If you're interested in trying your hand at building a colony on an alien planet, you're in luck, because Aven Colony is currently available completely free from the Epic Games Store. As you may well know, you have a week to get in on this offer and the game will be a permanent addition to your library. Next Thursday the new giveaway will be a Rogue Company Season Four Epic Pack. Does that make you hope to get two weeks of fun out of Aven Colony? Read on to gauge your prospects:

Discover Aven Prime - an alien planet of deserts, tundras, and jungles light years from earth. Aven Colony puts you in charge of humanity's first extrasolar settlement, where you build and expand your small colonies into massive, sprawling cities while dealing with the challenges faced when settling on a new world.

Build your colony's infrastructure, look after the well-being of your citizens, manage your resources, and guide your colony to prosperity against the backdrop of the harsh and often dangerous realities of the exotic world of Aven Prime.

The promised trial weekend for Ghost Recon Breakpoint is now underway, allowing everyone the chance to check out the tactical shooter for free between now and Sunday. You can get in on the action with the Windows version by way of the Epic Games Store. Here's a special trailer for the occasion and a quick recruiting pitch:

Become an elite spec ops soldier known as a Ghost, tasked with a special mission to Auroa. The remote archipelago somewhere in the South Pacific has lost contact with outside world due to Skell Technology turning hostile. The Wolves, a rogue spec ops team, led by your ex–brother-in-arms, have taken over and are hunting you down. Lead your team through the island landscape and save the civilians without being noticed.

Continue here to read the full story.

GamesIndustry.biz has a pair of articles highlighting the outlook of two game company CEOs on the future of NFTS. Speaking with Strauss Zelnick reveals that the Take-Two CEO is skeptical about the idea of an all-encompassing metaverse. But he's a "big believer" in NFTs, though he doesn't directly relate them to games. "If you believe in collectible physical goods, I don't know why you wouldn't believe in collectible digital goods," Zelnick says. "And blockchain authorization, which is what an NFT really is, is one way -- not the only way -- to authenticate the fact something is singular is rare." The other piece features comments by Andrew Wilson during EA's Q2 investor call. The Electronic Arts CEO spoke of NFTs coming to games as an inevitability: "I do think it will be an important part of the future of our industry on a go-forward basis."

Here's NPD Group's analysis of Q3 2021 US consumer spending on video games. Word is that at $13.3 billion, this was the biggest Q3 by revenue in history. Here's a bit:

Gains were seen across PC, cloud and non-console VR content, mobile and subscription spending, as well as hardware. Console content and accessories experienced declines.

Overall content spending in Q3 reached $11.7 billion, an increase of 4%. Subscription content was the only content segment with double-digit percentage gains vs Q3 2020. Hardware posted a 60% increase, while accessories declined 1%.

Among the best-selling and most played games across all platforms in the third quarter were Among Us, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Warzone, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Coin Master, FIFA 22, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 22, Mario Golf: Super Rush, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, NBA 2K22, Pokémon Go, Roblox, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and The Sims 4.

• Save 50% on Deep Rock Galactic on Steam.
• Save 40% on Risk of Rain 2 on Steam.
• Save 90% on State of Mind on Steam.
• Save 25% on T-Minus 30 on Steam.

Official patches.

• Phoenix Point Hypnos Update V1.13.2 Now Available for PC.
• Planet Zoo Update 1.7.2 and Planet Zoo 2nd Anniversary.
• New Teams Being Added To The NASCAR 2021 Fan Pack - Rocket League.

Official trailers.

• The Pacific Cinematic (Part 1) - Call of Duty: Vanguard & Warzone.
• Content Of The Week - November 4th - For Honor.
• Arcane Jinx of League of Legends to Wreak Havoc in Fortnite.

• Celebrating Women in Gaming — #LaraPavedTheWay - by Dylan Mickanen - Nov, 2021 - Prime Gaming.

• PGL Stockholm Major peaks at 1 million viewers during Heroic vs. Virtus Pro.

• Call of Duty: Vanguard Boot Camp — Weapons and Loadouts.

• This Week at Bungie – 11/04/2021.

• Marvel's Avengers Gets Spider-Man, A New Raid, And Other Big Updates On November 30.
• Dance to the Beat of 40 Hot New Tracks in Just Dance 2022, Available Now.
• Wield time-traveling tricks in Wanderer, coming to PS VR January 27.
• Nintendo warns chip shortage will hit Switch sales.

