Publisher SEGA and developer Relic announce a multiplayer "slice" for Company of Heroes 3 will go live tomorrow at noon EST. This will run through December 6th, providing players a free hands-on sample of what's referred to as a "pre-alpha" version of the RTS sequel. Participation requires a free COH-Development account, and you can sign up for one on this website. Once you're set with an account you can prepare by heading over to the Company of Heroes Website and pre-downloading the client. Here's a Multiplayer Pre-Alpha Overview Trailer and here's more:

The Multiplayer Pre-Alpha will allow players to jump online and get a first glimpse at some exciting new multiplayer combat. They can experience four Italian maps in a variety of game modes, including co-op vs AI opponents, competitive PvP and Skirmish vs AI, while trying out familiar and brand-new features like Full Tactical Pause in skirmish mode, vehicle side armour, Verticality, Battlegroups, and Veterancy. Two classic factions return, the US forces and The Wehrmacht, each bringing their unique and game-changing abilities to the battlefield. More factions will be revealed in the run up to launch, with Company of Heroes 3 promising more content than ever before.

Over on Relic's community platform CoH-Development, passionate players have already been sharing their valuable feedback since Company of Heroes 3 was announced with a Pre-Alpha Preview this summer. The studio is looking forward to hearing from its community yet again on the upcoming Multiplayer Pre-Alpha to ensure that, with the gathered feedback, they deliver the biggest and best multiplayer experience at launch yet.

Continue here to read the full story.

Nacon and Big Bad Wolf tweet to announce that Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong is being delayed again. Word is the World of Darkness RPG is now due on May 19, 2022:

Our focus is on crafting a world that draws you in, that requires you to make difficult decisions and live with the consequences. Swansong features lots of characters, choices, dialogues, and opportunities to decide how the story plays and our ultimate focus is on quality. With this in mind, we've made the difficult decision to delay the launch of Vampire: The Masquerade Swansong from February 2022 to May 2022.

This wasn't a decision we took lightly, but one necessary to ensure the highest possible quality while retaining a healthy work-life balance for our team. Granted, the pandemic also threw a couple of wrenches into our planning, but this delay will allow us to apply some additional polish and give us some extra time for QA. We are a small but very passionate team, eager to create an immersive experience that rivals the sort of personal storytelling you'd experience from a great tabletop session. One that leaves you with questions long after the credit credits have stopped rolling (but a reason to go back and see how things could have been different).

Continue here to read the full story.

GamesIndustry.biz has the latest financial reporting from CD Projekt. Word is: "The company reported total revenues up 38% to PLN 144 million ($34.7 million), while net profits were down 30% to PLN 16.3 million ($3.92 million)." Early work on new projects as well as the scramble to repair Cyberpunk 2077 are factors cited as drags on profitability. Another problem is the poor performance of GOG.com. On that topic, The Verge reports comments made to investors during a quarterly earnings call by CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz. He says that there will be "changes to the team structure" at the digital games storefront, which will refocus on its core mission of offering a curated selection of games with no DRM:

“Regarding GOG, its performance does present a challenge, and recently we’ve taken measures to improve its financial standing,” CD Projekt CFO Piotr Nielubowicz told investors on a quarterly earnings call. “First and foremost, we’ve decided that GOG should focus more on its core business activity, which means offering a handpicked selection of games with its unique DRM-free philosophy. In line with this approach, there will be changes in the team structure.”

Nielubowicz said that some developers who’d been working on GOG’s online solutions will be transferred from the project. At the end of 2021, GOG is also leaving the Gwent consortium, a cross-division project related to CD Projekt’s The Witcher card game Gwent. This means it won’t bear any development costs or share any profits from the development consortium. CD Projekt previously called Gwent “the most important project of 2017 in the GOG.com segment.”

The mad minds at developer Madmind Crew and publisher Madmind Studio announce Void Slayer, a retro-styled first person shooter coming to Steam early next year. The twist here is that on some level the arena is your health: "Void Slayer is an arena-shooter FPS, in which the size of the arena and the health of the main character of the game are interconnected. The player's goal is to survive as long as possible among the enemies pressing on from all sides." Here's a Teaser Trailer along with more:

Void Slayer is a fast-paced shooter with a unique twist, where the arena is also your health. Armed only with your magic gloves, fight through countless hordes of enemies, advance your power and fight to avoid falling into the Void.

Continue here to read the full story.

Official patch.

• No Man's Sky Experimental Branch 26/11.

