Law360 reports that Activision Blizzard's efforts to postpone the lawsuit against it filed in July by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing have failed. This is one of two lawsuits against Activision Blizzard over discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and the company requested a stay so it could conduct further internal investigations. GamesIndustry.biz summarizes the ruling:

But Law360 reports Judge Timothy Patrick Dillion has denied this application within less than a week.

Dillion did not elaborate on his reasoning for this order.

The DFEH submitted an opposition to Activision's request the day after it was filed. In a statement following Dillon's decision, the department said Activision Blizzard's request was "baseless" and that it "looks forward to prosecuting the state's enforcement action on the merits."

The Steam Blog recaps the top-selling new games on Steam for September 2021. To help these games maintain this sales momentum, there is also this listing where you can pick up any or all of these games for yourself. Here's word on the new games that made the biggest splash last month:

A Whole New World
September culminated with the release of the highly anticipated new MMO from Amazon Games - New World. A staggering number of players visited the supernatural island of Aeternum, making New World the most played release of 2021. We're excited to see what adventures await for the millions of players who helped bring this new world to life.

Story Time
As we build out these lists each month, there is never a shortage of variety in exciting game designs and creative new mechanics. But September brought along another type of variety, with a healthy dose of unique & unforgettable stories, praised by players and critics alike. The way these games integrate their stories directly into gameplay is also quite unique. So whether you are embarking on the latest Life is Strange journey in True Colors, discovering a world full of charm in Eastward, or uncovering the mysteries of Blackreef in DEATHLOOP, you're sure to find an engaging story that's as unique as the way it's told.

Ubisoft Support tweets a support hint, saying that performance issues in its games may be caused by third-party software (thanks DSOGaming). The tweet points to this list of programs possibly causing conflicts. The idea is to party like it's 1999 and kill off these background processes, many of which are specifically game related:

The following list of examples is not exhaustive and advisory only:

Fullscreen overlays	Overwolf
Hardware monitoring software	MSI Afterburner, Riva Tuner
Peer-to-Peer software	BitTorrent, uTorrent
RGB Controllers or game optimisers	Razer Synapse, SteelSeries Engine
Streaming application	OBS, XSplit Gamecaster
Software impacting applications	f.lux, Nexus Launcher
VPN software	Hamachi
Video chat services	Skype
Virtualising software	Vmware
VoIP applications	Discord, TeamSpeak

We also recommend disabling experimental features available through NVIDIA GeForce Experience and Radeon Settings.

• Save 75% on Warhammer- Vermintide 2 on Steam.
• Save 50% on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines on Steam.
• Save 20% on Road 96 on Steam.

Official patch.

• Beat Saber Halloween Update v1.18.2 Released.

Official trailers.

• Apex Legends: Escape Gameplay Trailer.
• Battlefield 2042 - What A Time To Be Alive.
• On the Road 96 - Documentary.

• Valve answers your questions about SteamDeck and releasing on Steam - GamesIndustry.biz.
• Interview with Yasid Design - The Crew 2 (video).

• Join Us for DEATHLOOP’s Battle for Blackreef Event.
• Destiny 2 stat tracker: How to check your Destiny 2 stats.

• Meet four Operators featured in Call of Duty: Vanguard Multiplayer.

• You can now play Steam PC games on an Xbox with Nvidia’s GeForce Now.
• Online services for Xbox 360 Halo games will now end in January 2022.
• Nerf Legends Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.
• Beat Saber multiplayer launches today – PlayStation.Blog.

• Apple iOS 15.1 Released. Thanks Ant.

• Insiders say Mark Zuckerberg chose growth over safety (may require registration or subscription).
• Malwarebytes For Windows 4.4.9.142 - CU 1.0.1486. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• Intel’s i5-12600K Alder Lake gaming CPU beats AMD by 50% in CPU-Z benchmarks.
• We Finally Did it Properly - Linus Tech Tips (video). Thanks RedEye9.

• Conti Ransom Gang Starts Selling Access to Victims.
• Ransomware: Industrial services top the hit list - but cyber criminals are diversifying.
• There’s a wave of ransomware coming down the pipeline. What can you do about it?
• What is a cybersecurity degree?

• Leaker of 178m Facebook profiles facing massive lawsuit.

• Looks like Steam is getting a QR code login option…

Last Link of the Day: The shooting range where you fire over a busy road. Thanks VideoSift.

