Microids is offering to exile everyone to Syberia, with a giveaway of both Syberia and Syberia II on Steam. These well-regarded Windows and macOS adventure games can be yours to keep as long as you claim them between now and 1:00 pm EDT on Wednesday. Need a refresher? We've got you covered:

Join Kate Walker as she travels to remote locations and time periods in this timeless voyage to discover her true destiny.

Having searched Eastern and Western Europe for a missing heir, Kate Walker finally completed her long and arduous journey, obtaining the signature of Hans Voralberg and closing the automaton factory buyout. Mission accomplished?

Activision Blizzard's legal bills must be piling up, as a new lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is just the latest in a series of legal actions over the workplace culture at the videogame giant. Accusations include, but are not limited to: "1. Subjecting female employees to sex-based discrimination, including harassment, based on their gender. 2. Retaliating against female employees for complaining about sex-based discrimination, based on their gender. 3. Paying female employees less than male employees, based on their gender." A surprisingly swift response comes in this announcement from Activision Blizzard saying it is committed to expanded workplace initiatives. Subject to court approval, the company has already reached an agreement with the EEOC:

Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI) today confirmed that, as part of its effort to have the most welcoming, inclusive workplace, it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to settle claims and to further strengthen policies and programs to prevent harassment and discrimination in the company’s workplace. Under the agreement, the principal terms of which are summarized in Attachment A to this press release, Activision Blizzard has committed to create an $18 million fund to compensate and make amends to eligible claimants. Any amounts not used for claimants will be divided between charities that advance women in the video game industry or promote awareness around harassment and gender equality issues as well as company diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as approved by the EEOC. The agreement is subject to court approval.

• Versus Evil Publisher Sale on Steam.
• Save 20% on DEVOUR on Steam.
• Save 35% on ASTRONEER on Steam.

• Heroes of the Storm Balance Patch Notes - September 27, 2021.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• This 2.8GB Dark Souls 3 Mod lets you become some of the game's bosses.

Official trailers.

• Boundary Fire Fall.
• SMITE - Queen of the Banshees - Cliodhna Cinematic.

• Nightdive Studios & Valiant Discuss Shadow Man Remaster Game - CBR.

• System Shock by Nightdive Studios » September Update.

• Sony has a "gigantic list of things" lined up for future PS5 software updates.
• Dying Light 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch.
• HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED - Ultimate Stunt Edition Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.
• Teacup Available Now for Xbox One and Xbox Series X-S.
• Farm For Your Life Demo Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.
• FIFA 22 Ultimate Edition Xbox One & Xbox Series X-S Is Now Available.

• Researchers use Starlink satellites to pinpoint location, similar to GPS.
• How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? - LaptopTalks. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Nintendo's approach to subscriptions is worth watching.
• Twitch reportedly launching new security tools to combat hate raiding.
• Goldman Sachs, Ozy Media and a $40 Million Conference Call Gone Wrong (may require registration or subscription). Thanks Jason Schreier.
• Facebook Spending $50M Researching How to Not Ruin Metaverse Like It Ruined the Real World.
• Google turns 23: Doodle honors search giant's birthday.

• Apple, Intel, and Nvidia Suppliers Halt Production in China Due to Mandated Power Shutdowns.
• Sapphire's Radeon RX 6600 Listed Weeks Ahead of Launch.

• Vulnerability Summary for the Week of September 20, 2021 - CISA. Thanks Ant.
• Crisis management and incident management in the digital era.

• Film studios sue “no logs” VPN provider for $10 million.
• Cryptocurrency expert pleads guilty to helping North Korean government use blockchain to evade sanctions.

• Warzone players passionately call for quitting penalty to be added…

Last Link of the Day: Babylon 5 Reboot in the Works on the CW.

DwarfHeim is now out of Early Access, and this class-based co-op survival game for Windows is now officially available on Steam with a 30% launch discount. Additionally, all Early Access players and everyone else who picks up the game within the next 30 days will receive a free weapon skin. The launch trailer offers an updated look at gameplay, and this post on Steam details all the changes in version 1.0. Here's the big picture:

DwarfHeim is the next generation of real-time strategy games and features exciting asymmetric, co-op game modes that will appeal to multiplayer fans everywhere. Player roles are critical to the success of your clan, choosing the right class can mean the difference between a glorious victory and a crushing defeat.

DwarfHeim can also be enjoyed in single-player modes for the gamer’s that prefer the solo play-style.

Continue here to read the full story.

