Bohemia Interactive announces beta testing of Arma 3 will begin on June 25th, reports PC Gamer. They also have a details on things that will change in the beta compared with the current alpha: "Additions will include new arsenals and vehicles to test and new scenarios that include a co-op and multi-team, wave-based defense scenario. Additionally, a new “Independent” faction consisting of a military native to Altis and Stratis was mentioned. You know, in case you were tired of Blufor and Opfor."

Eutechnyx announces NASCAR The Game 2013, a new racing simulation coming to Windows PCs this summer. The NASCAR The Game website doesn't yet have media from the new game, so for now all we have to go by is the press release:

NASCAR® The Game™ 2013 lets players take to the tracks and redefine races using the new Gen 6 model cars. Supporting an updated and enhanced paint booth tool, players can customize their Gen 6 paint schemes and import them into the games multiple race modes to show the world their design skills. Supporting the new 2013 roster with all the team and driver changes, players can take their own shot at being crowned the Sprint Cup Series Champion by starting a competitive season as a rookie and racing against their favorite drivers in career mode, or race online with friends.

The game also features Inside Line Highlights - scenarios from actual NASCAR races (2011, 2012 seasons) that have been recreated from the actual race telemetry data, which allow players to recreate, relive and rewrite the most exciting NASCAR moments. Additionally, and a first for any sport based videogame, the current 2013 season is being supported by weekly downloadable Inside Line Highlights being available shortly after racing events take place. The package is made complete with commentary provided courtesy of Fox Sports’ Darrell Waltrip and Mike Joy, while the player’s crew is voiced by spotter Ty Norris and crew chief Ray Evernham.

The RIFT website has word that the promised free-to-play era has begun in Trion Worlds' MMORPG. Here's word on the change and the new version of the game just went live:

Redwood Shores, CA (June 12, 2013) RIFT®, the award-winning MMORPG from Trion Worlds, is now entirely free-to-play with no trials, no tricks, and no traps. Players around the world can Build their Perfect Class, engage titanic bosses in Massive Dynamic Battles, achieve greatness through epic dungeons and raids, and so much more – all without a subscription. The new era of truly free-to-play gaming has dawned on Telara!

“The aim is to keep free and paid players on the same level — this is not pay-to-win,” said Bill Fisher, Creative Director of RIFT. “Players will see key differences between RIFT and other MMOs that have adopted free-to-play: we don’t restrict content, and we don’t offer pay-to-win items.” There are no restrictions on levels or content for registered free players; the entire world is open to explore and conquer. The expanded in-game RIFT Store offers thousands of items and services – from faction changes to mounts, pets, boosts, and much more – but the best gear must be earned in-game. For those looking for the ultimate RIFT experience, a subscription is available that offers a suite of awesome “Patron” benefits.

Update 2.3: Empyreal Assault is a huge update featuring a massive new zone (Dendrome), 10-player raid, Chronicle, open-world raid bosses, game performance improvements, and more! Play your way in RIFT as the Ascended face the Architect swarms consuming the Dendrome, and celebrate new freedoms with Atrophinius and his merry Satyrs in the whimsical town of Hailol.

Matrix Games announces Germany at War: Barbarossa 1941, a World War II strategy game they call an "introductory turn-based operational wargame." A product page has images and details on the game, which does not carry a release date. Here's word:

This new title features gameplay in the style of Panzer General and Panzer Corps, with a branching, event-filled campaign that takes you from the start of Operation Barbarossa towards the historical goals of Archangel or Astrakhan. Follow each Army Group through its initial battles, build up a core force, then decide which front will have the main focus, North, Center or South. Your decisions and outcomes determine the course of the campaign, which is designed with replayability in mind.

Germany at War: Barbarossa 1941 is more historically focused than similar games, with an emphasis on historical units and attachments and consistent modeling of unit and hex scale, but is still a fun and easy to learn wargame.

