SteamDB tweets that Steam has broken its concurrent users record, and the new all-time peak is 27,182,165. Pointing to this graph to help us visualize the news, the post explains:

Steam once again beats its online concurrent users record with over 27 million users currently online.

Previous record was set in April at 26.9 million.

SNK announces plans for a major update coming to THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98 ULTIMATE MATCH FINAL EDITION, the revived edition of the fighting game. So it turns out the ultimate final edition was actually penultimate and far from final. A closed beta test of the new version will get underway next week, and the post lays out the entire schedule. Here's a new trailer, and here's word:

One of the most important features of online matches in modern fighting games is rollback netcode, making online matches more precise and circumventing delays caused by latency. THE KING OF FIGHTERS ‘98 ULTIMATE MATCH FINAL EDITION’s original, delay-based netcode will be swapped with the fan-acclaimed, state-of-the-art rollback netcode by Code Mystics.

THE KING OF FIGHTERS ‘98 ULTIMATE MATCH FINAL EDITION also receives online lobbies, offering more than just 1 v 1 matches. Players can host or join large rooms with multiple players for epic online battles. And if they simply want to observe and learn or cheer on their friends, they can join online battles via spectator mode.

Continue here to read the full story.

Fans of bounding balls will be pleased to know that Retired Men's Nude Beach Volleyball League will be released on Steam on December 10th. Hide the kids and check out this trailer to show what happens when you cross age with gravity. Kidding aside, here's a straightforward explanation of what this will serve:

Take to the court and match up against your opponent in physically and mentally challenging beach volleyball!

Retired Men's Nude Beach Volleyball is a single-player narrative-based volleyball game set in beautiful locations across Massachusetts. Join the league and play as Len Rizzo as he navigates the later part of life one serve at a time.

Continue here to read the full story.

Date Night Bowling is now available on Steam, offering a Windows game where we learn what happens when you cross Tinder with The Big Lebowski (shut up Donny!). Here are some details to strike at the heart of the matter:

In Date Night Bowling, you and one of 10 very special someones (some of which you might recognize from Half Past Fate and the upcoming Land of Screens) will hit the neon-lit bowling alley for a date. That’s where the fun begins, but not where it ends. Once you woo your date by showing your skills with a turkey or two, you’ll also need to master the claw machine, make sure they get the snacks they want, and generally be a wonderful host as you work your way through multiple minigames to prove that the first date will absolutely not be the last.

Date Night Bowling supports both single-player and local co-op gameplay. Why go to an IRL bowling alley when you can invite your crush to a virtual one instead? Play as any of the 10 available characters, choose anyone that you’d like to date, and let the fun begin.

Official patch.

• Post Scriptum - Armoured Update Now Available.

Content creator video.

• Firearms Expert Reacts To Call Of Duty: Vanguard’s Campaign Guns.

• Dwars and decino Talk to Sandy Petersen About Doom (video). Thanks Frans.

• Best tank builds in New World.

• Spotify says it’s ‘retiring’ Car View without an immediate replacement.

• The Internet is Held Together With Spit & Baling Wire.
• What Ever Happened to MSN Messenger? Thanks Neutronbeam.
• A woman stole $680,000 and spent it on a gambling game that doesn't pay out real money. Thanks Roddy.
• WinSCP version 5.19.5 2021-11-25 released. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• A mysterious Chinese GPU firm with deep pockets is gunning for Nvidia and AMD.
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Rumored For Q2 2022 Launch, Expected To Be Faster Than GTX 1660 SUPER.
• GIGABYTE Announces Cost-effective Arm Servers for Real-time Insights for Cloud and Edge. Thanks Hypothermia.
• Intel Powers New Amazon EC2 Instance. Thanks Hypothermia.
• This Ink Is Alive and Made Entirely of Microbes (may require registration or subscription).
• Self-Destructible USB Drive Arrives With Built-In Detonator.
• Turn Your Notes Into a “Second Brain” With Obsidian for Windows.

• SafeToNet lawyers warned firm scanning tech could break law. Thanks DSLReports.

• CPU: DDR5 Memory Performance Scaling with Alder Lake Core i9-12900K - TechPowerUp.
• CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K Review - Club386.
• Headset: Marshall Minor III review- Poor fit and finish - SoundGuys. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Keyboard: Moon Key Artisan Keyboard Wrist Rests and Keycaps - TechPowerUp.
• Laptop: Gigabyte U4 UD laptop review- Lightweight with a lot of potential that goes to waste at times - NotebookCheck.net Reviews.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• The Cost to Instantly Buy Your Way into FFXIV Endwalker…
• 14 Fascinating Unknown Indie Games To Buy From Steam Right Now…

Well, we're all cleaned up and mostly recovered from Thanksgiving here in the Blue Tower. One of the things I really like about the aftermath is the leftovers. MrsBlue makes the best turkey salad, and having enough turkey to make it is one of the reasons we made a whole (albeit small) bird for the two of us. Of course this will only stay good for so long, so I'll have to eat a lot of it. Fortunately that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Obituary: Stephen Sondheim, master of musical theater, dead at 91.

Sacrificial Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• Omicron: The world is on high alert over new coronavirus variant.
• Black Friday is back but it's not what it used to be.
• The Rise of Psychedelic Retreats (may require registration or subscription). They used to be called Grateful Dead shows.
• Natural vs. artificial: Which Christmas tree option is better for climate. Why not neither?

Science
Thanks Max.

• Could Covid Lead to Progress (may require registration or subscription). Thanks RedEye9.
• We Might Not Know Half of What’s in Our Cells, New AI Technique Reveals.
• Korea's Cutting-Edge Fusion Reactor Just Broke Its Own Record For Containing Plasma.

Media

• Unearthed footage shows a long-gone 1960s San Francisco.
• First Teaser for Korean Sci-Fi Series 'The Silent Sea' Set on the Moon.