Publisher tinyBuild and developer niceplay games announce that Potion Craft sold more than 100k units within the first three days after last week's Early Access release of the alchemist simulator. The game was number nine on yesterday's Weekly Steam Top 10, but word is the game topped the Steam sales charts for those three glorious days:

Developer niceplay games and publisher tinyBuild are excited to confirm that their alchemist simulator Potion Craft has sold 100k units. With those sales, the game took the #1 spot on the Steam Global Top Sellers chart for three consecutive days.

Brazilian developer AQUIRIS announces a new expansion called Senna Forever is coming on October 20th to Horizon Chase Turbo, the retro racing game homage. The add-on is dedicated to the career of late driver Ayrton Senna, and it will include new cars, tracks, and features inspired by his career. Word is: "Thanks to the partnership and support of Senna Brands, part of the profits obtained with the licensing of Senna Forever will be dedicated to support the Ayrton Senna’s Institute educational programs." The Senna Forever Trailer promotes this with a live action look at people watching television. Here are more details on what this will bring:

SENNA FOREVER EXPANSION FEATURES

• Single Player Career Mode: Follow the steps of the legendary Brazilian driver through five nostalgic chapters.
• Brand new first-person view (Senna Forever-specific): Feel the heat of the moment from the inside of a cockpit.
• New race strategies mechanics (Senna Forever-specific): Make tough choices and choose your car setup considering each race track and weather conditions.
• 130 Senna’s Marks on Career Mode: Pursue them to achieve the driver's outstanding historical performance.
• Championship Mode with 18 different teams to choose from and more than 30 cars to unlock: Dominate the world circuit racing through its three different categories.
• Play alone or with up to 4 local players: Experience unique runs on each Championship with the unpredictability of randomized weathers, tracks and competitors (the multiplayer mode won't be available in the mobile versions of the expansion).

Continue here to read the full story.

A post on Steam announces that a new free map called The Inn is now available on Steam for DEVOUR, the co-op survival game from Straight Back Games. This trailer has a look at the type of creepy hospitality guests can expect there. Here's a quick travel brochure:

Experience the insidious, creeping terror of a Japanese guest house overrun with giant, demonic spiders. Work together to collect items, match symbols and cleanse the cursed spider eggs at 10 unique shrines. In The Inn, you can now hide from evil, as well as run from it, but make no mistake, a possessed Zara is not quite herself, and she WILL find you eventually...

Continue here to read the full story.

Early Access to Festival Tycoon is now underway on Steam, offering the chance to start your own music festival empire in this Windows simulation designed by a solo developer. Live the dream by designing venues, booking acts, and, of course, warning that "the brown acid that is circulating around us isn't too good." Check out the Launch Trailer with a look at what to expect, and break out your glowstick to read the details:

Grow your music festival from a backyard bonanza unto an unmissable global event, working with bands and brands to build an excellent reputation and rake in the biggest of bucks! Or if that’s too much trouble, just hop into sandbox mod and create gorgeous voxel-art festivals to your heart’s content.

Continue here to read the full story.

Another new lone-developer project is The Handler of Dragons, which today launches into Early Access for Windows on Steam. This recent trailer shows off gameplay, revealing that you play as neither Daenerys Stormborn nor Chelsea Handler. Here's a bit:

The new title is a 3D action RPG game with a third person perspective. The player takes on the role of a warrior who can communicate with dragons, creatures that are key to the story set in a unique fantasy world.

The gameplay is mainly based on exploration, interactions, discovering and shaping the story, as well as fighting monsters (such as skeletons, orcs, trolls and golems). As the character progresses, they learn, among others, new skills and magic attacks. The game is also distinguished by a system of moral choices.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Weekly Sale: Metroidvania and Annapurna Interactive games up to 80% off - GOG.com.
• Save 67% on Barony on Steam.
• Save 60% on Train Simulator 2021 on Steam.

• Diablo II: Resurrected - 9.26 Update.

↑ Official patches. ↓ Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• A Civilization 6 modder has brought back upgradeable throne rooms and palaces.

• Diablo 2: Resurrected players still can't access some of their characters.
• Overwatch's competitive voice chat reportedly bugged.

Official trailers.

• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles - Adventure Mode: Mugen Train Arc-VS Mode.
• Skiing VR - Gameplay trailer.
• Succubus: Official Hellish Orgy Trailer.

• RuneScape - Elder God Wars Dungeon: The Croesus Front.
• the-gameHERs - Gamer Awards Voting 2021.
• Where is FaZe Rain? YouTuber walks again after drug abuse leaves him in wheelchair.

