Developer Tindalos Interactive and publisher Focus Home Interactive announce a new "massive" Chaos Campaign expansion is coming to Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 on June 24th along with a free campaign update for this real-time strategy sequel. Here's the plan:

Releasing on June 24 for €12.99/$12.99, this Expansion arrives alongside a free update filled with updates to the game’s single-player offerings and delivers the most requested new feature of the game: a fully playable Chaos Grand Campaign, letting you take the role of the galaxy’s worst nightmares as they raze the galaxy. Part one and two of our three-part Community Update Series give an overview of the premise and mechanics of the new Campaign, and the final part will go through the features coming in the free update.

Releasing with the Chaos Campaign will be the no less major Campaign Update. Free to all players, this update enriches every campaign with additional secondary objectives on each map, diversifying gameplay significantly. Other much-requested features include larger fleets and the ability to switch ships between them, economy options, faction-specific super-abilities for enemy AI, and disabling certain features for a more narrative-focused experience.

The Expansion will offer incredible value on dozens of hours of new content, a whole new story, new missions, new campaign mechanics and much more. The Chaos Campaign Expansion is the largest update yet for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2, only possible thanks to the dedication and continued feedback of the community.

Creative Assembly announces a Reign of Blood Effects Pack coming to Total War: THREE KINGDOMS on Thursday, which will increase the blood and gore level in the historical strategy game. Those who purchase this on Steam will find a new option for more gore in the game's advanced graphics settings. This trailer shows this off, so avoid this if you faint at the sight of blood. Here's word:

Experience the battlefields of ancient China in gruesome detail with the Reign of Blood Effects Pack for Total War: THREE KINGDOMS. This pack introduces a number of new gory and mature-rated effects, animations and kill-moves to the game in both Campaign and Battle. Once installed, these effects can be activated in the graphics settings of Total War: THREE KINGDOMS.

Campaign effects:

• New campaign event-pictures depicting blood and gore
• New blood effects for battle-resolution combat animations between characters

Battle effects:

• Human dismemberment: limb-lops and beheadings
• Equine dismemberment: leg lops
• Charred bodies
• Blood sprays on weapon impacts
• New death animations for characters vs infantry
• Dead bodies as battlefield set-dressing
• Blood scaler: increase or decrease the level of gore to your tastes

Please note that, depending on your country of residence, the Reign of Blood Effects Pack may raise the age-rating of the main game.

Continue here to read the full story.

With the Arma 3 Contact coming to Arma 3 next month, Bohemia Interactive offers a new Sandbox Trailer showing off this spin-off expansion for the military shooter. This comes with a lengthy explanation of what to expect, which includes free updates for the base game. Here's more:

Narrated by Game Designer Scott Alsworth, the new trailer goes beyond Arma 3 Contact’s extraterrestrial components – such as its military science fiction singleplayer campaign – to present a showcase of all the other sandbox assets that the Contact expansion will deliver to the wider Arma 3 platform, including a massive terrain, new factions, weapons, vehicles, and more.

The largest addition is a 163 square kilometer Eastern European terrain, which covers the partly abandoned Nadbór region within the larger Polish-speaking country of Livonia. This temperate summer environment is characterized by its many coniferous forests, open wheat fields, towns, railroads, the Biela river, and many interesting landmarks such as an old munitions factory, an abandoned radar station, and dozens of old bunkers from World War II.

To support the new locale, Arma 3 Contact will introduce two small-yet-capable new factions to the game. These are the local Livonian Defense Force and the Russian Spetsnaz. Each of these will be equipped with their own gear and have access to a customized arsenal, and will be complemented by new character faces, as well as Polish or Russian radio protocols. Moreover, the expansion will add 5 new weapons and an unlikely pair of new vehicles in the form of the Mini UGV and Tractor.

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Steel Sword Story is now available on Steam, offering a throwback platformer for Windows created with Pixel Game Maker MV. Word is: "This is a game created especially for all the old school, classic 2D action game fans out there. From 8bits Fanatics, the creator of the fatally difficult action title 1001 Spikes, comes a true 2D dark fantasy-action game full of swords and magic." Here's a video showing off gameplay. Continue here to read the full story.

If you hear the expression "it's like herding cats" and think that sounds like fun, then you're in luck, as Steam now offers Kitten'd, which puts you in charge of a batch of kitties. This post covers what's changed since Early Access for this official release. To immerse yourself even further in this feline frenzy, the game offers support for virtual reality headsets. Here's the release trailer, and here's word:

Take care of cute kittens - lots and lots of cute kittens!
Get points for keeping them happy and lose points for everything they destroy.
Use points to upgrade your tools. Get an automatic food dispenser or clean up poop faster with the PoopScoop 3000!

What awaits inside the next box?!

• Take care of an overwhelming amount of kittens!
• Visit 28 crazy levels on 4 different worlds.
• 7 super cute kitten breeds with unique characteristics.
• Rewarding fast-paced family friendly game-play.
• Easy-to-master two-button controls.
• See the kittens eat, play and destroy your home in stunning VR.
• Or just take care of a lot of kittens tamagotchi style in the sandbox mode.

