Friday is D-Day for Call of Duty: Vanguard, as that's when the World War II first-person shooter is set to invade PCs and consoles worldwide. The World Premiere Video Link says the video premiere will go live at 9:00 pm EDT on Wednesday. Those who've preordered the Windows edition can begin preloading tomorrow at 1:00 pm EDT to be ready to play when the switch gets flipped. Publisher Activision and developer Sledgehammer offer a new trailer showing off PC specific enhancements. There's also a new article on the Call of Duty Blog on the subject. This includes presumably final PC specs formatted, well, oddly:

Video Card
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470
Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580
Competitive: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070/RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700XT
Ultra 4K: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT

Video Memory
Minimum: 2 GB
Recommended: 4 GB
Competitive: 8 GB
Ultra 4K: 10 GB

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In the financial report it just released, Ubisoft outlines plans to explore how blockchain technology can be used in gaming (thanks IBT). Though Valve recently banned crypto games from Steam, the Epic Games Store is apparently all in. According to this, Ubisoft is as well:

Exploring innovative technology: Blockchain
Ubisoft recently took part in the latest funding round of Animoca Brands, a leading blockchain gaming company. Ubisoft has been exploring blockchain since the early development of the technology, supporting and learning from the ecosystem through initiatives like its Entrepreneurs Lab start-up program and the Blockchain Game Alliance as a founding member. This long-range exploration ties in with Ubisoft’s constant search for innovation and new ways to empower players as true stakeholders of its worlds. It also gives Ubisoft the perspective to reflect on the best ways to overcome blockchain’s initial limitations for gaming around sustainability and scalability.

Hacker Simulator is available on Steam, where this computer security game was recently released for Windows by publisher PlayWay (which you may have inferred from the title) and developer Save All Studio, a one-person operation. The Gameplay Trailer can help you see if this is your type of game. But don't get caught trying to hack your boss' email, though, as word is: "Please note that Hacker Simulator is not a realistic 1:1 hacking simulation and that the mechanics are only inspired by real-life hacking methods." Here's more:

Become a hacker and build your online reputation to the top by discovering a simplified and enjoyable version of real-life hacking methods. Complete contracts, buy new programs, upgrade your computer, crack wifi networks and infiltrate peoples or companies online systems.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Humble Software Bundle: The Maps Bonanza (pay what you want and help charity).*
• Save 55% on Settlers Franchise on Steam.
• PC Building Simulator Midweek Madness Sale on Steam.
• Save 15% on Legend Bowl on Steam.
• Save 67% on Arizona Sunshine on Steam.

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

Official patch.

• Diablo 3 PTR 2.7.2 Preview Blog.

• Amazon disables New World 'wealth transfers' to fight gold dupe exploit.

• World of Warcraft director Ion Hazzikostas talks the game's future and current soul-searching - VentureBeat. Thanks Kxmode.

• Mr. DRILLER DrillLand for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox One launches November 4 in the west.
• Hoa Brings a Puzzle-Platforming Adventure to Xbox.
• PlayStation Now games for November: Mafia: Definitive Edition, Celeste, Final Fantasy IX, Totally Reliable Delivery Service.
• Players’ Choice- Vote for October 2021’s best new game – PlayStation.Blog.
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Skip-Ahead (2111.211029-2000). Thanks Console General.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Keynote by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang - GTC Nov 2021.
• Super apps are coming, and they’ll never let you go.
• Fed up with the job search, a software engineer created a ridiculous fake resume and got a 90% response rate.
• How to Add or Remove Startup Programs in Windows 11.
• AI Helps Complete Beethoven’s Unfinished Symphony. Thanks Hypothermia.

• Roblox blames "subtle bug" for three-day outage…
• The simple solutions to better games. "Game accessibility has come a long way, but there’s still more to do ." Thanks Neutronbeam…
• Back 4 Blood Already Has Fewer Players Than Left 4 Dead 2…
• Fortnite player reaches level 1,000 for the first time…

Last Link of the Day: The Book of Boba Fett - Official Trailer.