• Hell Let Loose Commander guide – how to lead your team into battle.
• Genshin Impact Moonlight Seeker guide.

• Halo: Infinite multiplayer preview -- Solid core gameplay - VentureBeat.

• The Last of Us Day 2021: A Community Celebration.
• Naughty Dog says it will reveal its Last of Us multiplayer game ‘when it’s ready.’
• Xbox has made it easier to run emulators on Series X|S consoles.
• Horizon Forbidden West: Evolving Aloy.
• Marvel's Avengers Spider-Man DLC Will Have Story and Cutscenes.

• Solid-state silicon batteries could last longer and charge faster.
• The iPhone 13 means the end to cheap screen repairs.
• Test Suggests Face ID on iPhone 13 Doesn't Work After Screen Replacement By Third Party.
• Forget the iPhone 13 -- here's why the iPhone 11 is still a great value in 2021.
• Nokia: The Story of the Once-Legendary Phone Maker.

• YouTube TV could lose NBC programming. Thanks Ant.
• Microsoft Edge now stops you from downloading dodgy files.
• Facebook is ‘pausing’ work on Instagram kids app after widespread criticism.
• Mr Goxx, the crypto-trading hamster beating human investors.
• "Foundation" Has An Eight-Season Plan.

• Intel’s i9-12900K releases with other Alder Lake CPUs in November.
• Windows 11 updates should be better than Windows 10. It would be pretty hard for them to be worse.
• The release version of Windows 11 is now available to everyone in the Insider program.
• What Apple employee unrest over remote work says about the future of the office. Thanks Matthew.
• Can football-playing robots beat the World Cup winners by 2050? Thanks brother19.
• Samsung hopes to 'copy and paste' the brain to 3D chip networks. Seems a leap from exploding batteries and sort-of foldable phones.

• Quad seeks to set global tech industry infosec standards.
• The limitations of AI safety tools.
• Kidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks.
• How to ask a company to delete your personal data (may require registration or subscription).
• Covert Postal Service unit probed Jan. 6 social media. Thanks Acleacius.
• Epik hack by Anonymous reveals hidden far-right data (may require registration or subscription).
• More than 130,000 malicious IP addresses were blocked during Census 2021: AWS.

• Quantic Dream wins one libel case, loses another.
• Google, in fight against record EU fine, slams regulators for ignoring Apple.

• What kind of android, dystopian interrogator are YOU? - Silicon Dreams - IndieShowcase (video).

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• CPU: AMD 4700S CPU Reviewed- Defective PS5 Chips Find New Life - Tom's Hardware.
• Laptop: HP Pavilion Aero 13 Review - Thurrott.com.
• Misc: Silicon Power Share C20QC Power Bank - Mad Shrimps.
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X570S Aorus Master Motherboard - Nikk Tech.
• Mouse: The CRAZIEST Mice Around...but are they any GOOD? - Hardware Canucks (video).
• PSU: FSP Dagger Pro 850W Report - APH Networks.
• PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 1000W Power Supply Review - Tom's Hardware.
• SSD: Plextor M10P 1TB SSD Review - Even Faster - TweakTown.

• Jeff Kaplan tributes disappear from Overwatch 2 as Blizzard removes all IRL references…
• You can now buy a replica of Ellie's guitar in The Last of Us 2 in Europe – for £2,060. We have entered the golden age of memorabilia gouging…

Had a great time getting together with my buddies yesterday, we had good food, good company, and there was even a Strat-O-Matic baseball exhibition game for old time's sake. Of course the Giants suffered another heartbreaking loss, but when you're rooting for a team that's been on such a terrible run for years you develop some calluses to help avoid suffering too badly. I'm just looking forward to some sort of three-game winning streak near the end of the season to hurt the team's draft position. Hmm, maybe those calluses aren't so tough after all.

Callous Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Breakfast Link

• New James Bond Hunt Begins In 2022.
• Confessions of a Michelin Inspector. Thanks Max.

Science
Thanks Max.

• There's a Reliable Method For Triggering Lucid Dreams, Scientists Have Found.
• Brain health diet- Study reveals this way of eating slows cognitive decline.
• 3 Egyptian mummy faces revealed in stunning reconstruction.

Images

• Breathtaking 'Einstein Ring' Reveals Views of a Galaxy 9.4 Billion Light-Years Away. Thanks Max.

Media

• Every Dune Reference in Pop Culture (Nerdist Remix). Thanks RedEye9.
• Nancy Cartwright does her 7 Simpsons characters in under 40 seconds. Thanks VideoSift.