• Facebook's metaverse plans labelled as 'dystopian' and 'a bad idea.' Thanks RedEye9.
• Mozilla Firefox 94.0.1, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes. Thanks Frans.

• Microsoft warns Windows 11 features are failing due to its expired certificate.
• Turtle Beach Reports Second Highest Third Quarter Results in Company History.

• Phishing for Crypto- Half a Million Dollars Stolen Via Google Ads Exploit.
• Call center scammers using Justin Bieber tickets, The Weeknd concerts and fake gun purchases to spread malware: Proofpoint.
• ‘Tis the Season for the Wayward Package Phish.

• League of Legends and Valorant are now available in the Epic Games Store. Launcher launcher…

Last Link of the Day: 8-Bit Christmas. Thanks sliv.

Creative Assembly announces that Total War: WARHAMMER III is now scheduled for worldwide release on February 17, 2022 on the Epic Games Store, Steam, Xbox.com, and the Xbox Game Pass for PC. When it was delayed in September, the release was promised for early next year, so mission accomplished. The Windows fantasy/strategy sequel is available for preorder, and early adopters who buy between now and a week after it launches will receive a free Ogre Kingdoms Race Pack as a bonus. Here's an Early Adopter Bonus Reveal Trailer, and here's more:

The Ogre Kingdoms Race Pack has also been revealed as the early-adopter bonus for the forthcoming title. Any player who orders Total War: WARHAMMER III in advance, or buys it during the first week on sale, will gain access to this additional content for free*.

This Race Pack unleashes the Ogre Kingdoms and their two Legendary Lords – Greasus Goldtooth & Skrag the Slaughterer – into the grand campaign, enabling players to lead an army of colossal warriors and primeval monsters in search of plunder, gold, and meat for their insatiable bellies.

Continue here to read the full story.

HOWELL-BARREX INC is now available on Steam, as new DLC for Red Solstice 2: Survivors, the sci-fi RTS/RPG sequel. It adds "new story campaign, pilotable destructive Exoskeletons, and gameplay mechanics." This is the first of four planned premium DLCs, with the next three expected next year. Those interested in signing on for the full tour can commit to the new Season Pass. Here's more:

The fall of Elysium Corporation created a power vacuum Howell-Barrex Inc. was happy to wield to its advantage. As the Strike Commander, follow the story of Edward Howell, General Barrex, and the IRON HAWKS in their campaign to fend off the STROL mutants invading Mars. Reign victorious solo or with up to seven friends wielding devastating new armaments across 11 new story missions, 28 side missions, and eight new maps.

Become a walking tank with the Universal Bipedal Armoured System (UBAS) Exoskeleton. Combine the UBAS with the new Engineer suit capable of bunkering up and creating new tactical options to transform into a harbinger of death. Upgrade both with a new tech tree, rain death with a new superweapon, and unlock a new degree of customization with the Headquarters system.

Continue here to read the full story.

CCP announces the EVE Fanfest will return in 2022 as an in-person event celebrating EVE Online, the sci-fi MMORPG. The last time this was a physical gathering was in 2019, but the next Fanfest is planned for May 5 - 8, 2022 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Early Bird tickets are available now for USD$150, and when these sell out, remaining tickets will be sold for $295 each. Here's word on efforts to create a safe environment for attendees amid an ongoing global pandemic:

Since 2004, EVE Fanfest has served as a gathering place for EVE Online players to put faces to the names of peers, rivals, and the EVE team that has kept New Eden running for over 18 years. In 2022, CCP is bringing together players from around the world to Reykjavík once more for an epic event offering keynote presentations, developer panels, legendary parties, and more in celebration of the vast spaceship MMO enjoyed by over 24 million players since launch.

CCP is working with local authorities and taking COVID-19 safety measures for EVE Fanfest 2022. To attend the event, proof of vaccination is required. CCP is actively monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and will provide further guidance according to Iceland’s national guidelines as the event grows closer.

The Devolver Digital Website has big news from this offbeat game publisher, saying as of today, Devolver is a publicly traded company on a sub-market of the London Stock exchange. This includes an assurance that our "sixth favorite game publisher" is still mostly owned by its founders. An update from GamesIndustry.biz says the company's initial market cap is just under a billion dollars, and that Sony Interactive is now a five percent investor. Devolver's announcement includes a recap of the acquisitions the company has made over the past year in addition to the high profile purchase of Croteam:

So what does this mean for your sixth favorite game publisher? This means Devolver Digital will be able to continue to invest into all the games we’re working on now, partner on new ones that we’ve previously not been able to consider, and add more of the fine people we love working with into our cadre of consummate video game professionals.

