This trailer is the launch cinematic for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt RED's imminent RPG sequel. Word is: "'A Night to Remember,' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launch cinematic, has arrived! Feast your eyes on a gripping portrayal what The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is all about and step into the shoes of professional monster hunter Geralt of Rivia in this gorgeous launch cinematic." Continue here to read the full story.

Ubisoft announces an October 13th release date for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, the next installment in the tactical shooter series. They also reveal some details on EMEA preorder bonuses on this page along with a trailer (the trailer currently returns an error for us, but it is also posted by Xbox). Here's the straightforward announcement:

Today, Ubisoft announced that Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, the latest in the best-selling Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise, will be available worldwide on October 13th 2015 on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

Developed by Ubisoft Montreal, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is inspired by real world counter-terrorist organizations, and puts players in the middle of lethal close-quarters confrontations. For the first time in a Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six game, players will choose from a variety of unique Counter Terrorist Operators and engage in intense sieges, a new style of assault where enemies have the means to transform their environments into modern strongholds while Rainbow Six teams lead the assault to breach the enemy’s position.

Continue here to read the full story.

Keen Software House has released the source code for Space Engineers, offering support for modifying the indie space simulation. This announcement has the news, while a developer's blog offers more details on the plan, including how they have set aside $100K to further bolster mod development. It sounds like they are remaining flexible in how this is disbursed:

To support our modding community even more, we reserved $100,000 of our own money as a fund for modders who want to build total conversion mods based on Space Engineers or VRAGE engine.

We’re considering several ways how this fund could work: grants with no strings attached (see how Epic does it with UDK – https://www.unrealengine.com/unrealdevgrants), zero interest loans and Kickstarter support. We can provide PR, marketing and promotion on our social media.

Wadjet Eye Games announces a May 21st release date for Technobabylon, their Windows retro-styled point-and-click adventure game. They celebrate the news with the release of a playable demo, which can be downloaded from this page. Here's a description of the game: "Blade Runner meets Police Quest in Technobabylon, a slick point & click adventure that blends past and future with its retro-styled pixel art and intense cyberpunk plotline. Technobabylon sets you loose in a world where 'wetware' wires people directly to the web, where the cerebral online Trance has replaced almost any need for human interaction, where the city's omnipresent AI, Central, has eyes on everyone and everything -- a world that could someday be ours."

• Pizza Express - Steam Greenlight. "Manage every aspect of your restaurant and make it become the best eatery in town. You'll have to use all your wits, since you only have 30 days to conquer F.L.A.B. (Finger Licking Associated Bistros) hearts and smoke the competition! "
• Umbra by SolarFall Games — Kickstarter. "Open world, free progression hack 'n' slash! Turn into a personalized Apocalyptic Form and unleash your powers upon your foes!"

• Heroes of the Storm World Championship Announced.

• Xbox App Now Available In Preview On Windows 10 For Phones.
• Microsoft Punishes Gears Leakers By (Temporarily) Bricking Xbox Ones. Thanks nin.
• Payday 2: Crimewave Edition is Now Available for Digital Pre-order and Pre-download on Xbox One.
• Xbox at E3 2015.

• Konami shifts its focus from console to mobile gaming. Thanks nin.
• Fearless Fantasy on the App Store on iTunes.

• Facebook boosts minimum wage for contract workers to $15 an hour. Thanks HARDOCP.
• reddit announces sitewide effort to enforce new anti-harassment rules.

• Our attention span is now less than that of a goldfish, Microsoft study finds. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Raspberry Pi Model B+ price cut to just $25.
• PC Perspective Podcast #349 - Death of Media Center, i7 NUC, Fractal Define S and more.

Thanks j.c.f.

• Flaw in Virtualization Software Could Lead to VM Escapes, Data Theft.
• Microsoft fixes 46 flaws in Windows, IE, Office, other products.
• Adobe Rolls Out Critical Update for Reader and Acrobat.
• Mozilla Firefox 38 Fixes 13 Vulnerabilities, 5 Are Critical.
• Flash Player 17.0.0.188 Addresses 18 Security Holes.

• Cox strikes back at AT&T, hurls patents on interactive TV.
• Startup entrepreneur sues Uber, claims CEO stole idea for on-demand taxis.
• Apple asks court to block the sale of some RadioShack data.

Link of the Day: First Supergirl Trailer Really Does Feel Like An SNL Parody.

A new trailer offers a look at gameplay from Overwatch, Blizzard's upcoming multiplayer first-person shooter (thanks PC Gamer). The clip shows off Zenyatta, the "omnic" monk. Here's word:

For the best viewing experience, please watch in 1080p HD.

Check out the omnic monk Zenyatta in this complete, unedited match from an early version of Overwatch, captured in 60fps on PC. Here, Zenyatta is on defense in King's Row, a Point Capture/Payload hybrid map situated in the heart of England.

Continue here to read the full story.

Ubisoft announces significant changes to Rainbow Six: Siege based on player feedback from closed beta testing of the upcoming tactical shooter (thanks VG247). There's a video illustrating the news, and they conclude the article saying that this is only a partial list of changes, extensive though it may be, and they are looking forward to feedback from upcoming closed beta testing. Every item they mention gets a fuller explanation, but here are a few of them as an overview:

HIT MARKERS

• Removed except for friendly fire and kill confirmation

GAME PACING

• Base operator movement speed reduced by 20%
• Implementing armor system (light, medium, heavy) with mobility vs. armor tradeoff
• Implementing equipment and weapon weight costs to movement
• Currently experimenting with increased round times to slow down play

Recoil

• Recoil improved for PC, with stronger initial shot kick and diamond recoil patterns doubled in size

Audio

• Audio in Closed Alpha was placeholder. Will be improved across the board.

