Famed game designer Chris Avellone is accused of predatory sexual behavior in a screed on twitter. This generated a couple of tweets in corroboration, including one from Monolith writer Samantha Wallschlaeger. Chris offers a couple of apologetic tweets that appear to be in response to this, but he does not directly confirm or deny any of the alleged details (thanks ResetEra). Gamasutra tweets a statement from Paradox Interactive saying that none of Avellone's work will be part of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2: "Bloodlines 2 publisher Paradox Interactive has been in contact to explain that Avellone was only 'briefly' involved in the project, and that 'none of his contributions remain in the game that Hardsuit Labs is continuing to develop'." And in this tweet Techland announces they are parting ways with Chris, who was contributing to the story of Dying Light 2:

We treat matters of sexual harassment and disrespect with utmost care, and have no tolerance for such behaviors - it applies to both of our employees as well as external consultants, Chris among them. This is why, together with Chris Avellone, we've decided to end our cooperation.

We are still working towards delivering the experience we promised in dying light 2. Both our narrative team, which Chris supported, and the whole development team of dying light to continue progressing efficiently, according to the plan revised at the beginning of the year.

In post on Xbox Wire Microsoft announces they are giving up on Mixer and will work to transition the Mixer community over to their BFFs at Facebook Gaming. The Mixer Blog explains what users can do with Mixer spacebux in the scant month before the changeover completes, and those with balances or subscriptions after the shift to the new platform will receive an Xbox Gift Card in compensation. The Verge reports that streaming stars with big money Mixer exclusivity deals like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, Cory "King Gothalion" Michael, and Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek are being released from their contracts and are now free to stream elsewhere. According to a tweet from Rod Breslau Ninja and Shroud got full payouts (made $30 million and $10 million, respectively) after refusing offers of double that for Facebook exclusivity (thanks The Loadout). Microsoft's explanation of why they are making this change definitely includes words:

Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the service for them as quickly and broadly as possible. It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences we want to deliver to gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform. To better serve our community’s needs, we’re teaming up with Facebook to enable the Mixer community to transition to Facebook Gaming.

Beginning today, Facebook Gaming will make it easy for anyone in the Mixer community to join, if they choose to do so. We will work to transition the Mixer community over the next few weeks. Starting on July 22, all Mixer sites and apps will redirect users to Facebook Gaming. For Mixer Partners, streamers, and viewers, we expect you’ll have many questions – you can find more details on how we will support the transition to Facebook Gaming on the Mixer blog here.

Transitioning the Mixer community is a key part of a broader effort that Xbox and Facebook Gaming are embarking on, bringing new experiences and opportunities to Facebook, where every month more than 700 million people play a game, watch a gaming video, or interact in a gaming Group.

Secret Government is now available in Early Access on Steam for Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering a grand strategy game from publisher 1C Entertainment and developer GameTrek. This offers the chance to control world affairs as the leader of a shadowy secret global society. This is expected for full launch later this year after changes based on Early Access community feedback. They illuminate their plans with the Early Access Launch Trailer and reveal more of what they are conspiring on here:

Taking place from the 17th century to the modern days, Secret Government tasks you with leading a secret organization as you spread your influence across the globe, rewriting key historical events and deciding the fate of humankind. Manage your resources as you manipulate the actions of the world’s leaders. From strategically planting your agents in vulnerable regions, to infiltrating powerful institutions of authority, anyone can be your pawn as you exploit their resources and seize control over key decision-makers.

The Early Access version places you in the Glorious Revolution in England where you will face a hostile secret organization whose methods are similar to yours, but their goals are completely different. Act carefully not to raise the awareness of your clout in the country or otherwise you will be exposed and lose the level of influence already gained.

Continue here to read the full story.

A new May 2020 worldwide digital games market report from SuperData says that spending for last month was up 14% year-over-year compared with May 2019. Here's the update:

Digital games revenue totaled $10.2B in May, down 3% from April’s record-breaking total of $10.5B. Games continued their lucrative streak in May even though the month had few major game releases and an easing of COVID-19 lockdowns. Digital console revenue fell 27% from April to May due to fewer new releases, but a 3% growth in mobile earnings offset this gap. Overall spending was still up 14% over May 2019 ($8.9B), with PC up 8%, mobile up 14% and console up 23%.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Humble Book Bundle: Technology Essentials for Business by Manning Publications (pay what you want and help charity).*

*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item

• Dota 2 Update - June 22nd, 2020.

• Original Diablo 2 Creators Share Thoughts On Rumored Diablo 2 Remaster - IGN Unfiltered.

• Lords of Exile by czazuaga — Kickstarter. 258% funded.

• GamesIndustry.biz - How the games industry can put its diversity pledges into action.
  "The real problem doesn't lie with finding resources if a studio, publisher or individual is willing to put the time in. It's the refusal of thinking of diversity as an absolute necessity in the games industry that hinders its growth, a refusal itself based on the faulty assumption that consumers are predominantly white, or, perhaps more damaging, that Black characters and their storylines can be created by white teams without input from Black people. While sensitivity readers and community feedback specifically from Black players are vital tools at present to ensure accuracy, teams without any Black employees tend to unwittingly enforce stereotypes, as has just happened at the reveal of Neostream's Little Devil Inside."

