A free weekend for PixARK is now underway on Steam, offering the chance to sample this action/adventure that's sort of a cross between Jurassic Park and Minecraft. If you dig it, the game is also currently on sale for 60% off. Here's a description:

Welcome to PixARK, a vast, wild world filled with vicious dinosaurs, magical creatures and endless adventure! To survive in this mysterious land, you must tame creatures both ferocious and cuddly, craft high tech and magical tools, and build your own base out of cubes.

With a robust character creator, an infinite number of voxel based maps and procedurally generated quests, your PixARK adventure will be completely unique. Team up with friends to form a tribe, or play on your own. Spend your time building a towering fortress or go on a quest in a sprawling cavern. Fly on the back of a dragon and smite your enemies with a magic wand, or ride a mighty T-Rex and blast your foes with a rocket launcher. In the world of PixARK, how you play is up to you – as long as you survive!

Anthology of Fear: Prologue is now available on Steam, providing a free sample of the upcoming first-person psychological horror game Anthology of Fear. Here's word on what this has to offer:

Anthology of Fear: PROLOGUE is a story introduction to the first of three completely unique dark stories from the full version of Anthology of Fear.
It's a standalone short game which will show you one of several unique experiences.

The world that surrounds us is not always obvious. Sometimes the weirdest, unpredictable and unreal events have logical and very mundane explanations.

Continue here to read the full story.

A new MCC Development Update has details on the plans for beta testing the PC edition of Halo 3 coming to The Master Chief Collection (thanks Neowin via VG247). The test flighing is slated to begin next month, and now 343 explains exactly what this will entail:

FLIGHT CONTENT
Below is a complete list of all content for the upcoming Halo 3 flights for both the Microsoft Store and Steam based on the development spec we create for each. There may be some slight changes between now and then, but overall, this is what we believe will be available in the upcoming public flight. Please don’t fuss if things change by then…. because they usually do to some degree.

New Features

• Customization: Updated customization will be available for Halo 3
• Forge: Forge will be available for players during this flight
• Theater: Theater will be available for use with Mouse & Keyboard for Halo 3
• Challenges: The complete Challenge System, including the Challenge Hub screen, will be available for the first time in this flight

Continue here to read the full story.

IGN has a statement from SEGA saying they are working with Microsoft to address issues plaguing the Windows launch of PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2:

Yes, we are aware of some issues. Among them, we have investigated the issue of not being able to install. We've determined that this is caused by a number of different factors, some of which we believe cannot be addressed by our side alone. We are currently working with Microsoft about this issue in order to resolve it. We are preparing to put out a notice about measures to avoid some of the causes. We will continue to work with Microsoft to investigate and implement measures in order to resolve the situation.

We are also aware of the fact that the Windows10 version may run slower in the lobby. We have found a bug that seems to be the cause of this issue and will implement a fix in an update coming soon.

Battlestate Games tweets that they have banned over 3,000 cheaters in Escape from Tarkov. PCGamesN notes this follows a global wipe in the MMO shooter which likely prompted miscreants to try to get a leg up with their fresh characters. Here's the tweet:

Just now, BattlEye has banned over 3,000 cheaters in #EscapefromTarkov. We decided that we will now let you know about large BE ban waves

The Minecraft Website has details on new content Mojang is crafting for Minecraft Dungeons (thanks VG247). The first DLC for the voxel-powered action/RPG is scheduled to land in July, and a second DLC will come later this year. They are also working on cross-platform support and other free content for all users. Here's a rundown:

You probably already know that we’re currently working on new content for Minecraft Dungeons, especially if you’ve purchased the Hero Edition. However, what you might not know is that the first of the two planned DLCs – Jungle Awakens – is coming in July! In this adventure, you’ll enter a distant, dangerous jungle to fight a mysterious power in three new missions. To defeat the terrors hidden among the vines, you’ll have new weapons, armor, and artifacts at your disposal.

Once you’ve had enough of the jungle heat, you’ll explore some frozen peaks in Creeping Winter! This second addition to Minecraft Dungeons will be coming later this year, so keep an eye on this blog and our socials for future sneak peeks!

Continue here to read the full story.

We'll start with a list of current free offers, many of which were previously reported. The jump is to avoid breaking the mobile format with the expanded selection of sale items that follows, so hit that for the full list:

Freebies

• Airport Madness- World Edition - Indiegala Developers.
• Save 100% on Arma 3 Karts on Steam. Requires Arma 3.
• Ascension to the Throne - Indiegala Developers.
• Arx Fatalis - Bethesda.net.
• Borderlands: The Handsome Collection - Epic Games Store.
• Construct: Escape the System - Indiegala Developers.
• The Culling Of The Cows - Indiegala Developers.
• Doodle Devil - Indiegala Developers.
• Lovely Planet - Indiegala Developers.
• Save 100% on Minion Masters - Charging Into Darkness on Steam.
• Naval Warfare - Indiegala Developers.
• Sludge Life - Epic Games Store.
• Spoiler Alert - Indiegala Developers.
• Tracks - The Train Set Game- Suburban Pack on Steam. Requires Tracks - The Family Friendly Open World Train Set Game.