Ammo Count

• Ammo count reduced across the board. Will be equivalent to Raven Shield values.

With Magicka 2 due in a couple of weeks, Swedish developer Pieces Interactive announces their next project, a self-funded roguelike-like dungeon brawler descriptively titled Kill to Collect. They offer a first look at the game on this page, and say this is coming to Steam and consoles, but they do not specify a release window yet. Here's an outline:

An action dungeon brawler with roguelike elements set in a Cyberpunk universe, Kill to Collect invites players to experience life as a bounty hunter seeking and executing targets in the deeper levels of Geoshelter Alpha.

Inspired by titles like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac in combination with the visual style of 80s Mangas like Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell, Kill to Collect has a strong focus on co-op and on game skill. Every encounter is challenging, but brute force will never be enough to complete a bounty. Instead, the gameplay is focused on tactic and strategy, which can only be improved by understanding the targets and the dangers encountered to reach them.

An announcement on the World of Warcraft forums says they've banned an unspecified number of accounts in World of Warcraft due to the use of bots, stressing their continued hard-line stance against cheating. Here's word:

We’ve recently taken action against a large number of World of Warcraft accounts that were found to be using third-party programs that automate gameplay, known as “bots.” We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft, and will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated.

If you believe that you’ve encountered a player abusing a bot, exploit, or cheat, please let us know! You can do so by using the right-click report functionality in the game, and/or by emailing information to hacks@blizzard.com.

A post from Blizzard to the Diablo III forums discusses Greater Rift damage scaling, saying they are looking to create a "more consistent" Greater Rift experience in the action/RPG sequel. Word is they are planning to disable the ability for some characters to have 100% crowd control uptime as part of this:

Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to give us your feedback about scaling damage in Greater Rifts. One of the key goals of Greater Rifts is that they serve as a form of measuring stick for a characters power growth, and we feel that scaling damage is a very important element of their ability to function in this way. That said, we’re currently looking at our options for some possible adjustments to how this damage scales in the future.

We’re looking to disable permanent Crowd Control in an upcoming content patch to create more interaction with monsters at higher Greater Rifts levels. To complement that change, we will be also be evaluating how much damage monsters are dealing to players in that environment. One of our goals in the next major patch is to provide a more consistent Greater Rift experience while making sure that defensive Legendary items still matter.

• The Tower Of Elements - Steam Greenlight. "Master the magic of Elements. Defend your tower against sneaky goblins using magic attacks. Upgrade the Tower to earn more mana points and Gems! Compare with your friends in the leaderboards and try to collect all the Achievements!"
• Indie dev left devastated after troll ruins its Kickstarter.
• 22Cans: 'Crowdfunding has waned, and that's a good thing.' The irony is strong with this one.

• (Hack) and Slash: Doing the LORD's Work - Slashdot. Thanks Ant.
• "Weird and hard and super awkward": Klei talks Invisible, Inc. and Early Access • Eurogamer.net.

• Xbox One Owners Can Play Madden NFL 16 Before Everyone Else.
• Console version of Elder Scrolls Online will be locked out of pre-owned market. Thanks GamePolitics.
• Gears of War Xbox One remaster footage leaks.

• Twitch is reducing the delay in streaming games, but it may not be for everyone.
• Add-on Compatibility for Firefox 39. Thanks Ant.
• Jeremy Clarkson's House of Cars: What should the new Top Gear be called? Thanks HARDOCP.

Thanks Ant.

• Ultra HD & BD News – Additional technical details on Ultra HD BD, plus Black Angel & more.
• Does Using an AOL Email Address Suggest You're a Tech Dinosaur?

• SUPERAntiSpyware version 6.0.1194. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• “Game Over, Man” – Aliens: Colonial Marines class action over?

• Broken Age: Act 2 on Zero Punctuation. NSFW.
• Galactic Civilizations III on Gaming Nexus. First impressions.
• Invisible Inc. on PC Gamer.
• Magicka: Wizard Wars on GameSpot.
• Making History: The Great War on Armchair General.
• Sid Meier’s Starships on gamesTM.

• AKracing (AK-6014) Ergonomic Gaming Chair on PC Perspective.
• ASUS X99 TUF SaberTooth on Guru3D.
• ASUS X99-A USB 3.1 on ocaholic.
• Corsair Carbide 100R Silent Edition Case on Hardware Canucks.
• Fractal Design Define S Mid-Tower Enclosure on PC Perspective.
• OCZ Vector 180 480GB Solid State Drive on ThinkComputers.org.
• Patriot Ignite M2 480 GB on LAN OC.
• Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Chroma on Gaming Nexus.
• XFX R9 280 Double Dissipation Graphics Card on Technology X.

• GTA 5 mod lets you explore the secret guts of the game's locked buildings…

Here's a thank you to Acleacius for sending along a link to this video which teaches the proper use of those extra eyelets at the top of most running shoes. Now I'm no runner, and am at no risk of getting heel blisters or anything, but running shoes are part of the standard uniform for old farts like me, so I checked this out. The eyelets are called a heel lock, or a lace lock, and making proper use of them better distributed the pressure at the point where the laces tie, making them even more comfortable. Not sure if this applies to any of you, but I found it helpful.

Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Crayon Poke. Cookie Hamster. Firefighters Truck 3.
Stories:	Sydney bank robbed during PayDay 2 event. Mad Max: Fury Road hilariously angers "Men's Rights Activists."
Science:	Jahn-Teller Metal May Be the Newest State of Matter. Thanks Joshag.
Media:	Colorblind Dad Experiences True Color for the First Time. OCTODAD (Kids React- Gaming). Payphone, What's A Payphone? Two Japanese Girls Battle to Try and Blow a Cockroach Into the Others Mouth. WTF file.