With 4 Campaigns, including 37 scenarios in the main campaign, 14 stand-alone scenarios and an editor with which to add new mission, multiplayer PBEM++ support and good graphics, this game is an exciting new milestone for gamers who enjoy Panzer Corps and similar games.

Battlefront.com announces that Assault on Democracy is now available, offering a new add-on for Strategic Command WWII Global Conflict. The expansion includes a new global map, 10 new unit types, improved AI, and eight new "major" campaigns. They offer a bundle of this and the Assault on Communism expansion, both of which require the original game to play.

• Chaos on Deponia on Steam. Save 75%.
• FIFA Manager 13 on GameStop PC Downloads. Save 75%.
• LEGO The Lord of the Rings on Steam. Save 75%.
• Monster Loves You! on Steam. Save 50%.

• Aliens: Colonial Marines Update.
• Call of Juarez - Gunslinger Update.
• Crusader Kings II Update.
• Don't Starve Update.
• Drop that Beat Like an Ugly Baby Update.
• Gnomoria Updated.
• Remember Me Update.
• Star Wars- The Old Republic version 2.2. OPERATION NIGHTMARE.
• Steam Client Update (Mac only).

• E3 2013: Cops Called to Shut Down Ouya. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Fuse review on Zero Punctuation. NSFW.

• Facebook now lets users include hashtags in posts. #whoopdedoo.
• Time Warner Cable Content Incentives Thwart New Web TV. Thanks brother19.
• Navy ends century and a half of ALL-CAPS messages. THANKS {ANT}.
• Facebook opens data center filled entirely with servers it designed.

• Nvidia says Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are great news for gaming PCs. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Haswell: What Intel’s new processor promises for Mac users. Thanks Ant.

• Inside the NSA’s secret Utah data center.
• Gartner reveals Top 10 IT Security Myths.

• Edward Snowden vows to fight extradition and claims US hacked China. Thanks Acleacius.
• Chinese piracy ring operator sentenced after selling military-related software.
• High Court Gives Irish ISPs 30 Days To Block The Pirate Bay. Thanks HARDOCP.

• There's never been a better time to submit Team Fortress 2 content. Valve announces having paid out over $10 million to contributors…

R.I.P.: Oldest man ever dies. Last male survivor of the 19th century.

The MotoGP website has word (in Adobe Acrobat format) on the release of a playable demo for MotoGP 13, the next installment in Milestone's motorcycle racing series. The demo is on Xbox LIVE for gold members and the Windows edition can be downloaded from Gamer's Hell and here's word on what it offers:

Valentino Rossi. Marc Márquez. Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya . Quick Race. 3 Laps. This is the special Milestone recipe for the brand new MotoGP™13 Demo. Once downloaded, the demo will offer the chance to select between two amazing riders and sprint for three laps on one of the best designed circuits of the recent era which won the much coveted IRTA ‘Best Grand Prix’ trophy in 2001. In addition, in order to give the gamers a quick sneak-peek of the game, all the options will be available*

*number of laps selection will be blocked

Games Workshop announces Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade, another stab at creating an MMORPG based on the Warhammer 40,000 property after dropped it MMO plans (if it is actually still even a thing). The game is in the works at Behaviour Interactive for release in late 2015 for Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and here's a list of features to expect:

• Experience the gameworld with 3rd-person, behind the shoulder action featuring precision gunplay and brutal melee combat with excruciating finishers;
• Participate in a persistent online war to conquer the planet, its fate completely in the hands of the players;
• Become a warrior from one of four initial factions, each unique and opposed to one another: Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Orks and Eldar.
• Participate in truly massive conflicts that simultaneously bring thousands of players to bear over territories and other strategic resources.
• Get behind the controls of Space Marine Rhinos, Predators, Ork Battlewagons and other iconic vehicles of the 41st millennium;
• Hack through genuinely challenging procedural content alongside your battle-brothers and never have the same experience twice;
• Earn the right to customize your builds in a deep progression system drawing on the rich Warhammer 40,000 universe.
• Found a Battle Squad with friends and prepare for conflict from your customized shared space in orbit - then drop down to the planet together and seek out glory!