Gamerant reports on the possibility that plans for more gaming content based on the Rick and Morty cartoon series. Word is Warner Bros. has recently filed trademarks for Rick, Morty, Pickle Rick, and Mr. Meeseeks for various uses, including "computer software" and "video game software." The genius inventor and his squirrely grandson have appeared as crossovers in various games over the years, but this is the first indication of the possibility of a game set in the show's complicated continuity. Update: Forgot about Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (thanks Cheezzy0).

The new Halo Infinite Campaign Overview Video is now live, giving a further taste of what to expect from Halo Infinite, the next installment in the first-person shooter series. The description adds more:

The Banished have defeated UNSC forces and taken control of the mysterious Zeta Halo, threatening the survival of humankind. When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief returns to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Here’s a fresh look at the Halo Infinite campaign that introduces players to true Spartan freedom in the biggest, most wide open and adventure-filled Halo experience yet, launching on December 8 2021.

Continue here to read the full story.

The age of Age of Empires is set to resume. Here's a roundup of reviews of Age of Empires 4 in advance of the release of the RTS sequel on Thursday:

• Age of Empires 4 Review - AusGamers.com.
• Age of Empires 4 Review - IGN.
• Age of Empires 4 review - PC Gamer.
• Age of Empires 4 review – return of the king - PCGamesN.
• Age of Empires 4 review: a revival of the RTS series’ brilliance - Polygon.
• Age Of Empires 4 review: a confident and moreish strategy epic - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• With Nothing to Prove, ‘Age of Empires IV’ Makes a Confident, Relaxed Return - Vice.
• Age of Empires 4 review: A polished, deep RTS with an incredible historical campaign that's hard to put down - Windows Central.
• 'Age of Empires IV' Wants to Teach You a Lesson - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).

The release of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is tomorrow. Pop a cassette in your walkman and check out some reviews of the comic-based action/adventure:

• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review - AusGamers.com.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Is So Dang Wholesome - Collider.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review- A Rocking But Buggy Good Time - CBR.
• Guardians of the Galaxy review: A video game worthy of the MCU - CNET.
• Review: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy – Destructoid.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy review - breezy but unfocused action • Eurogamer.net.
• Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Review – Enthralling Space Madness - Game Informer.
• Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Review - Shot Through The Heart - GameSpot.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review - IGN.
• Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy review – a memorable adventure - The Loadout.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy review - PC Gamer.
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy review – a marvellous adventure - PCGamesN.
• Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy review: 2021’s best surprise - Polygon.
• Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy review- a blast from the past - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review - What Kind of Name is Avengers, Anyway? - Wccftech.

GamesIndustrybiz announces GamesIndustry Live will get underway on Wednesday, saying this is the "ultimate free video games student event." This virtual summit will bring together game studios, developers, and those looking to break into the game development industry for masterclasses, panels, portfolio reviews, and more. Here's word:

The completely free virtual event takes place in Discord between Wednesday, October 27 to Friday, October 29. Massive studios are set to attend, with artists, programmers, designers, community managers, producers, journalists and more all looking to share their expertise and reveal what life in the games industry is really like.

The event is in partnership with Total War creators Creative Assembly, and the studio will be present throughout the three days. Other attendees include Rare, Ubisoft Reflections, Criterion, EA Dice, Sumo Digital, DR Studios, Eurogamer, Electric Square, Playtonic and many, many more.

Continue here to read the full story.

Playtesting is now underway for Trail of Ayash, an open-world action/RPG featuring the lives and culture of indigenous people in the pre-columbian era. To participate, head over to Steam and hit the "request access" button (feel free to "smash" it if you've been watching a lot of YouTube). Speaking of YouTube, here's the previously released Official Trailer with a look. Here's more:

We have crafted an open world rife for exploration and conflict. You will interact with the various tribes of indigenous people. That alone can make for a compelling gaming experience, but there is something more. Something much darker that lurks in the forests and wilderness. In the corner of your eye and the slight cracks in the earth. They hunger. Also, to survive alongside your fellow tribals, You will have to battle the stuff of nightmares. Creatures born from the minds of men and spirits that terrify the soul talked about in hushed voices around campfires by storytellers and shamans. The world of Ayash they are very real and the monsters of this world must be fought lest you lose your life or your soul to beasts both natural and profane.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Weekly Sale: dark and atmospheric games up to 90% off - GOG.com.
• Save 60% on Total Tank Simulator on Steam.
• Save 50% on Stronghold: Warlords on Steam.
• Steam -- Hunt- Showdown -- DLC Bundle sale - Save 56%.

Content creator video.

• Prince of Persia for the Atari 8 bit (Final release).

