Activision tweets another milestone for Call of Duty: Warzone. They say that over 50 million players have now checked out their battle royale. Yes, the game is free-to-play, but that's still a pretty impressive number. Word is:

Over 50 million players.

Thank you #Warzone players for dropping in with us. #FreeCallofDuty

The closed beta for VALORANT just got underway, but Riot tweets that they've already banned their first cheater (thanks GameSpot via The Loadout). Cheating shows the competitive shooter is already coming of age (they grow up so fast!). Here's word from Paul Chamberlain, programmer and anti-cheat lead on VALORANT:

Well it sucks, but today we had to ban our first cheater (and it looks like more bans are on the horizon).

I was hoping for a little more time before this fight kicked off but we're in it now and we're ready.

Publisher Modularity and developer Vox Games announce that Meeple Station is now out of Early Access, marking the official release of this management simulation where you build and operate a space station. This is available on Steam and you can also pick up a DRM-free copy on the official website. Here is a Launch Trailer and here's word on the game:

Following two years of development and over a year in early access, Meeple Station has hit v1.0 with a load of new features and content. Along with the release of the complete story mode, the combat system has been revamped, a new events system added and much more to keep you and your hardworking meeple busy.

Inspired by Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld, guide your crew of space faring Meeple to build your own space station and create a robust society and economy. Meeple aren't the smartest race of beings unfortunately, so you'll need to keep an eye on them as you explore space for resources and expand your operations to have multiple stations.

Continue here to read the full story.

The Rival Games Development Blog heralds "The End of an Era," announcing this Finnish developer of Alien: Blackout and Thief of Thieves: Season One is shutting down. They say this is due to financial challenges which are not entirely the fault of the COVID-19 outbreak, which they say is just "the icing on the cake." Word is: "Thief of Thieves: Season One and Alien: Blackout will remain in stores normally, but our first title The Detail will be pulled from Steam and AppStore at some point." Here's a bit on why Rival is now dead on arrival:

After Alien, things were looking up for a while. We signed a deal with Universal Studios for a super cool smash-up of two 80s iconic franchises for an AA PC/console narrative shooter. We had a solid team, with some serious experience, and the same development partner from Alien, a solid vision for the game, fun and challenging gameplay. In short, all the shenanigans for a great, innovative game and a good business structure for the project, that even would’ve allowed us to pay back the loans. We were months in the pre-development when, almost a year ago, the worst possible happened: Universal had a major business strategy shift across their portfolio, shutting our project down in a moment’s notice. We were coming up on a milestone that contractually allowed them to shut it down fast.

• April 2020 New Trove Additions - Humble Bundle Blog.

• Super Mega Baseball 3 - What's New.

• Amnesia: Rebirth Interview- Letting Players Frighten Themselves - Siliconera.

• Commander '85 by PlayWay — Kickstarter. "Commander '85 is a sci-fi thriller set in the 1980s, combining elements of adventure, simulation and survival games. The main protagonist, a teenager living in the suburbs of Chicago, receives a birthday present – a Commander computer. The device turns out to be the highest technological achievement, a state-of-the-art computer equipped with a real artificial intelligence system."
• Old Skool Racer by Ajith Ram — Kickstarter. "Old Skool Racer is a complete racing game world that recreates the sheer thrill of classic arcade racing games such as Outrun, Screamer, Star Wars Pod Racer and Wave Race 64. The game is designed to be updated regularly in close cooperation with racing game fans. To enable this, we are planning monthly feature updates recommended by the fan community itself."

• Call of Duty League Q&A- How Online Matches Operate and Maintaining Competitive Balance.

• Obduction Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• This Week On Xbox: April 10, 2020.
• Next Week on Xbox: New Games for April 15 to 17.
• The Drop: New PlayStation Games for April 14, 2020.
• PlayStation Store- March’s Top Downloads.
• PlayStation Blogcast 360: Finally.
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Ring (2004.200409-0000).
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring (2005.200409-0000).

• Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology. Thanks Hypothermia.

