming Ukash will receive an extra 10% bonus credit.

Ukash is an international payment method that allows consumers to pay for GamesCampus' Campus Credit without a credit card or bank account, and without providing any personal or financial details—players instead purchase a Ukash voucher from any local store where the PayPoint, payzone or e-pay sign/logo is available.

GamesCampus games now offers players six different types of payment options including Google checkout, Paypal, ClickandBuy, Paybycash, Ukash and MOL.

"With UKash our players can easily pay for their game items without having a credit card or even a bank account, " said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for GamesCampus.com. "This easy-to-use and secure service is a huge benefit to our European players across all of our games."