• Time Loader — Accolades Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Training Rats to Walk in DOOM. Thanks Boing Boing.

• Get to know Red Martyr Entertainment, the team behind the horror of Saint Kotar.

• The Legacy of the Forgotten — Kickstarter. "Book about famous and forgotten companies of the history of 3D in personal computers."

• CD Projekt Red promises Cyberpunk 2077’s next-gen update is still ‘on track,’ for real this time.
• Dauntless launches on PS5 December 2.
• I have 2,706 copies of the Burger King Xbox 360 Game. I have one myself. Thanks Hypothermia.

• Apple is exploring reverse and “true” wireless charging technology.

• Available Now: Experience Clarity Boost with Xbox Cloud Gaming on Microsoft Edge browser.

• Tesla Model Y Switches From Intel to AMD Ryzen Processors.
• World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say.

• Vulnerability Summary for the Week of November 22, 2021 - CISA. Thanks Ant.
• Amazon Web Services unveils enhanced cloud vulnerability management.
• Over 300,000 Android users have downloaded these banking trojan malware apps, say security researchers.

• Why didn't people buy Call of Duty this year? - GI Asks…

Last Link of the Day: ‘Wonderwall’ of snow traps drinkers, and Oasis tribute band, in remote U.K. pub

Obituary: Lee Elder, first Black golfer to play in Masters, dies at age 87.

A tweet from a couple of weeks ago purports to offer details about the next BioShock game, showing a logo for BioShock Isolation (though there's a warning the title may change). This comes from a relatively obscure account called Oops Leaks. The tweet says the new BioShock is set in yet another isolated dystopian city, will use the Unreal Engine 5, and is being developed by Irrational Games veterans and others. Word is it will be officially announced in Q1 2022. A subsequent tweet takes a look at a presentation slide saying this "might" involve an above-ground city sharing a border with a second, subterranean city. To be clear, there are no particular bona fides to suggest this is accurate, but it has belatedly gone viral, and is being widely reported. This interest has inspired a new update with words of caution: "Since this has all gone viral, I want to remind you that since all of these screenshots are from 2019, the information there may be outdated. To avoid confusion, I will clarify some of the nuances." Here's some of that clarification, which, to be clear, is all unconfirmed at this point:

The game will not necessarily be called Isolation, take that as a working title. The studio itself does not fully understand what to call the game, but as far as I know, they will leave the numbered parts with Rapture, assuming its return in the future.

Ken Levine is not involved in development, he is working on the project inside his studio Ghost Story Games. The announcement of the game is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022, but I also do not exclude its appearance on the TGA, judging by the latest messages from Geoff.

Continue here to read the full story.

Following news on Saturday of the new concurrent user record on Steam comes a new record. As seen on SteamDB, the new all-time peak is now 27,384,959, over 200K more users than the 27,182,165 concurrent users reported on Saturday.

Irdeto's Denuvo doesn't have many fans among game players. On the other hand, real gamers also dislike cheating. So those who are fond of the anti-tamper and digital rights management software for PC will be pleased to hear it is now available for mobile devices as well. In fact, you may already be using it, since it's been out there since June. Though this is often disputed, the company says its software has no impact on game performance:

Denuvo Anti-Cheat and Denuvo Anti-Tamper for PC have a strong track record of protecting AAA PC titles for over a decade, and since June 2020, that same technology has been applied to mobile games to offer the same superior level of protection. The technology includes key security features such as integrity verification, protection against static and dynamic analysis and state-of-the-art obfuscation to ensure maximum protection against cheaters and hackers. It is also fine-tuned to each individual game title to ensure there is no performance impact while guaranteeing no false positives and maximum detection.

Denuvo’s solutions are built by gamers who are aware of the common hacks that cheaters use. The team ensures that there is zero performance impact during gameplay through profiling and the solution is easy to integrate on the final app which does not require source code modification. Working closely with game developers, all Denuvo security features are configurable to match the customer's needs.

• Weekly Sale: a mix of engaging titles up to 80% off - GOG.com.
• Publisher Sale: Plug In Digital titles up to 85% off - GOG.com.
• Save 40% on Boomerang X on Steam.
• Save 30% on Clone Drone in the Danger Zone on Steam.

Official patch.

• Spire of Sorcery - THE NOVEMBER UPDATE IS HERE.

• How to fix CoD: Vanguard Dev Error 5537.
• Strange Battlefield 2042 bug lets players completely turn off enemy smoke grenades.