• German security firm Avira has been acquired by Investcorp at a $180M valuation. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• New IRS Site Could Make it Easy for Thieves to Intercept Some Stimulus Payments.
• Verizon’s new tracking tool tells advertisers when you’re looking at your email inbox.

• Messaging App Signal Threatens to Dump US Market if Anti-Encryption Bill Passes. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.

Last Link of the Day: Corona beer challenge. Now I've officially seen everything.

A new "thank you for waiting" trailer for the Final Fantasy VII Remake offers a special message from Yoshinori Kitase upon the release of the RPG remake on PlayStation 4. This also includes a tidbit for fans of the series hoping to get to play this on PCs. Just a few seconds into the video they offer some gameplay footage. As you can see in a screenshot captured by Wccftech, this is conspicuously labeled "Gameplay captured on PC." This is by no means a confirmation of plans to release a PC edition, but it certainly does suggest it is a distinct possibility. Continue here to read the full story.

Support for three-player squads is now back in Call of Duty: Warzone, Activision's free-to-play battle royale game. This is good news for players upset at how support for Trios was replaced by Quads in the recently launched Season 3. This tweet has the short but sweet announcement:

A playlist update is rolling out now across all platforms! We’ve added BR Trios back into #Warzone!

Ancient Enemy is now available on Steam, offering a Windows card-battle RPG from Grey Alien Games. This carries a 15% launch discount for those who pick it up during the first week. Here's a trailer showing off gameplay, and here's word on what happens if you play your cards right:

Ancient Enemy is a strategic RPG card game in which you make interesting tactical decisions as you battle distorted enemies and overcome challenging puzzles. Face a horde of deadly enemies, each one emerging from a world in which evil has already triumphed. You must not only endure, but also rebuild your powers to vanquish evil and fight one last duel against your monstrous nemesis!

Travel through a scarred landscape with dozens of atmospheric levels, draw power from the Earth, and struggle for the soul of the world itself. Test your skills against a host of foes in unique solitaire-style turn-based combat!

Continue here to read the full story.

• Victory Heat Rally - Unofficial spiritual successor to Power Drift gets an early alpha.
• Wolcen- Lords of Mayhem -- Patch Notes 1.0.12.0.

• The Conversation - Time well spent, not wasted- video games are boosting well-being during the coronavirus lockdown. Thanks Neutronbeam.
  "Research shows games help facilitate a sense of autonomy by giving players freedom of choice and, depending on the game, a meaningful narrative for completing tasks. Well-designed games also facilitate a feeling of competence by presenting challenges that aren’t too hard or too easy and feel rewarding to overcome."

• EGX sets September dates for 2020 show.
• Why The Coronavirus Pandemic Could Be a Defining Moment For Amazon's Twitch.

• If You're Scared Of Spiders, Obsidian's Upcoming Game Will Have A Mode Just For You. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Final Fantasy VII Remake Producer Shares a “Thank You for Waiting” Message for the Fans.
• Resident Evil 3 Remake 1.05 Update Fixes Xbox One X Performance Issues.
• Nioh 2 Update 1.08 Released, Here's the Full Notes.
• Retro Tanks Is Now Available For Xbox One. Tanks for the memories.
• BQM - BlockQuest Maker Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Braveland Trilogy Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• Comrade Rabbit Bundle Is Now Available For Xbox One.
• War Theatre Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.

• Alphabet’s nascent drone delivery service is booming. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Coronavirus: Google data suggests park visits rose on weekend.
• Beware - these 'free apps' might end up costing you thousands.

• Twitch rolls out Prime Watch Parties to US streamers. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Amazon won't be able to deliver some of your items soon - here's why.
• Stay Connected to a World of Entertainment with SHIELD TV. Thanks Hypothermia.
• Apple makes some of its originals available for free.
• Google builds an unemployment application portal for New York.

• Bill Gates, Who Has Warned About Pandemics For Years, On The U.S. Response So Far. Thanks RedEye9.
• Coronavirus: Amazon builds its own testing lab for staff.
• Wanted: People who know a half century-old computer language so states can process unemployment claims. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• EVGA Announces GeForce RTX 2070 Super KO & RTX 2080 Super KO.
• Notepad++ v7.8.5 release. Thanks Ant.