• 'Age of Empires IV' Wants to Teach You a Lesson - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• Matt Chat 475: Richard Moss on the Secret History of Mac Gaming (deprecated) (video). Thanks Ant.

• American Truck Simulator/Euro Truck Simulator 2 Steering Wheel Roll-Out Event.

• TIGA reveals UK Games Education Awards 2021 winners.
• FaZe Clan goes public at a proposed valuation of $1 billion.

• Far Cry 6 Review- Paraiso de la Muerte - TweakTown.
• Age of Empires IV’s Min Spec Mode Gives More Players More Opportunities to Play.
• KUR - Christ Centered Gamer.

• Inventing the iPod- How 'really big risks' paid off for Apple. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Galaxy S22 Ultra rumored to boast faster charging speeds, new color and S-Pen support.
• Tesla doesn’t want anyone to see its response to the Autopilot investigation.
• Hertz orders 100,000 Teslas in deal reportedly worth $4.2 billion.

• King to shut down online games portal Royal Games.
• DNA testing giant 23andMe buys telehealth firm Lemonaid for $400 million. Thanks j.c.f.
• Inside the Facebook Papers (may require registration or subscription).
• How to Edit PDFs in Your Browser Using Adobe Acrobat. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Harvard University offers 5 free online courses for computer programmers. Thanks Max.

• Hacker sells the data for millions of Moscow drivers for $800. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Man charged with fraud after spending $57,000 of his Covid loan on a Pokémon card. What if it was a healer card? Thanks Neutronbeam.

• The creator of Dead Cells made a firefighting game! - Nuclear Blaze - Indie Showcase (video).

• Case: Cooler Master MasterBox 540 Review - APH Networks.
• Keyboard: Razer Huntsman V2 TKL Review- Skip the Clicky Version - Tom's Hardware.
• SSD: KIOXIA XG6-P Series 2TB SSD - Mad Shrimps.

• Roblox Announces Proposed $1.0 Billion Offering of Senior Notes…
• Jun Takahashi's Undercover Releases $7,000 Evangelion Jackets…

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, which took place on October 25, 1415. If you ever get killed in a game by a ranged weapon while engaging in melee combat, you are failing to learn a lesson from 606 years ago, when the outnumbered English won this pivotal battle of The Hundred Years War by cutting down heavily armored French soldiers with longbow fire.

Obituary: James Michael Tyler, who played Gunther on 'Friends', dies at 59.

Strategic Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Links

• 'Dune' director explains changes from Frank Herbert's book. Thanks RedEye9.
• Black cosplayers are tired of being told who they can and can’t portray. Thanks Digg.
• The brief history of San Francisco's most dangerous (and absurd) secret society.

Science

• As Calgary votes for fluoride, some in B.C. have hope for 'rotten tooth capital of Canada'.

Media

• CG short film on the extinction of the dinosaurs - "Dinosaurs" The true story.
• We Asked a Sword Expert to Make a Realistic Lightsaber Fight. Thanks The Flying Penguin.
• These digital clocks aren't digital at all. Thanks Reddit.

A 10th Anniversary Live Stream for PAYDAY features the developers at OVERKILL Software discussing the decade of the heist series. This includes a look forward as well as a look back, offering some details on the upcoming PAYDAY 3. The official PAYDAY Website is home to the anniversary festivities. Word is PAYDAY 3 is set in New York City years after the gang's retirement following PAYDAY 2. It will feature the return of Hoxton, Dallas, Chains, and Wolf, because just when they think they're out, they pull them back in. A new element will be the attention their exploits will attract, as a brazen life of crime will get noticed by the media as well as law enforcement (apparently shooting 600 police officers during a getaway will now make headlines). PAYDAY 3 is currently expected for release in 2023. Continue here to read the full story.

The system requirements for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition are now listed on the Rockstar Store. Fortunately it seems that the life of crime players will lead in the three included games will not have to begin with the theft of new PC components:

System Requirements
MINIMUM
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-6600K / AMD FX-6300
Memory: 8GB
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
Disk: 45GB

RECOMMENDED
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2700K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Memory: 16GB
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB / AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
Disk: 45GB

The following list counts off the bestselling titles on Valve's Steam platform for last week:

1. Back 4 Blood.
2. New World.
3. Save 10% on Football Manager 2022.
4. Save 10% on Inscryption.
5. Valve Index VR Kit.
6. The Riftbreaker.
7. Sword and Fairy 7.
8. Pre-purchase Forza Horizon 5.
9. New World.
10. CS:GO - Operation Riptide.

• Save 75% on ABZU on Steam.