• Sea of Thieves Season Five: Official Content Update Video.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• AI BREAKS NES TETRIS! - 102 MILLION and level 237. Thanks Kottke via Max.

• Saber Explains What Happened to Ghostbusters The Video Game Remastered Multiplayer - MP1ST.

• Enjoy Halo Infinite's Fiesta mode while it lasts, because it'll be gone tomorrow.

• Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal will replace Jack Dorsey as CEO.
• 62.8M shoppers expected on Cyber Monday to cap holiday weekend.
• What Is Web3, Anyway (may require registration or subscription)?

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti May Feature 21 Gbps GDDR6X Memory.
• AMD Ryzen CPUs with 3D V-Cache could power up gaming PCs by early 2022.
• Nissan boss warns no end in sight to global chip shortage.
• Sapphire Radeon X080 and X060 RDNA2 Mining Cards Spotted.
• You can easily roll back Windows 11 to Windows 10, until this bonkers policy kicks in.
• Amazon brings automated secrets detection to CodeGuru.
• Is your AI project doomed to fail before it begins?
• Personal computer maker Raspberry Pi plans London listing. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• Microsoft Rolls Out the Mica Blur Effect for Office Insiders in Windows 11- Here's How to Get It. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Browsers with the best security and privacy in 2021. Thanks RedEye9.
• NinjaOne expands data backup, security features to thwart ransomware.

• New Sony patent for mobile controller discovered.
• She Wanted to Accuse a Celebrated Techie of Sexual Assault But Couldn’t. Until Now.
• 1,000 arrests made in online fraud crackdown, says Interpol.

• Dying Light Complete Experience Review - Overclockers Club.
• Jurassic World Evolution 2 PC Review - An Enjoyable Park - GameWatcher.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Laptop: Compared: Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro versus the MSI GE76 Raider - AppleInsider.
• Laptop: Schenker XMG Apex 15 in gaming laptop review- NotebookCheck.net.
• Mouse: DeepCool MC310 Review - APH Networks
• Mouse: SteelSeries Prime Mini Gaming Mouse - Mad Shrimps.
• PSU: Corsair TX650M Power Supply Review- Quietly Good - Tom's Hardware.
• PSU: The SilverStone NightJar NJ700 Passive PSU Review- Silent Excellence - AnandTech.

Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating, as the festival of lights began at sundown last night. So put on your yarmulke and tell your friend Veronica. Today also marks Cyber Monday, an occasion designed to figure out if you still have any spending money left after Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. This is a little obsolescent now that most shopping, including Black Friday, has been swallowed up into to the giant katmari that is the Internet. But Cyber Monday it is, and the good news is there are more bargains to be found if you are still in the market.

Obituary: Acclaimed Artist and Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh Dead at 41.
Obituary: Pioneering Actor David Gulpilil Has Died.
Obituary: Filipina believed to be the oldest person in the world passes away at the age of 124. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.

Celebratory Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Link

• Word of the Year 2021 - Vaccine - Merriam-Webster.

Stories

• US Customs officials seize nearly 4,000 glass bongs.
• 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Producer Amy Pascal Confirms Tom Holland's Future as Spider-Man.

Science

• Humans Arrived in North America More Than 30,000 Years Ago, Study Suggests.
• Jaw-Dropping Simulation Shows Stars Shredded as They Get Too Close to a Black Hole.

Media

• Around Cape Horn (1929). Thanks VideoSift.
• Probably The Biggest Herd Of Giraffes You've Ever Seen Crossing The Road. Thanks VideoSift.

Follow-ups

• James Webb Space Telescope cleared for late December launch.
• The Sopranos' Lorraine Bracco was "upset" with Dr. Melfi's final scene.

A tweet from Miller shows a slide from an investor presentation from EG7 revealing plans for an MMOG based on the Marvel Comics universe (thanks Eurogamer). EG7 is the parent company of Daybreak, Piranha Games, and more, and the slide says a AAA MMO using the Marvel IP is in the "near to long-term pipeline." The tweet offers the recent history of this project, saying it revives an "unannounced AAA Marvel MMO that appeared in the GeForce Now leak and which had previously been cancelled in 2018." This additional tweet offers more details from another slide:

The new AAA Marvel MMO is being developed by Dimensional Ink Studios and spearheaded by CEO Jack Emmert, whose lengthy resume includes DCUO, City of Heroes/Villains, and Marvel Universe Online (which was also cancelled before release though ultimately succeeded by Marvel Heroes.)