That last point is an important one - over the past year or so we’ve brought our longtime partners and friends Croteam (Serious Sam, The Talos Principle), Dodge Roll (Enter the Gungeon), Nerial (Reigns, Card Shark) and FireFly Studios (Stronghold series) into the strong but gentle arms of Devolver Digital. Those developers and our team looked ahead and saw that we’d be working together forever so we lovingly acquired them, mostly so they would hang out with us more. The games and experiences that these four studios have planned are incredible and each maintain their full creative autonomy afforded to them throughout our relationship. No specific plans for Enter the Gungeon 2 but rest assured we’ve asked them more than once.

Forza Horizon 5 is set to hit the road on November 9th. Here are reviews of the latest installment in the hard driving motorsports series:

• Forza Horizon 5 game review: A gorgeous drive to familiar heights - Ars Technica.
• Forza Horizon 5 review: the ultimate big-tent driving game cruises to Mexico • Eurogamer.net.
• Forza Horizon 5 Review - It's About Four-Wheeled Family - GameSpot.
• Quick Look: Forza Horizon 5 - Giant Bomb.
• Forza Horizon 5 Review - IGN.
• 'Forza Horizon 5' review: Stunning, but can't quite outpace its predecessor - Inverse.
• Forza Horizon 5: The Kotaku Review.
• Forza Horizon 5 review – miles of Mexican magnificence - The Loadout.
• Forza Horizon 5 Xbox Series X review- A refined open-world racing experience - Neowin.
• Forza Horizon 5 review - PC Gamer.
• Forza Horizon 5 review- Open world packed with racing — is it too much? - Polygon.
• Forza Horizon 5 Review: A Massive Car Enthusiast Playground - Road and Track.
• Forza Horizon 5 review -- Graphics matter - VentureBeat.

Reviews have begun pouring out for the new 12th generation Intel CPUs. Here are evaluations of Alder Lake processors:

• The Intel 12th Gen Core i9-12900K Review- Hybrid Performance Brings Hybrid Complexity- AnandTech. Thanks Abysmal.
• Intel’s Alder Lake big.little CPU design, tested- It’s a barn burner - Ars Technica.
• Intel Core i9 12900K and Core i5 12600K review- storm's here • Eurogamer.net.
• Intel Did It: Core i9-12900K CPU Review & Benchmarks vs. AMD - Gamers Nexus (video).
• Damn, Intel! - Linus Tech Tips (video).
• Intel Core i9 12900K review - PC Gamer.
• Intel Core i9-12900K Review - PCMag.
• Intel Core i9-12900K Powered Falcon Northwest Talon Review - PC Perspective.
• Intel Core I9-12900K CPU Review - PCTestBench.
• Intel Core i9-12900K review: Intel. Is. Back. - PCWorld.
• Intel Core i5 12600K - Core i9 12900K -Alder Lake- Linux Performance - Phoronix.
• Intel Core i5-12600K review: a gaming CPU worth waiting for - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Intel Core i5-12600K Review - Winning Price-Performance - TechPowerUp.
• Intel Core i7-12700K Review - Almost as Fast as the i9-12900K - TechPowerUp.
• Intel Core i9-12900K Review: Alder Lake Arrives - TechSpot.
• Intel Core i9-12900K and Core i5-12600K Review- Retaking the Gaming Crown - Tom's Hardware.
• Intel Core i9-12900K -Alder Lake- CPU Review - TweakTown.
• Intel Core i9-12900K review -- This will begin to make things right - VentureBeat.
• Intel Core i9-12900K review: you don’t need Windows 11 for speed boosts - The Verge.
• Intel Core i9-12900K and Core i5-12600K Review - Vortez.

A new Gameplay Preview Video for ELDEN RING offers a narrated look at this upcoming action/RPG from FromSoftware with the aid of George R.R. Martin. The clip shows off gameplay, and the description attempts to drive viewers towards pre-ordering. Here's word:

Return to your world, Tarnished. Pre-order #ELDENRING: http://spr.ly/6007JXY0V

ELDEN RING is an Action RPG developed by FromSoftware – releasing Feb. 25th, 2021. Digital Deluxe and Collector’s Editions are available for pre-order today.