• Intel Joins Georgia Tech in DARPA Program to Mitigate Machine Learning Deception Attacks. Thanks Hypothermia.
• Coronavirus tests and masks sold by fraudsters online.
• Coronavirus: Teachers in Singapore stop using Zoom after 'lewd' incidents.

• China firmly opposes U.S. action against China Telecom: foreign ministry.

• The Flare Path: Radio General review - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Resident Evil 3 PC Review: Slash that Price! - DSOGaming.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• AMD’s Mobile Revival- Redefining the Notebook Business with the Ryzen 9 4900HS - AnandTech.
• AMD TUF Gaming A15 FA506IU Laptop review (GTX 1660Ti 80W, Ryzen 5) - Ultrabook Review.
• Antec P82 Flow Case Review - APH Networks.
• ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Phantom Gaming D3 6G OC Graphics Card Review - TweakTown.
• ASUS ROG Strix Scope TKL Deluxe Keyboard - Perfect for FPS! - KitGuru.
• ASUS ROG Strix XG17AHP portable gaming monitor review - PC Gamer.
• BenQ EW3280U Review- 4K HDR With Superb Color and USB-C - Tom's Hardware.
• Cougar Mars Gaming Desk Review - Vortez.
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 WindForce OC GDDR6 Graphics Card review - Guru3D.
• Lian Li Strimer Plus 24-pin & 8-pin ATX Extension Cable Review - TechPowerUp.
• MSI's GS66 Stealth shows us what next-gen ultrathin gaming laptops can do - PC Gamer.
• Reolink Argus PT Wire-Free Security Camera Review - TweakTown.
• Scythe Mugen 5 ARGB PLUS CPU Cooler Review - TweakTown.

• COVID-19- The state of the games industry…

MrsBlue and I made a neat discovery during a careful trip outside for some fresh air. I mentioned recently that we'd only seen one of the swans for a brief period over the past few weeks. During our stroll, we spotted where they are nesting which relieved my vague fear that some harm might have befallen one of them. It does raise concern about future harm, however. I was correct that they are nesting in the marshy area just beyond the pond. However they are on the other side of the road that bisects the marsh. This means they must cross said road to get to the pond, putting them in danger from cars. This is a 30 mph zone, but rural drivers are maniacs, so this is definitely perilous. The good news is that during the summer they seem to spend most of their time on the pond itself, so hopefully they won't be crossing that frequently. That aside, it was neat to see them over there, with one atop the nest and the other swimming in the shallows, never getting too far away like an attentive spouse.

Marshy Links
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Links

• Stanley Kubrick Narrates His Life Story in Documentary Trailer. Thanks RedEye9.
• This website replicates the sounds of being in the office again.
• Here's what 5 sci-fi movies set in 2020 envisioned for this year.

Stories

• Newly engineered enzyme can break down plastic to raw materials.
• Pollution Recedes Amid Lockdown, And A View Of The Himalayas Emerges For The First Time In 30 Years.
• China Reclassifies Dogs from Livestock to Pets in Response to Coronavirus. Thanks Max.

Science

• Personalities that thrive in isolation and what we can all learn from time alone. Thanks Max.
• The 500-million-year-old reason behind the unique scent of rain. Thanks Max.
• Ancient string discovery sheds light on Neanderthal life. Caveman string theory.
• The chemistry of cold-brew coffee is so hot right now. Like Hansel.

Images

• Best Facehugger Mask I've Seen.
• Worst Buy on Instagram: "Triple-A titles only in 2020."
• Ottawa's 'silly walk' sign catches John Cleese's eye.

Media

• Ohio's Flatten The Curve PSA. Thanks RedEye9.
• Excited Rhino Runs "Like A Puppy" On Seeing His Zookeeper. Who's a good boy?
• Backward Hippo. More from the hippo campus.

The Funnies

• Savage Chickens.