*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item. Continue here to read the full story.

• The history of the PC Gaming Show. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Trackmania Preview - Taking the Games as a Service Route - Wccftech.

• Google postpones Android 11 unveiling amid U.S. protests.

Thanks Ant.

• The coronavirus crisis could push the U.S. to adopt online voting by 2024.
• Amazon sellers are marking products as ‘collectible’ to get around price gouging rules. Thanks Slashdot.
• Microsoft 'to replace journalists with robots.'
• Subscribers Flock To SVOD Over AVOD.
• NYU’s virtual graduation event turned into ‘a vaporwave nightmare.’ Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Zoom plans to roll out strong encryption for paying customers.

Thanks Ant.

• INTEL graphics Driver version -27.20.100.8280- has been released, provides optimizations and support for new games.
• Intel is using two manufacturing processes for some Comet Lake Core i5 CPUs. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Intel to Discontinue Core i9-9900K Special Dodecahedron Packaging.
• Broadcast TV Transition- What to Watch For.
• VMware Workstation 15.5 Now Supports Host Hyper-V Mode. Thanks DSLReports.
• Residents living permanently in Japan's cyber-cafés - Lost in Manboo (video). 2015 mini-doc on Net cafe refugees. Thanks Simon.

• Microsoft blocks Trend Micro code at center of driver 'cheatware' storm from Windows 10, rootkit detector product pulled from site.
• NTT warns its Singapore cloud was hacked, Japanese customer data compromised. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• This faulty WordPress plugin could allow hackers to wipe your website.
• It wasn't just a few credit cards- Entire travel itineraries were stolen by hackers, Easyjet now tells victims.

Thanks Ant.

• US lawmakers get a second shot at forcing FBI agents to obtain a warrant before they leaf through web histories.
• Trump is desperate to punish Big Tech but has no good way to do it. Thanks Phlegm.
• Multiple Class Action Suits Over WD’s SMR Hard Drives Filed in US and Canada.
• Pablo Escobar's big bro and former accountant sues Apple for $2.6bn over FaceTime bug. Thanks DSLReports.
• Twitter, Reddit and pals super unhappy US visa hopefuls have to declare their online handles to Uncle Sam. Thanks DSLReports.
• Rogue ADT tech spied on hundreds of customers in their homes via CCTV – including me, says teen girl.

• Crucible Review - A Slow Struggle - Game Informer. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Crucible Review - A Prime Disappointment - GameSpot.
• Deep Rock Galactic review - PC Gamer.
• Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Review - Friendship Never Ends - GameSpot.
• Those Who Remain PC Performance Analysis - DSOGaming.

Best of 2020 edition? Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Adata XPG Prime ARGB Extension Cables Review- Stiff RGB Cable Competition - Tom's Hardware.
• AMD EPYC 7F72 CPU vs. Intel Xeon Gold 6258R - Latest EPYC Rome vs. Xeon Cascade Lake Benchmarks - Phoronix.
• ASUS ROG Theta 7.1 Review - FOUR drivers per earcup! - KitGuruTech. Video.
• The Best Gaming Keyboard (May 2020)- Razer, Steelseries, Logitech, HyperX, And More - GameSpot.
• Best gaming mouse 2020 - The Verge.
• The Best SSD and PC Storage 2020 - TechSpot.
• Cooler Master Masterbox MB311L ARGB Case Review - TechPowerUp.
• Logitech G915 TKL wireless gaming keyboard review - PC Gamer.
• Razer Mamba Wireless Gaming Mouse Review- Well-Specced Snake - Tom's Hardware.
• Razer Opus Headset review: This ain't no game - Android Authority.
• T-FORCE VULCAN Z 2x32GB RAM Kit Review for gamers - BabelTechReviews.

• How to Find Every Secret Level in Minecraft: Dungeons…
• EVE Online's insurmountable citadels are starting to decay. Rust never sleeps…

Best of luck to the astronauts, SpaceX and NASA as they make another attempt at launching astronauts to the International Space Station today. The launch is expected at 3:22 pm EDT, and you can watch live coverage on NASA Television. There are concerns the weather could once again cause the mission to be scrubbed and pushed off until tomorrow. If it does go off, it will be the first launch of astronauts from American soil in almost a decade, and the first time in history that a private company will put astronauts into space.

Launch Links
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Play

• Factions World.

Stories

• SpaceX's Starship Prototype Explodes in Fourth Failed Test. Thanks Phlegm.
• Lots of People Have Weird Digestive Troubles, Global Survey Finds. Thanks Max.

Science

• Add gut health and disease prevention to long list of coffee benefits.
• Growing Anomalies at the Large Hadron Collider Hint at New Particles.

Media

• Dog Springs up Trying to Catch Sprinkler.
• Insane May 2020 Records! - Guinness World Records.
• Testimatic: The Anonymous Testicle Checking Booth.

Auction

• If you want to buy a decommissioned nuclear reactor control panel, I’ve found one for you.