The 6th Annual Video Game Awards of Spike TV is about to kick off next month, and we've got the list of nominees for this one. Cross your fingers tight and wish your personal fave bets good luck. See the list after the jump.

Remember that rumor saying that Ryan Payton of the Metal Gear Solid 4 team upped and joined the crew of Halo? Turns out to be true. Phil Spencer confirmed it today, just little over a week before the Tokyo Game Show starts. Incidentally, Microsoft also revealed that they have a big announcement in store for Halo fans at the event. Talk about building up hype. More in the full article.

Is there life after Kojima Productions? It was revealed late last month that Ryan Payton had left the MGS4 team to head back to the US... And now, we hear that he might have already been hired! Good for him, yes? Now, if current rumors prove true, Payton might be working with Peter Jackson on an upcoming Halo game. Guess the fight's not finished yet, eh?

Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Game Studios, has thrown down the gauntlet. Speaking at an interview, Spencer pitted the Xbox 360's line-up of first-party games against the PlayStation 3's own, saying: "Which first party has had more success on their own platform? [...] I'll line up against Sony's first party any day." Well, someone's gearing up for the holiday spirit. More in the full article. Yes, there's more.

Microsoft Game Studios and Lionhead Studios have released information pertaining to the release of the XBLA Pub Games and Fable 2, as well as dishing out the list of goodies that'll come with the Fable 2 Limited Collector's Edition. Learn more after the jump!

Fans of cybernetic Norse gods will be happy to learn today that Silicon Knights' Too Human has finally achieved gold status. Not only that, the demo for the game is apparently very popular with Xbox 360 gamers! Learn more after the jump.

Earlier, we had reported on the possibility of a US$ 130 Gears of War 2  bundle that supposedly would come with a replica of the lancer weapon from the game. Microsoft has clarified the matter though and, sad to say, that bundle may have been a misunderstanding. Learn more after the jump.

Microsoft Game Studios revealed earlier today that Shane Kim would be taking up a new position at the company. Kim will become corporate VP of strategy and business development for Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment business. Learn more about this after the jump!

It's always sad to see people go. The case doesn't appear to be any different for Bungie Studios' Frank O'Connor, who's making plans to leave the studio to work at Microsoft. That aside, O'Connor's farewell letter also hinted that just what sort of project he's signing on to, which has much to do with Bungie's Halo franchise. More details on this matter are available in the full article.

Over at their Gamer's Day event in San Francisco, Microsoft's taking the opportunity to unveil several new details regarding some of the Xbox 360's upcoming titles. A new Gears of War 2 gameplay video was announced, along with additional information for the likes of Ninja Gaiden 2, Fable 2, and even the recently announced Viva Pinata sequel. More details are available in the full article.