The Deus Ex Human Revolution website reveals that the Deus Ex Human Revolution - Director's Cut announced for Wii U is also coming to Windows, OS X, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, as logos for all those systems are now displayed on the info page for the game (thanks (Ehkzai). Here's word on how they've enhanced the enhancement-themed action/RPG:

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director’s Cut™ is the enhanced return to one of the most critically-acclaimed video game franchises of all time. The game tells the story of Adam Jensen, a man cybernetically augmented against his own will, who soon finds himself in the middle of a global conspiracy to which he holds the key.

By offering players the chance to advance through the game in multiple and vastly different ways, Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director’s Cut™ challenges the foundations of gaming and provides an immersive experience where every choice has a lasting consequence.

GameInformer has details on DLC called 400 Days coming to The Walking Dead, Telltale's episodic game based on the zombie comics and television series. They say this is due next month for $4.99 and offer a description: "Telltale decided to give fans 400 Days to provide "connective tissue" between seasons one and two. You must already have season one to play the DLC. Telltale also recommends you don't jump into 400 Days without playing any of The Walking Dead, since the decisions you made in season one have an effect on 400 Days, and your choices in 400 Days impact season two. The DLC features five different character stories and provides their' viewpoints of the zombie apocalypse. All stories start on different days and will cover the ground from day one all the way to 400, and you can also play the stories in any order and discover interesting ways in how each of these stories impact one another." The E3 trailer offers a look. Continue here to read the full story.

Nordic Games announces a September 27th is the new release date for Deadfall Adventures, The Farm 51's action/adventure/FPS for Windows and Xbox 360. The game was annnounced in February for release on July 30th, but more time is required for this to take form as they've decided to add a co-op survival mode. Here's the deal:

The development team at The Farm 51 have been working around the clock to ensure that the game is packed full of unique gameplay. It will feature a single player campaign, multiplayer battle arenas and can now reveal it will also feature a survival cooperation mode for the most impactful, action adventure game. The first person shooter experience has been combined with puzzle solving exploration so that players can immerse themselves in the role of the adventurer Quatermain.

“This is our most ambitious game to date and we’re working very closely alongside The Farm 51 to make sure that Deadfall Adventures provides players with seamless action and puzzle-solving experience,” said Reinhard Pollice at Nordic Games. “Holding back the game’s release until September is the right decision for us to ensure that the content included offers the greatest value for players, which it certainly will.”

“Adding the new survival cooperation mode adds even more content to the game which is always going to be a bonus for players,” said Wojciech Pazdur Development Director at Farm 51. “The new mode will be both challenging and engaging and players will be able to jump straight into the game to get the best of the action.”

ATLUS announces plans for R.I.P.D., a video game tie-in with the upcoming Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds comedy movie about ghost cops working for the Rest in Peace Department. The game will come to Windows, Xbox LIVE Arcade, and PlayStation Network next month, and a teaser website is live with some screenshots and the promise of a full website soon. In the meantime all they're saying is this is being developed by Old School Games and that the Windows edition will be distributed through Steam.

Steam now offers early access to those who have preordered Magrunner: Dark Pulse, the Lovecraft-inspired action/physics game. Here's the pitch: "Gamers can use this playable version to plunge headlong into the Magtech space research training program. Equipped with their glove using Gruckezber's technology, they must find their way through the first 12 rooms of a massive training center full of puzzles and physical obstacles. This is a tantalizing glimpse into the unique mechanics of Magrunner and the start of a tense plot full of twists and turns with a devilish scenario created by the authors at Frogwares."

Battlefront.com now offers a new patch for Strategic Command: Assault on Communism, updating the just-released strategy game to version 1.01. They warn the patch is not compatible with previous saved games, so players should finish in-progress games before updating. Word is that once they do apply the patch, they will enjoy new content along with gameplay improvements: "This patch for Furysoftware's Strategic Command WW2 Assault on Communism, v1.01 includes not only improvements to the game engine but also two new bonus campaigns, 1941 Barbarossa to Berlin, and 1944 Bagration!"

