This morning Minecraft developers Mojang said that they were working with Oxeye Game Studios on Cobalt, a game they described as an "action game of running, jumping, rolling, shooting, throwing, dancing, hacking, rolling, flying, sliding, climbing, looting, deflecting, racing, piñata-ing, passing, scoring... and even more rolling!"

Minecraft's massive Adventure Update 1.8 has been leaked -- by Mojang right-hand man, Jens Bergensten, or Jeb. Minecraft creator Markus Persson is content with the leak, as shown through his subtle use of a winking emoticon in this tweet, and the following message, which says, "(I am fine with you using it. Make sure you get it from the leaked url we are hosting, though)."

Jeb affirmed his part in the leak with yet another emoticon, in the long-eyed equals-sign style, on a Reddit post. Jeb had previously tweeted he would upload the jar file for "expert users," which is exactly what he did nine hours later. If you're an expert Minecrafter, download the file here and get your adventure started.

When a developer leaks its own game a few days early, we think that should just be called a release. But hey, what do we know?

Minecon, the upcoming gathering of blocky world enthusiasts, is throwing in an extra bonus to entice attendees. Specifically, attendees will get alpha codes for Mojang's two upcoming games: Scrolls, and Cobalt. The early-bird ticket price is running out, though, so you might want to check your couch for change quickly.

The event takes place November 18-19 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Tickets aren't exactly cheap: $99 now and $139 after October 1. But, access to two games should sweeten the deal.

In addition to being the next game from Mojang, Scrolls is best known for its ongoing legal battle with ZeniMax over use of the word "scrolls."

Cobalt isn't being developed by Mojang, but will be the first game published by the Minecraft team. Check out the experimental shooter in its debut trailer:

The 1.8 update to Minecraft is now live, and it comes with new modes and new biomes like swamps, oceans and abandoned mines, as well as new mobs and a new health system with stackable food. The update also adds new blocks and new weapons. The 1.8 update also introduces the Endermen, who only come out at night and attack you when you stare directly at them.

Another feature is that the game will now randomly generate villages and houses, but NPCs won't appear til version 1.9. Still, it's nice to have a preview.

Markus Persson, aka Notch, created indie sensation Minecraft. His studio Mojang then went to trademark the name to "protect our brand." They wanted 'Scrolls' too.

ZeniMax, parent of Bethesda, own The Elder Scrolls and weren't happy. Notch claims they "offered both to change" or drop the trademark; "Bethesda refused on both counts."

"We realized we should apply for the trademark “Minecraft” to protect our brand. When doing so, we also sent in an application for “Scrolls”. When Bethesda contacted us, we offered both to change the name to “Scrolls: ” and to give up the trademark," blogged Notch.

"They refused on both counts."

"Whatever reason they have for suing us, it’s not a fear of us having a trademark on the word “Scrolls”, as we’ve offered to give that up." Minecraft's creator revealed this information to "clarify a couple of things" after Kotaku published an article on the debacle.

The gist appears to be that Mojang got a little greedy with the 'Scrolls' trademark, effectively trying to own the word in all forms of media, to which ZeniMax took immediate offense because of their The Elder Scrolls franchise which would be affected.

ZeniMax and Mojang are due in court where the Bethesda owner claims Mojang's card game would potentially confuse people between it and the Elder Scrolls RPG series.

GDC Online, taking place in Austin, Texas, was host to the second annual GDC Online Awards.  The big winners last night were two fairly popular titles, both critically and financially; Mojang’s Minecraft and Trion World’s Rift.

Both titles took home two prizes each, from the pool of 10 awards directly related to gaming.  The Hall of Fame Award was given to EverQuest, which has been operating online for over 12 years now.  Also a big winner was Sony Online Entertainment, who took home three awards for three separate titles.

"We're so happy to be back again honoring the world's best online games," said Simon Carless, organizer of the event.

"Once again, this year's award winners represent a massive range of genres and studios, from social network titles through core MMOs, and we'd like to congratulate all the nominees and winners on their sterling work."

The list of the night’s winners:

    Best Online Visual Arts: DC Universe Online (Sony Online Entertainment)
    Best Social Network Game: Gardens of Time (Playdom)
    Best Online Game Design: Spiral Knights (Three Rings Design/Sega)
    Online Innovation: Shadow Cities (Grey Area)
    Best Online Technology: Rift (Trion Worlds)
    Best Community Relations: Minecraft (Mojang)
    Best Audio for an Online Game: Clone Wars Adventures (Sony Online Entertainment)
    Best New Game Online: Rift (Trion Worlds)
    Best Live Game: Minecraft (Mojang)
    Audience Award: Wizard101 (KingsIsle Entertainment)
    Online Game Legend: John Taylor and Kelton Flinn (creators of Island of Kesmai)
    Hall Of Fame: EverQuest (Sony Online Entertainment)

They won the match ? Nice.