• You Want S.T.A.R.S.? Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine Come to Fortnite to Defend the Island.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• Prince of Persia - HOT NEWS as a fabulous Atari XL/XE port will be released today.
• Project Mojave at Fallout 4 Nexus.

Content creator videos.

• The Inside Story of Mass Effect 3's Endings, Finally Told - People Make Games (NSFW).
• History of Grand Theft Auto - GameSpot.

• Wild Life by Candy Valley Network GmbH — Kickstarter. "Wild Life is an adult open-world RPG with engaging combat mechanics, survival elements, and last but not least, the highest quality erotic experiences in adult gaming!" There's a playable demo on Steam, and here's a Demo Gameplay Trailer (SFW).

• PC Gamer - Call of Duty marketing finds a new level of tastelessness.
  "A pair of photojournalists were given "special camera-like portals [to enter] into the game engine itself," where they captured images just as they would if they were photographing a real conflict. Naturally, they also raved about how realistic the experience was: "As photographers, this is what conflict looks like," war journalist Sebastiano Tomada Piccolomini said afterward. The resulting video of the two photographers at work (above) is as dramatic and over-egged as any Call of Duty trailer."

• Only 6 players hold on to perfect Pick'ems halfway through Worlds 2021 quarterfinals.

• Xbox October update adds 4K Dashboard, Night Mode, and more.
• Switch OLED durability test rates its screen 2-10 for scratch protection.
• Xbox’s Edge browser will soon support GeForce Now.
• Share of the Week- PlayStation VR.

• The Google Pixel 6 is a year behind other flagships — here’s how.
• Google says it's serious about phones again. Should you trust it? When has Google ever abandoned a product?

• Facebook failed to moderate content in developing countries (may require registration or subscription).

Thanks Ant.

• CPU and graphics card shortages could last until 2023, claims Intel.
• Unsupported PCs With Windows 11 Are Receiving Updates For Now.
• AMD FSR vs. Nvidia DLSS: Which Upscaler Reigns Supreme?
• A look inside Apple’s silicon playbook.
• Microsoft reverses controversial .NET change after open source community outcry.
• AMD's Radeon Instinct MI250X Allegedly Sports 110 CUs, 128GB HBM2E, 500W TDP.
• Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs could be pricier than we’d hoped.
• How to create a bootable Windows 11 installation disk.
• No New PC Needed: Windows 11 Runs on a 15-Year-Old Intel Pentium 4 Chip. Thanks Slashdot.
• Devuan GNU+Linux Free Operating System - Chimaera 4.0 stable release. Thanks Slashdot.
• Enhancer Software version 2.1 for AmigaOS4.1 FE update 2. Thanks Slashdot.
• Tablet Computers and 8 Other Pieces of Tech That Date You (may require registration or subscription). Thanks Neutronbeam.

• “Killware”: Is it just as bad as it sounds? Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• Windows 11- How to Use These 11 Key Security Settings (may require registration or subscription).

• Ransom Disclosure Act would mandate ransomware payment reporting. Thanks RedEye9.
• Third juror dismissed in trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Crysis 3 Remastered PC Performance Analysis - DSOGaming.
• Lone Echo 2 Review - IGN.

• Headset: Razer’s New Seiren Mics Look Like Big Seiren Minis - Tom's Hardware.

• Shadow of the Tomb Raider runs noticeably faster without Denuvo. Thanks fakespyder…
• ‘Wu-Tang Clan’ RPG in the works at Microsoft, it’s claimed…
• Sounds like the Halo Needler is finally getting the Nerf blaster it deserves. Thanks Neutronbeam…

It's impossible to figure out if Curb Your Enthusiasm has some sort of actual schedule, or if they just shoot as season and air it whenever the impulse strikes. If impulse is the answer, then it has once again struck, as a new season premieres tonight. I'm trying to get over the shock that this will be the show's eleventh season. This means that Curb has already had more seasons than Seinfeld! And while the longer seasons of network TV and bygone times means that Seinfeld is still ahead in number of episodes, even that's closer than I would have guess. Heading into tonight there have been 100 episodes of Curb, while there are 180 episodes of Seinfeld.

Episodic Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Story

• Plastic industry pollution to overtake coal in US by 2030, report says.

Science

• Climate change: How technology is helping cities tackle climate disasters.
• The tongue-eating louse does exactly what its name suggests. Thanks RedEye9.
• 2.5 billion-year-old traces of life locked inside primeval ruby.

Media

• Clever Humpback Whale Pops Up for a Snack. Thanks VideoSift.
• CycloTech First Flight. Thanks VideoSift.