The Premium Collector’s Edition will be available for pre-order for fans in US and Canada soon, exclusively at the Bandai Namco Store.

The Stunlock Blog announces that the developer is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the launch of Battlerite with a free content pack for Battlerite Arena. Beginning Sunday everyone can collect a free copy of the all-heroes pack for the MOBA-ish action game. Here's the limited-time offer and the chance to get other freebies:

On November 7, this Sunday, we’re celebrating Battlerite’s 4 year anniversary and would like to invite you all to the arena for one massive smackdown. For all newcomers having their first battlerite experience, starting on November 7th we will be giving out the All Champions Pack for Battlerite Arena FREE (come back Sunday to find the Download URL) for a limited time. This is an excellent opportunity to invite your friends to the arena and show them what Battlerite is all about!

To celebrate you can also expect some rare mount giveaways on both the Battlerite Discord and V Rising Discord, which should help some of you make a dramatic entrance back onto the proving grounds. Finally, for everyone out there who ever dreamt of defeating a game dev, we can promise you plenty of Stunlockers online playing with you guys this Sunday!

The Luau Website announces that the Luau is now available as a standalone open-source programming language. Luau is a variation on Lua, the original scripting language behind Roblox. To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield from Caddyshack, we're all gonna get leied:

Luau is a new language that started from Lua 5.1 and kept evolving while keeping backwards compatibility and preserving the original design goals: simplicity, performance, embeddability.

We’re incredibly grateful for the foundation that Lua has been—it’s been a joy to build on top of! So now we want to give back to the community at large.

Starting today, Luau is no longer an inseparable part of Roblox platform; it’s a separate, open-source language.

EA SPORTS tweets the news of a delay to PGA TOUR. The golf simulation did not have a set release date when it was announced, but it was later announced as being due in (northern) spring of 2022. Coming full circle, the launch of the game is now once again TBD:

Hey golf fans, we wanted to let you know that we are shifting the launch date of EA SPORTS PGA TOUR. We are excited to bring championship golf to you and will be providing more information on our launch plans in the coming months.

Publisher Kiss Publishing and developer Tower Studios announce Sociable Soccer will come to PC and console in Q2 of next year as a spiritual successor to Sensible Soccer. This association football/soccer arcade game was released in Early Access for Windows in 2017, but this community page shows that it was apparently abandoned along the way. It is no longer for sale, and the last developer post is from 2018 promising changes that never came to pass. It mentions receiving a vital influx of financing from a China Mobile deal, and ironically the post to explain "anti-sociable radio silence" is followed by three more years of radio silence. In the meantime, the mobile version eventually had a successful release on Apple Arcade, and now attention has returned to PC and consoles. "Sociable Soccer has been a labour of love since we first started working on the game as a PC title in 2015," explains Tower Studios CEO Jon Hare. "With the game firmly established on Apple Arcade we’ve found the perfect partner in KPL to take it to Steam, Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. We’ve always thought of Sociable Soccer as an organic football franchise – and it’s going to be growing more over the next few years." Word is those who purchased the Early Access edition while it was available will get the newer version for free (while those who purchased it while it's been unavailable are officially wizards). Here's what to expect:

The highly anticipated console and PC versions of the game will offer the same great player experiences and more, including:

• Enhanced graphics and animations
• Enhanced gameplay, strategy & AI
• Collectible legend players per club
• Challenges and battle pass system
• Improved PVP matchmaking & customisable difficulty
• Update to all 1,000 teams & 30,000 players for 21/22 season

• Hunt- Showdown -- Halloween Sale - Felis and The Blackcoat.

Official patches.

• Call of Duty: Warzone Season Six Patch Notes.
• Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles - Rui and Akaza Join Versus Mode.
• Hot Wheels Unleashed Update Adds NVIDIA DLSS.
• New World Update 1.0.5.

• Raven Software respond to Warzone bug hiding Buy Stations.

• Zombies - "Der Anfang" Intro Cinematic - Call of Duty: Vanguard.
• Company of Heroes 3 - Official Gameplay Overview Trailer.
• Forza Horizon 5 - Official Launch Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Call of Duty: Vanguard - First 13 Minutes of Gameplay.
• Ultima & The Commodore 64. Thanks Reddit via Ant.