Gamers Against Bigotry - [Message Deleted] - Microsoft, Rape Jokes, and the Next Gen of Gamer Culture.

• Grand Theft Auto V on Rockstar Games Website.

• Nintendo's Miyamoto: All this talk about our earnings is "silly". The jokes just write themselves.
• The Xbox One & PS4 Have Officially Killed The Old-Fashioned CRT TV. Thanks nin.
• Microsoft defends the Xbox One’s licensing, used game policies.
• Kinect Sports Rivals Announced for Xbox One.
• PS4 PlayRoom Tech Demo.
• Minecraft Xbox One E3 2013 Video.
• Far Cry Classic Revealed.
• Super Smash Bros. - Mega Man Trailer.

• FAQ: everything you need to know about iOS 7. Thanks Ant.
• Michael Pachter declares PS Vita dead.

• Opera Mail says goodbye to the browser and goes it alone. Thanks Ant.
• Netflix US & Canada Blog- Netflix ISP Speed Index for May. Thanks HARDOCP.

• NVIDIA Reiterates Dedication to Gaming on PC, Working with Developers.
• Canalys: Almost half a billion PCs to ship in 2013, as desktops and laptops dip but tablets grow 59% to 182.5m. Thanks Slashdot.
• At WWDC 2013, Apple showed its new soul.
• Computer Tips & Tricks Everyone Should Know - TechSpot.
• Sony Australia announce pricing for new 4K displays.

Thanks Ant.

• StopWatching.Us- Mozilla launches massive campaign.
• Companies, Consumer Groups Launch Campaign Against NSA Spying.
• Google's Real Secret Spy Program- Secure FTP.

• You’ve Been Served. More patent trolling.
• Game Of Accounts: Sharing HBO Go Passwords To Watch 'Game Of Thrones' Could Result In Prison. Thanks Ant via Slashdot.

• The Royal Quest on The Indie Mine.

• Antec HCG-750M 750W Power Supply Unit on Nikk Tech.
• Astro A50 Wireless Headset on Hardware Heaven.
• ASUSTOR AS-604T NAS Network Storage Server on Benchmark Reviews.
• CM Storm QuickFire Stealth Mechanical Keyboard on Overclockers Club.
• Fractal Design Node 605 on Technic3D.
• Intel DC S3500 480GB Enterprise SSD on HCW, The SSD Review, and TweakTown.
• MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming Mainboard on Technic3D. In German.
• Mushkin Enhanced Ventura Plus Series 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive on Mad Shrimps.
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card Overclocked on TweakTown.
• PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 SCS3 1GB Passive Video Card on Legit Reviews.
• SilverStone AR02 on Pure Overclock.
• SteelSeries Sensei [RAW] Frost Blue Edition Gaming Mouse on techPowerUp.
• Synology DiskStation DS1513+ on Legion Hardware.
• Victoria II Heart of Darkness on Gaming Nexus.

• Second Life home invader. Thanks Ant…
• Battlefield 4 ups squad count to five, DICE explains why…

We're at about the halfway mark for this year's E3 and it seems to me there are more actual announcements this year than during recent shows. I thought the new console announcements might reinforce the recent trend of showing off things that had already been revealed previously, but it seems to be the opposite. Go fig.

Figgy Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Ninja and Blind Girl 2. Monster Legions Games.
Links:	10 Creepy Video Game Urban Legends. Thanks Boing Boing.
Stories:	Disease Outbreak Threatens the Future of Good Coffee. Thanks Slashdot. Jim Carrey’s Career Kicked in the Shins as 'Dumb & Dumber To' Fumbles.
Science:	High on life (and that third cup of coffee). How Do Death Valley’s “Sailing Stones” Move Themselves Across the Desert?
Media:	It'll go right across the lawn. Mary gets lucky! Darwin cheated again. Enter the dragon: Smaug appears in new 'Hobbit' trailer. Thanks nin.