• Brazil's Independent Games Digital Festival now underway.
• DGC Games - Dubai Digital Games Conference now underway.
• Gamelab Live Barcelona starts tomorrow.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time Revealed Today. Here's the Announcement Trailer.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Getting Fallout Vault Boy DLC.
• What Do You Know, Burnout Paradise Kicks Ass On The Switch.
• Rocket Arena Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One.
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Ring (2007.200618-0000).
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring (2008.200618-0000).

• Apple debuts first look at Foundation TV series, coming to Apple TV Plus. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Apple ditches Intel for ARM processors in Mac computers with Big Sur. Thanks RedEye9.
• New #1 Supercomputer: Fujitsu’s Fugaku and A64FX take Arm to the Top with 415 PetaFLOPs.
• TOP500 Supercomputers Embrace NVIDIA at ISC. Thanks Hypothermia.
• Western Digital's 18TB Hard Drive Breaks Cover With $648 Price Tag.
• MSI Is Building Its New Gaming Desktops in America. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Vulnerability Summary for the Week of June 15, 2020 - CISA. Thanks Ant.

• Donate to Direct Relief and get a Borderlands 3 digital mask as thanks…
• Lone Echo developer Ready at Dawn acquired by Facebook…

Last Link of the Day: Arrest Made In Hit-And-Run Showing Driver Speeding With Motorcycle Wrapped Around Front Bumper. WTF? Thanks RedEye9.

Obituary: Joel Schumacher Dead- Batman Films, Lost Boys Director Dies at 80.

Eurogamer says it "understands" that Warner Bros. will officially announce a Suicide Squad game and a new Batman game called Gotham Knights at the upcoming DC Fandome event in August. They do not state where this understanding originates, but it supports speculation based on this weekend's discovery of new domains for SuicideSquadKillTheJusticeLeague.com, SuicideSquadGame.com, and GothamKnightsGame.com. They say the Gotham Knights game is being developed by WB Montreal and is the game that all the Court of Owls hints have been teasing. They report the Suicide Squad game is in development at Rocksteady, but that we shouldn't expect to see too much of it soon, as it's further off from launch.

In a post on Steam, CI Games officially announces Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, saying they are aiming at an autumn release for this first-person shooter sequel. They point to a Coming Soon landing page, but there's just an image there for the moment. For now they are just telling us we should stay tuned for more details.

Iron Wolf Studio announces Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter, an upcoming tactical simulator that recreates the tension of World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. This will put you in command of an American destroyer protecting a convoy from German U-boats. Word is: "The player will take full command of USS Janson (DD-524), a fictional Fletcher-class destroyer based on USS Kidd (DD-661), which will lead the escort group of an important convoy. It will be assisted by three AI-controlled destroyers that the player will be able to give orders to. From setting the formation, through ordering attacks and search plans to picking up survivors." You can see the concept in a new cinematic trailer and keep up with the game though its Steam Listing, which shows a Q3 2021 release date. The trailer refers to this as episode one, as they plan future installments to expand the game into the Pacific while adding surface and surface-to-air combat. Here's more:

The plot of Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter will be conveyed via highly detailed cutscenes which strongly tie into the game’s choice and consequence mechanic. The captain’s strategic decisions, as well as certain story-related aspects of the game will be controlled by the player, with consequences for both the situation in combat and plot development. Gameplay as such will focus on several key locations on-board: the combat information centre, the bridge, the sonar room, the engine room, and observation posts. The player will be able to switch between these locations at any moment in the course of the battle.

Continue here to read the full story.

The Warface Website announces the Blackwood update is now live for the Windows version of the free-to-play first-person shooter and coming soon to consoles. This allows players to take on the role of the opposition Blackwood forces while also adding a new special operation with new open-ended missions. This Gameplay Trailer highlights the changes, and you can read on for more details:

Set on a volcanic island in the Northern Atlantic, the new Blackwood PvE mission continues the story of the WEGA-5 squad, first introduced in Operation Mars. The player’s squad has been captured by rival corporation Blackwood and are forced to fight against their own allies. That means that for the first time in the shooter’s history, players will be controlling Blackwood soldiers fighting against Warface corporation.

Operation Blackwood will also be the game’s first non-linear co-op mission. Players will be deployed at a starting hub location and are free to choose which of three enemy bases to assault first. Every base is guarded by a unique set of enemy troops, led by a powerful boss. Boss battles are packed with unique features. Players have to split up to perform fundamentally different tasks. Once players destroy one boss, the rest becomes more difficult to defeat. The difficulty sets the boss’s behavior and the tactics players will have to adapt to destroy it.

Continue here to read the full story.