Continue here to read the full story.

• What E3 Taught Us About the Future of Cloud Gaming.
• What Video Games Would Look Like Without E3? If hype fell in a forest, and there was no one there to see it...

• American Truck Simulator: Creating some buzz. Teases a new expansion, though you'll bee hard pressed to find it informative.

Game Life - Is Overwatch’s New Patch The Worst One Yet?

• Entropia Universe Summer Mayhem 2019.
• Bungie raises over $400,000 for children's hospital during charity livestream.

• Q&A: After the Microsoft acquisition, what's next for Double Fine? - Gamasutra.
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Developers Say Breaking Series Traditions Made For A Better Game - Kotaku. Thanks Kxmode.
• Q&A With NHL World Gaming Champion Matt Gutkoski.

• 'Xbox Live Is Not A Free Speech Platform'- Xbox Boss Promises New Features To Make Online Gaming Less Hostile.
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Launches Today – It’s Time to Get Fast and FUR-IOUS.
• They Are Billions Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• BackSlash Is Now Available For Xbox One And Windows 10 (Xbox Play Anywhere).
• Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Captain Cat Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Flash Sale! Deals Under $10 at PS Store.

• Google Hardware quits the tablet business, again.
• Huawei Clarifies Android Update Situation, Commits to Android Q for Last 2 Generations.
• Harry Potter- Wizards Unite Global Launch Begins in the United States and United Kingdom.

• Mozilla Thunderbird — Release Notes (60.7.2). Thanks Frans.
• Facebook usage falling after privacy scandals, data suggests. Thanks Reddit via Ant.
• Bitcoin eyes $10,000 as total crypto market cap hits $300 billion.
• Kathleen Hale Came For Her Goodreads Critic. Then The Internet Came For Her.
• Final Trailer: "Stranger Things" S3.

• Discovery of a 'holy grail' with the invention of universal computer memory. Thanks Max.
• Intel to Cut Prices of its Desktop Processors by 15% in Response to Ryzen 3000. Thanks Verno.
• If I Can't Upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, Now What?

• A Method for Establishing Liability for Data Breaches. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

Trying out listing previews and reviews with their title lines intact since these can be informative at times.

• Amid Evil review - ragin' and magin' - PC Invasion.
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night review - PC Invasion.
• F1 2019 review - PC Gamer.
• My Friend Pedro Review - AusGamers.com.
• Lifeless Vanguard on Christ Centered Gamer.
• My Friend Pedro Review -Buy, Wait for Sale, Rent, Never Touch? - Angry Centaur Gaming.
• My Friend Pedro Review - Gaming Nexus.
• My Friend Pedro Review - IGN.
• My Friend Pedro Review - Overclockers Club.
• My Friend Pedro review - Blood, bullets, and bananas - PC Invasion.
• PION - Live First Impressions - Parallax Abstraction.

• Aerocool Cylon Mid-Tower Chassis on TweakTown.
• Creative Sound BlasterX H6 Headset on Gaming Nexus.
• PC Gaming Race Glorious Model O Mouse on IGN.
• Razer Nari Ultimate Wireless Gaming Headset on AusGamers.com..
• Reeven Justice CPU Cooler on Real Hardware Reviews.
• Scythe Choten und Kotetsu Mark II TUF Gaming Alliance CPU Cooler on OC Inside. German.

Things are getting real for our plan to move next week. I spent some time yesterday cancelling some services and transferring others to our new address. We also had a visit/walkthrough from the folks buying our house so their children can see what they will come back to after going off to summer camp. They were very nice and excited about it all. We are very happy that they seem to love this place as much as we do, as it feels like we're leaving it in good hands. All this activity is going to impact the site about the next week, so I apologize in advance for any disruptions. The first of these may be later today, as there's a good chance that I'll be unavailable after midday, so it's likely there won't be a late update this evening. I may be wrong about that, but if I'm not, there will be some catch-up posts tomorrow. Either way, I expect things to return to normal by next weekend. Thanks for any patience you can muster for this.

Real Links:	Thanks Ant.
Satire:	Nintendo Revealed The Reason Mario Always Comes Back To Life. Knicks Front Office Scrambling After Zion Williamson Drafted Before 3rd Pick.
Stories:	Researchers Dropped 17,000 Wallets To Test Honesty In Countries Around The World. Thanks RedEye9. China’s Urban Crisis. Thanks Max.
Science: Thanks Max	Bizarre skull belongs to 1st known beluga-narwhal hybrid. Things getting freaky under the Arctic. The Growing Science Behind a Fasting Treatment for Alzheimer's. Earth's heavy metals result of supernova explosion, research reveals.
Media:	Pass The Salt - Joseph's Longest Machine Ever. Thanks RedEye9. Snippet: Ants free siblings from spider webs. Final Trailer: "The Angry Birds Movie 2."
Follow-up:	One legacy of Carl Sagan may take flight next week—a working solar sail.
The Funnies:	Comics by Jon Baker on Instagram: “Better place! Better place! Better place."