Ubisoft announces a free weekend is now underway in Far Cry 6, offering the chance to visit Yara without buying the game (or a plane ticket). The free weekend runs through Sunday, and if you buy the game after that, your progress will continue. As further incentive, the first-person shooter sequel is on sale on all platforms. To play the Windows edition, here are the links the announcement neglects to provide to the Ubisoft Store and the Epic Games Store. Also, there's a Photo Mode Contest with cool prizes, and free players are eligible. Here's the deal:

Far Cry 6 is hosting a free weekend until August 7, so get your Supremo ready to lead Libertad to victory. Available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Stadia, and PC through the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store, the free weekend includes access to the full game, including the Danny Trejo, Rambo, and Stranger Things crossover missions. Whether you're fighting with guerillas against Antón Castillo, delivering Danny's dealing death with Danny Trejo, unleashing epic explosions with an action hero-superfan, or saving Chorizo from the Shadow Place, there's a lot for new players to explore.

If you want to keep fighting after the free weekend ends, you can purchase the game and continue playing with all your progression intact. During, and for a short time after the free weekend, you can get discounts on the game, its Season Pass, and the DLCs that let you play as legendary Far Cry villains Vaas, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed.

The SCS Software Blog announces the release of the new Montana expansion for American Truck Simulator. This will offer the chance to be a dental floss tycoon in this celebration of mean mother truckers. This recent trailer offers scenic looks at the Missouri River, Yellowstone National Park, and more. The pack is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux on Steam, bearing in mind the original game is also required. Here's word:

Montana is home to extraordinary experiences and moments that will leave you in awe. This northern US state is untamed, wild and natural. Montana is a gateway to Glacier and Yellowstone—two crown jewels of the national park system—and is home to glistening glacial lakes, snow-capped mountain peaks, blue-ribbon trout streams, and mighty Missouri, Yellowstone, and Flathead Rivers. This is just the beginning; the stunning mountain scenery of Montana only accentuates the rustic charm of the small towns beneath it. And backcountry trails lead to wild, secluded spaces where it is still possible to be utterly alone.

Vast, unspoiled, and wild, “Big Sky State” represents the very best of the American West. Rugged cowboys still saddle up to ride at ranches and wow crowds at rodeos. Ghost towns, state parks, and a one-of-a-kind Dinosaur Trail preserve a dazzling array of historical treasures.

Continue here to read the full story.

Publisher Good Shepherd Entertainment and developer Ice Code Games offer the release of Hard West 2, a new tactical/RPG sequel that adds a supernatural angle to the American frontier. This is available for Windows on GOG.com* and Steam. Grab your six-shooter and check out the Launch Trailer for a look. Read on for more:

When first-class con man Gin Carter raids a legendary “ghost train” in search of gold, he discovers it haunted by the Devil himself! Now Gin must lead a posse of extraordinary outlaws to save his soul in a land claimed by darkness.

Hard West 2 aggressively ups the ante on the usual tactics gameplay experience, with multiple ways to go on the offensive and change the tide of a fight to your advantage based on your posse's configuration, skills and traits. Each kill will activate your Bravado and refill your Action Points, so you can keep the streak going with the unstoppable force of a steam train.

With careful planning and positioning, a clever player can blow a hole through enemy lines and lay waste to the stragglers before they even have a chance to take their turn. The smallest decisions can have an explosive impact in the blink of an eye, rewarding creative thinking and skillful execution at every opportunity.

Continue here to read the full story.

Frogwares has launched a Kickstarter to raise funds for Sherlock Holmes The Awakened, a new take on the Sherlock Holmes game of the same title that was released in 2007. Frogwares is a Ukrainian company, and the crowdfunding is a way of dealing with the impact of the Russian invasion: "For those of us on the team not serving in the military or with various humanitarian aid organizations, the only way we can fight back is by keeping our team creating." Here's word on how the remake will take the Lovecraftian themes of the original game with the Young Sherlock approach of the most recent game in the series:

For quite some time we’ve had the idea that our game from 16 years ago can be the perfect foundation for the continuation of our young Sherlock story arc that started with our latest game, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One (2021).

So we are taking this foundation and remaking The Awakened entirely from the ground up. On top of a slew of visual and gameplay changes, we are rewriting the story to be a direct continuation of our young Sherlock history, diving into the key events in his formative years that could have led him to become the flawed and broken genius we all know so well. We are also treating this game as the first real case Sherlock undertakes with Watson and making story changes to be more reflective of how such a harrowing endeavor could bring them closer together. Put simply, this is not a just remaster. It is a full-scale remake where the only assets from the original game we are using are the general case plots.

The official QuakeCon Schedule is online for Bethesda's gaming show that gets underway on August 18th. This includes chances to watch the Quake Pro League and various developer presentations. This will include a Redfall showing, but it does not appear that Bethesda is bringing Starfield to the party. Here's the overview:

QuakeCon is a global online event that will bring the fun and comradery of QuakeCon to your home. We’re excited to celebrate QuakeCon with livestreams featuring updates on existing and upcoming games, tournaments, charity fundraising, musical performances, giveaways, celebrity streams, developer panels and more. Check out the schedule below for all of the QuakeCon streams and activities running throughout the weekend across our global channels.

