The Dark Messiah has dedicated this weekend to the most powerful and feared leader in the universe: himself! This weekend EA is celebrating the evil genius that is Kane, with a number of activities for both PC and Xbox 360 owners of Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath. And while the official festivities will kick off this weekend, PC owners can get some practice in today as the long-awaited patch for Kane’s Wrath has also being released.

Patch 1.01 Arrives! Get Ready for “BattleCast Weekend,” Ladder Season 2
The first patch for Kane’s Wrath on the PC has been deployed! Patch 1.01 is focused mostly on enhancing multiplayer, providing balance fixes to all nine of the game’s factions, while also addressing technical issues some players have been having online.

To help celebrate the release of the patch, EA will be starting two major promotions this weekend:

• BattleCast Weekend – Starting this Friday, July 11th at 12:01 AM PT and ending at midnight on Sunday, July 13th, players who go online to play in ranked 1v1 ladder matches and BattleCast it will qualify for a host of awards, from Kane’s Wrath goodies to a copy of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 when it ships later this year.

• Ladder Season 2 – The ladder season is back and bigger than ever with over 27 countries participating, a $6,000US grand prize and many other prizes for participants. The three month season starts this Friday, July 11th at 1 PM PT and ends October 11th at 1 PM PT.

For more details, including rules and regulations, please visit www.commandandconquer.com.

Celebrate the ‘Weekend of Wrath’ on Xbox Live
Are you ready to welcome Kane into your living room? This weekend, the Brotherhood of Nod’s Kane is extending his wrath from the Tiberium universe to your Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft as the “Weekend of Wrath” kicks off on the Xbox LIVE entertainment network. Featuring tournaments, prize packages and matches with the Kane’s Wrath development team and Kane himself, Command & Conquer and RTS fans are not going to want to miss this action-packed weekend!

The Xbox Live “Weekend of Wrath” will include:

• Play & Win Sweepstakes – All weekend, players who register for the Weekend of Wrath and play will be eligible for a number of prize packages given away every hour. Prize packages range from Kane’s Wrath gear all the way up to the Grand Prize which includes an Xbox 360 Elite

• Game with Developers – Sign onto Xbox Live Friday night from 7 PM – 10 PM ET and show off your multiplayer skills against members of the EALA development team, including:
• KWDevJim: Jim Vessella, Lead Producer
• KWDevAlan: Alan Newton, Tester
• KWDevJason: Jason Savopolos, Tester
• KWDevJeremy: Jeremy Feasel, Designer
• KWDevKeith: Keith Schaefer, Producer
• KWDevWes: Wes Eckhart, Development Director
• KWDevNick: Nick Clifford, Lead Tester
• KWDevGreg: Greg Kasavin, Producer
• KWDevMario: Mario Grimani, Development Director

• Game with Kane! – On Saturday from 3 PM – 5 PM ET, the legendary Joe Kucan, star of Kane’s Wrath and C&C icon will be online taking on all who dare challenge the Messiah – look for the gamertag KWFWFJoeKucan and enter at your own risk

Registration to participate in the Weekend of Wrath has opened and will end at 11:59pm (ET) on July 13, 2008. Terms, conditions, and official rules and eligibility requirements can be found at http://www.xbox.com/livewrath.

Fans of C&C can also visit the Xbox LIVE Marketplace to download a whole host of Kane’s Wrath content including a whole host of delightfully evil themes and gamer pics.