Gaming News Round-Up: January 12th, 2005

Today's round-up includes news of a Hollywood talent agency expanding into games, as well as information on what is apparently the final ever Myst title. - The United Talent Agency, a Hollywood firm that represents acting and literary talent, has tapped Jonathan Epstein to open a San Francisco office focusing on videogame representation. UTA is seeking to expand their presence in the world of games, having already made connections like John Singleton's contributions to Midway's Fear and Respect. The choice of Epstein to head the San Francisco office came from his management roles at leading gaming websites such as GameSpot and GameSpy, with both of which he served as President. - Ubisoft has announced the final game in the popular, long-running Myst series, to be called Myst V: End of Ages. The game will be developed by series originators Cyan Worlds, rather than the internal Ubisoft team responsible for 2004's Myst IV. Myst V's storyline will concern the player with restoring the D'ni empire, introduced in the original bestselling adventure game. Confirming that it will be the last Myst game, series co-creator Rand Miller said that the game "follows the Myst storyline to its conclusion -- closing the book on the Ages of Myst." The current release date for Myst V is sometime in fall 2005.