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive » Stockholm 2021–Champions Stage.

• Gaming for Everyone: The Accessibility Features of Forza Horizon 5.
• Skyrim Anniversary Edition Sneak Peek: Ghosts of the Tribunal.

• Apple TV+ offer - 6 months free trial on PS5.
• Preload Forza Horizon 5 in Early Access Today - Xbox Wire.
• ELDEN RING Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.
• Demon Turf Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.
• Just Dance 2022 Is Now Available For Xbox One And Xbox Series X-S.
• The Binding Of Isaac- Repentance Is Now Available For Xbox Series X-S.
• Free Play Days – Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Warhammer- Vermintide 2, and Street Power Soccer - Xbox Wire.
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Skip-Ahead (2111.211101-2200). Thanks Console General.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Twitch makes change to banning, then changes its mind. We're getting the banned back together.
• TikTokers are using makeshift setups to stream video games. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• Climate change: Facebook fails to flag denial, study finds.
• Google Staff Squirm as Remote Workers Face Pay Cuts (may require registration or subscription).
• Remote working is actually increasing the amount of time we spend in meetings.
• How to Avoid Paying High Subscription Fees for Apps.
• ‘Give yourself a hand’- Queensland Health encourages masturbation in cheeky social media post.
• 18 of the Best Streaming-Only Movies That Skipped the Theaters. Direct-to-video used to be the dregs.

Thanks Neutronbeam and Console General.

• Intel was rather misleading in its comparisons between the Core i9-12900K and Ryzen 9 5950X.
• Superguide: All the Intel Z690 Motherboards You Can Buy for 12th Gen Core ‘Alder Lake.’
• PNY Launches Mako DDR5 RAM With Speeds Up To 6,400 MHz - Tom's Hardware.
• Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22494.
• Personal Tech? When is it time to replace a computer?
• A truck full of EVGA GeForce RTX 30 graphics cards has been stolen.
• Start11 1.0 is here- Put Windows 11 Start menu on Windows 10, 10 on 11, and every other combo imaginable.
• IBM buys technology labs from McDonald's. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• 5 free Windows power user tools we can't live without.
• 10 Interesting and Fun Facts About Linux. There were horses, and a man on fire, and Linus killed a guy with a trident.
• DVDFab version 12.0.5.2 and StreamFab version 4.0.2.6.
• Visual Studio 2022 Launch Event: November 8.

• Younger generations have worse cybersecurity habits. Thanks Ant.
• Software failure halts MSU cheese ordering. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Squid Game Cryptocurrency Scammers Make Off With $2.1 Million.

• Riders Republic Review - National Lark - GameSpot.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Case: Sharkoon ELITE SHARK CA700 Review - TechPowerUp.
• Gaming Chair: noblechairs ICON TX Fabric Chair Review - TechPowerUp.
• Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 6600 Review - TweakTown.
• Headset: Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 review - SoundGuys.
• Laptop: Alienware x15 R1 review - TechRadar.
• Laptop: Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ Review - IGN.
• Motherboard: 86 Motherboards Compared for Intel Z690 Alder Lake - TechPowerUp.
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero Review- DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 Have Arrived - Tom's Hardware.

"Sopranos" Creator Confirms That Ending. I don't see any reason to view it otherwise. A good question to ask when watching any show or movie is 'why is this scene included?' You only have so much time to move things along, so generally it's either character development or plot development. Was that scene included to show that the family sometimes eats out in diners, and that's the climactic takeaway from six seasons of the series? ♪♫Don't stop, believin'…♪♫

Believable Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• Brazilian man attacked by piranhas after jumping into lake to escape bees. It's like Final Destination. Thanks Boing Boing.
• Italy, Croatia fight over who can use the name Prosecco.

Science

• Britain approves Merck's COVID-19 pill in world first.
• Solar storm from 'cannibal' sun eruption may impact power grid and bring auroras as far south as Pennsylvania.
• NASA astronauts harvest green chile on ISS, make space tacos. Space Taco Tuesday! BTW, CNET, it's "chili." Thanks RedEye9.

Media

• NITTO Factory Tour. Thanks RedEye9.
• La Palma volcano update: Aerial video showing craters aligned in a row.
• Whale-cams reveal how much they really eat. Thanks Max.

Follow-up

• Hope after wildfire- Tiny sequoias could grow into giants. Thanks Reddit.

The Funnies

• Brevity.