A new trailer from NVIDIA shows off some of the enhancements owners of GeForce RTX video cards will see in Battlefield 2042 when the military shooter is released later this month. The clip shows off support for RTX ray tracing, DLSS, and Reflex. Here's an explanation:

PC gamers will get a Battlefield 2042 experience like no other, because a PC allows you to enjoy higher detail levels, uncapped frame rates, and gameplay enhanced by variable refresh rate G-SYNC monitors, TVs and displays.

Graphics on a PC are next-level with ray-traced ambient occlusion (available only on PC), and GeForce RTX-based PCs have dedicated RT cores to deliver excellent ray tracing performance. With NVIDIA DLSS, performance is boosted without sacrificing image quality. NVIDIA Reflex optimizes system latency to assure shot accuracy for maximum competitiveness.

Continue here to read the full story.

A post on Forbes works through some data from Steamcharts to analyze player retention in New World. Though it attracted a large initial rush, Forbes says Amazon's recently launched MMORPG has been shedding over a hundred-thousand players a week:

Tracking New World’s concurrent player peaks on Steamcharts, that reveals that on average, New World has lost 135,000 concurrent players every week since launch, and the downward trend is continuing.

Here’s what the trend has looked like since launch. I’ve picked Sundays, which usually seems to be the weekly high point:

• 10-3: 913,000 players
• 10-10: 726,000 players
• 10-16: 608,000 players
• 10-23: 508,000 players

Chinese Fortnite Website has word that Fortnite is shutting down in China (thanks PC Gamer). Chinese telecom giant Tencent is famously an investor in Epic Games, but a translation of the note, which is naturally in Chinese, calls this localized version of the survival/battle royale game a "test." Word is registration of new accounts ends as of today, and that game servers will shut down on November 15th. Here's the machine translation, including a variation on the game's title:

The test of "Fortress Night" has come to an end. We will shut down the server in the near future. The detailed arrangements for the suspension of the test are as follows:

At 11 o'clock in the morning on November 1, 2021, stop the registration of new game users and close the download portal;
At 11 o'clock in the morning on November 15, 2021, the game server will be shut down, and users will not be able to log in to the game;

Thank you for everyone who boarded the bus and participated in the "Fortnite" test!

DreadXP announces Sucker for Love: First Date, which combines the creepiness of a dating sim with the creepy eldritch horror of the Cthulhu mythos. The game will launch next month on Steam and itch.io. Here's a trailer with a look, and here's word on why you may want to wrap your tentacles around this one:

Launching on Steam and Itch.io in December 2021, Sucker for Love: First Date tasks you with winning the affection of the girl of your literal dreams by invoking rituals inspired by the Cthulhu mythos. One could say that the fate of your soul is on the line in this quest for eternal and inescapable love...

Say hello to the girls of Sucker for Love: First Date! There’s Ln’eta, a cute Cthulhu-like entity that is an affectionate sweetheart with a jealous streak; Estir, the elegant self-proclaimed royalty loves the color yellow and the finer things in life; and last but not least, there’s Nyanlathotep, whom at first may be intimidating but has a certain je ne sais quoi that often leads to those around her being completely enraptured. There may be many fish in the sea, but the goddesses of the Necronomicon are sinfully sweet!

Continue here to read the full story.

• Save 75% on I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream on Steam.
• Save 50% on I am an Air Traffic Controller 4 on Steam.
• Save 33% on Parkitect on Steam.

Official patch.

• DUSK -- The NEW and OLD Update.

Content creator videos.

• The Radical History of Prototype - GVMERS. Tracking its history from prototype to Prototype. Thanks Ant.
• 13 Games That Defined Horror - GameSpot. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• I Spent 100 Days in a Frozen Zombie Apocalypse in Minecraft.

• PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS -- Updates to the PGC 2021 Participating Teams and more.

• Sega and Microsoft have announced ‘a strategic alliance’ around cloud.
• Nintendo shutters "small, satellite" offices in California and Toronto.
• Call Of Duty: Vanguard PS4, PS5 Players Receive Exclusive Monthly Double XP Events, 2 Extra Loadout Slots.