Misc Games announcing that Fishing: North Atlantic will spawn in August, offering a sequel to Fishing: Barents Sea. They say: "Climb into the captain’s chair once again, this time in the majestic Canadian waters of Nova Scotia, braving the high seas across six realistic ports and fish habitats in search of ocean gold! " You can now wishlist the game on Steam, as they highlight in a new Steam Wishlist Trailer. Here's more:

Plan the course of your fishing career throughout the whole year - brave rain and snow while looking for the best fishing zones, all while keeping the ever watchful eye on your quotas. Fishing: North Atlantic features a huge range of 25 handcrafted boats, new weather systems with upgraded atmospheric effects and all new fishing methods such as harpoons and deep-line-buoy-fishing. The new advanced fish-AI requires the use of GPS and sonar to follow the movement of your prey, depending on weather and water temperatures. Start with harpooning swordfish and tuna and work your way up to setting deep lines to catch snow crabs or lobster and experience life as a deep sea fisherman without actually getting wet!

Continue here to read the full story.

The Academy: The First Riddle is now available for Windows and macOS on Steam, as well as for mobile. This offers a Professor Layton-style puzzle game in Harry Potter-esque setting, as shown in the Release Trailer. Here's word from Croatian developer Pine Studio:

“The Academy: The First Riddle is our most ambitious title to date, featuring breathtaking environments, captivating lore, and hundreds of challenging puzzles for players to sink their teeth into,” says Pine Studio’s Boris Barbir. “We’re eager for fans to unwrap the mystery surrounding Arbor’s Academy and shed light on the secrets hiding among the school’s darkest corridors.”

The Academy: The First Riddle places fans in Arbor’s Academy, a mysterious institution known for accepting only the world’s best and brightest students. As a freshman named Sam, players will solve over 200 puzzles and riddles scattered across the school’s campus. Over the course of this roughly 20-hour adventure, students will meet an array of memorable characters who will assist them on their quest to uncover the academy’s cryptic history.

Continue here to read the full story.

• GOG.com Weekly Sale: set off on an adventure with games up to 90% off.

• The Falconeer - Story Trailer.
• The SECRET REAL reason Cyberpunk 2077 was Delayed - Delays Demystified - AGC. Thanks RedEye9.

• Deus Ex's 20th anniversary- Scott Martin on building a new kind of first-person shooter - TechRadar. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• CrossfireX Open Beta Begins June 25, Play 3 Days Early Starting Today.
• The Last of Us Part 2: A blind video gamer got emotional after seeing the game's extensive accessibility options for players with disabilities.

• Twitch is “actively looking into” accounts linked to “sexual harassment and misconduct” allegations.
• Mixer streamers threaten to leave after former employee raises racism allegations.
• Amazon’s Twitch to show Premier League games.
• Wirecard, a Payments Firm, Is Rocked by a Report of a Missing $2 Billion. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• The North Face and Patagonia boycott Facebook ads.

• NVIDIA Shatters Big Data Analytics Benchmark. Thanks Hypothermia.
• 400 organizations sign open letter to save Open Technology Fund (OTF).
• Andrew Yang is pushing Big Tech to pay users for data.
• EEG-equipped ebike hijacks your brain's threat response system. Thanks Max.

• ‘BlueLeaks’ Exposes Files from Hundreds of Police Departments.
• Microsoft: These hackers got from a broken password to full control of a network - in just days.
• Microsoft buys IoT security firm CyberX.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi) Motherboard Review - TweakTown.
• Crucial P2 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD Test - OverClocked Inside. German.
• Dell XPS 15 review (2020): The ideal 15-inch laptop for creatives - Engadget.
• HyperX Alloy Origins Gaming Keyboard Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• LaCie 12Big Thunderbolt 3 DAS Review - TweakTown.
• Lenovo C340 review- The benchmark for a good, cheap Chromebook in 2020 - Android Police.
• 2020 Razer Blade Pro 17 Laptop Review - MobileTechReviews.
• TeamGroup Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD review - Guru3D.
• Team Group PD1000 512GB USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSD For Gamers - BabelTechReviews.

• Cyberpunk 2077 is getting a comic series this September…
• QQ meaning in gaming- How a 'Warcraft' shortcut became a brutal insult. Thanks Neutronbeam…

Happy birthday Quake, as it was 24 years ago today that the shareware version of id's first-person shooter was released. The game more-or-less marked the dawn of such games offering including full 3D, client-server multiplayer, and esports. It also marked the dawn of websites dedicated to game news, and I've noted often in the past, you would not be reading these words were it not for Quake. So here's a hats off to John Carmack, John Romero, Michael Abrash, American McGee, John Cash, Sandy Petersen, Tim Willits, Adrian (no relation) Carmack, Kevin Cloud, Trent Reznor, and the late Paul Steed for creating a game with such an enduring legacy.

Obituary: Paolo Giorgio Ferri, Hunter of Looted Antiquities, Dies at 72. Thanks Neutronbeam.

Quaking Links
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Science

• 'One Of The Best Nature Shows'- A River Transformed After Dams Come Down.
• Why Cats Knead, According to Science. Thanks Phlegm.

Media

• THE KING’S MAN - OFFICIAL TRAILER - IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 18. Thanks Gizmodo.
• Portrait of the Artist as Roadkill.
• Watch Amazon driver deliver an unusual request. Thanks RedEye9.