Septarian Games announces Western City Renovator, a tycoon game where you locate and revive ghost towns in the American west. This has PlayWay written all over it, and sure enough, they are the ones who present the Announcement Trailer. The game also now has a Steam Listing. Here's more on this unusual premise:

Complete missions and assignments for Western Rail Company on a planned railroad route.
Discover and restore abandoned cities and locations. Find out why cities were abandoned.
look for evidence and pieces of story.

Build your dream western city.
Solve citizens problems, provide support for railroad constructors and fulfill their requests

Continue here to read the full story.

Here's Valve's list of the bestselling titles on Steam for last week:

1. Farming Simulator 22 on Steam.
2. Battlefield 2042 on Steam.
3. Save 50% on Cyberpunk 2077.
4. Save 50% on Red Dead Redemption 2.
5. Valve Index VR Kit.
6. Forza Horizon 5.
7. Save 50% on Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition.
8. Save 50% on Red Dead Redemption 2.
9. Save 40% on FIFA 22.
10. Save 10% on Myth of Empires.

Mod.

• Squid Game comes to CS:GO.

Thanks Ant.

• Star Citizen - Whitley’s Guide 2951 IAE Special – Part 4. Thanks RedEye9.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• What is Next for Gordon Freeman - The State of Half-Life - Tyle McVicker.
• The Ancient Way - DiabLoL 2 Ep38 - Carbot.
• Game Theory: The TRUTH About Resident Evil's Parasite! (Resident Evil 4).

• Ed Fries interview -- From building games for the original Xbox to investing in gaming startups - VentureBeat.

• One Game Awards reveal ‘has been in the works for 2.5 years.’ What award is that? Certainly not the DNF trophy.

• How Deus Ex inspired a Wikipedia-style murder mystery - PC Gamer. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Exclusive look at Fall Guys Season 6 Round, Pipe Dream – PlayStation.Blog.
• Men of War II Preview - Return to a Classic - Wccftech.

• Xiaomi plans electric vehicle factory to produce 300,000 cars per year.

• ‘I am not gonna die on the internet for you!’- how game streaming went from dream job to a burnout nightmare. Thanks Max.

Thanks Max.

• AMD, Intel, Nvidia seeing eye to eye on when the global chip shortage could finally end.
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 12 GB Graphics Card To Feature SUPER TU106 GPU & 184W TDP.
• Lithium-Ion Batteries Have Plunged in Cost by 97% – Here’s the Reasons Behind the Rapid Cost Decline.
• ‘I’m blind but technology helps me animate.’
• A deep learning method to automatically enhance dog animations.
• 4 Best Third-Party Backup Programs for Windows 10. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Australia plans laws to make social networks identify trolls.

• NeoGeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1 Steam Edition - Christ Centered Gamer.

• Graphics Card: MSI Radeon RX 6600 XT Gaming X 8G Test - OCinside. German.
• Monitor: Viotek FI32DB WQHD Monitor - Nikk Tech.

• Actor for Wesker Breaks NDA; Leaks Resident Evil 4 Remake Is in Development…
• The best gifts for video gamers (may require registration or subscription). Thanks RedEye9…

Today is an autumn milestone in these parts, as we have our first snowfall of the season. At various points this has threatened to become a heavier storm, but so far it's remained what you'd describe as a dusting. If we needed to go out it would be no problem. But since we don't, we're happy we can just hunker down and ignore it. I hope the weather is better near you, and if it isn't here's hoping your travel plans are as nonexistent as ours.

Snowy Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Brunch Link

• This Unhealthy Behavior Will Make You Miserable. Thanks Max.
• Sorry, Ridley Scott, we just don’t think it’s safe to go back into the cinema. Thanks RedEye9.

Stories
Thanks Max.

• With 'New York Ninja,' Lights, Camera and, Finally, Action (may require registration or subscription).
• Why more young Albertans are packing naloxone kits to save peers at bars and parties.
• Old Spice, Secret deodorants recalled in Canada.

Science
Thanks Max.

• Those That Game Together, Stay Together.
• Redo of a Famous Experiment on the Origins of Life Reveals Critical Detail Missed for Decades.
• A Cure for Type 1 Diabetes? For One Man, It Seems to Have Worked.

Image

• APOD- 2021 November 27 - Messier 101.

Media

• MONTREAL - Giant Marionettes Parade. Thanks The Flying Penguin.

The Funnies

• "Cartman" - FoxTrot.