• Here’s what the Steam Store looks like on Steam Deck.
• Starbreeze Trademarks 'PAYDAY: Crime War' Ahead of the Game's 2022 Relaunch.
• Download the Android 12-based One UI 4 beta on your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 or Z Fold3 now.
• Samsung Has Reportedly Started Components Production of All Galaxy S22 Models.
• Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Thinks There Is No Difference Between the iPhone 13 and Previous Models.

• Apple’s app tracking policy reportedly cost social media platforms nearly $10 billion. Facebook snackroom now all ramen.
• Amazon slaps a $9.95 fee on Whole Foods deliveries. And Walmart pounces. Thanks j.c.f.
• Ted Lasso's Phil Dunster Says Season 3 to Start Shooting in January.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• 5D data storage technology offers 10,000 times the density of Blu-ray.
• Intel Maximum Turbo Frequency Profiles Offers Up To 36% Performance Improvement on Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU.
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's Arizona fab 'on track, on time'- VP for Global Affairs. Thanks Max.
• Chips shortage: India woos TSMC, Intel AMD to set up manufacturing base.
• G20 deal raises the minimum tax rate for big tech companies.
• DeepMind takes next step in robotics research.
• How to Recover Earlier Versions of Files: Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and More (may require registration or subscription).
• Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Powers YouTube Subscriber Counter.

• ‘Trojan Source’ Bug Threatens the Security of All Code.
• Report: At least 25% of consumers use biometrics for online security.

• Signal unveils how far US law enforcement will go to get information about people.
• China's personal data protection law kicks in today.

• The Dark Pictures: House of Ashes Takes Itself Too Seriously - Siliconera.
• Far Cry 6 - Christ Centered Gamer.
• Far Cry 6's Campaign Is Almost As Bad As New Dawn's - Screen Rant.

• Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB600L V2 Review - APH Networks.
• RAM: Patriot Viper Elite II 64GB (2x32GB) C20 DDR4 Memory Kit - Mad Shrimps.
• SSD: Crucial P5 Plus Gen4 NVMe Solid State Drive Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• SSD: Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVME SSD Review - Did Kingston Just Release a 'Game' Changer? - The SSD Review. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus PS5 SSD Temperature & Speed Test Analysis - TweakTown.

Thanks Max.

• GTA 6 is reportedly in development hell, Red Dead Redemption Remastered coming to PC. But Tom Henderson tweets "It is not new or leaked information on either title"…
• Roblox is back online after an outage that lasted three days…
• A new wave of lo-fi games is reshaping horror. Thanks Neutronbeam…
• Square-Enix Announces Lara Croft's Tomb Raiders - A Tomb Raider table-top RPG…
• I Love It When Detective Games Actually Let Me Be A Detective…

Well it was a trick, not a treat, for participants in the Blue's News NFL Pigskin Pick'em Group as the wild outcomes of yesterday's games made picking winners particularly treacherous. I'm going to take my seven correct picks so far and just be thankful. To go along with the bad calls by many of us picking games, yesterday's contests were rife with bad calls by referees. I sympathize with them having to make an increasing number of judgment calls based on vaguely written rules. But they still need to do a better job. There's still some potential football pain for me this week, as the Giants get to play tonight against a Chiefs team that has an awful lot to prove at this point. Yikes.

Obituary: Arthur Forrest Dead: Veteran Television Director and Producer Was 95.

Tricky Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Story

• Man dressed as the Joker injures 17 people on Tokyo train.

Science

• Asteroid skimmed past Earth and no one saw it coming.
• Can we stomach the latest emerging food innovations?
• Rare mutations prevalent among autistic people. Thanks Max.

Media

• Active Sun Unleashes Powerful X-Class Solar Flare.
• Jurassic Park but with a Cat.
• Skinny People Problems (NSFW). 100% true, not that I expect sympathy.

Follow-up

• "Dune: Part Two" Already Moving Swiftly.