Cliffski's Blog announces plans for the next expansion for Democracy 4. This does not carry a title at this point, and Cliff (Harris, not Bleszinski, to clear up a common misconception) calls it a "straight data-only expansion." This does not fulfill Guns N' Roses' dream of Chinese Democracy, but it will add six new countries to the politics simulation:

Those countries are

• Greece
• Ireland
• Poland
• Turkey
• Switzerland
• Brazil

I think this represents a pretty good mixture. Greece and Ireland are fairly similar to some of the other countries in the game, but we have a fair bunch of players in those countries and people like to play their home country. Plus Ireland is a bit interesting because it is basically an economic disaster due to geography, which is able to work mostly because it has ludicrously good rates for companies to base their HQ there for tax purposes. Its basically the largest respectable country that serves as a tax haven.

Early Access to Camp Canyonwood is now underway on Steam. This gives you the Meatballs-style chance to operate a struggling summer camp. No promises you'll have Rudy the Rabbit if any racing competitions arise. Here's a Launch Trailer with a look at gameplay. Read on for a bit on the game and ambitions for its Early Access run:

From publisher Graffiti Games (Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion) and developer Deli Interactive (We Need to Go Deeper), Camp Canyonwood has you build and manage a struggling summer camp to restore its former glory! Each summer, teach new campers activities like fishing, archery and more, while protecting them from dangers natural and supernatural. Keep campers happy to earn funds for improving the campground until it's better than ever!

During Early Access, the development team will work with the community to balance the game, as well as add new features and camp activities. A new trailer of streamers reacting to the game has also been released to commemorate the occasion.

Continue here to read the full story.

• 2022 tinyBuild Vacation Publisher Sale on Steam.

• Diablo Devs Say Activision Back To Its Old Union-Busting Tricks.
• Corsair Gaming Reports Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results.

Official patch.

• Phoenix Point Hastur Hotfix - v1.20.1.

Content creator video.

• Overwatch 2 - Carbot. Thanks Ant.

• John Carmack: Doom, Quake, VR, AGI, Programming, Video Games, and Rockets - Lex Fridman Podcast #309 (video). Five hours!

• Call of Duty League Championship Weekend 2022.
• Halo 2’s 'Impossible' $20,000 Challenge Finally Conquered.

• Sea of Thieves Soars into Season Seven.

• Dragonflight Zone Preview- Thaldraszus — World of Warcraft.
• Creativity is the essence of discovery- Overwatch 2 Beta Statistical Analysis.

• Turbo Golf Racing Tees Off Today for Xbox Game Preview and Game Pass.

• Google’s video chat merger begins- Now there are two “Google Meet” apps.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Khronos glTF 2.0 released as an ISO-IEC International Standard.
• The Noveto “Invisible Headphones” Everyone Wants Will Never Arrive.
• 9 New Linux Distros to Try Out in 2022.
• StreamFab version 5.0.4.7. Thanks Console General.

• Elon Musk accuses Twitter of 'burying' his side of the fight over their $44B deal.

Last Link of the Day: Watch Beavis & Butt-Head destroy ASMR in new clip.

Unrailed! has gone off the rails, and this co-op railroad game is now available for free on the Epic Games Store as its latest weekly giveaway. This gives you until next Thursday to claim the Windows game and it's yours to keep. Epic also reveals the new freebie that will take its place next week is Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! Here are some details about Unrailed! to keep you on track:

Unrailed! is a chaotic online and couch co-op multiplayer railroad construction game where you work together with your friends as a team to build a train track across endless procedurally generated worlds. Master encounters with its inhabitants, upgrade your train and keep it from derailing!

Gather resources and craft tracks to extend your railroad to prevent your train from reaching the end. But watch out - there is only one tool of each type. Co-operation and co-ordination of your team is essential to survive this increasingly challenging journey!

Curve Games announces Cyber Heist, new DLC coming to The Ascent, the co-op RPG for Windows. Those interested in this won't have long to wait, as it's due for release on August 18th. This trailer includes a look at the new chaos this will bring to the battle. Word is this will be new endgame content for those who have already ascended through the original campaign:

The Ascent: Cyber Heist is set after the base game’s main story and is accessible for those who’ve completed the main campaign and want to take on a new contract for a top-secret mission. Continue the story either solo or co-op with friends in a range of all new main missions and exciting side quests. Players can blast or smash their way through with brand new weapons, including advanced melee combat, in a new never explored before location.

In Cyber Heist, Kira, your former employer, has a new top-secret job, and as a newly independent contractor how could you refuse? Venture outside of your familiar arcology into a brand new arcology owned by the Malhorst-Gelb Group. There’s some new ground-breaking tech ripe for the taking, but you’re not the only one with their sights on the prize.

Continue here to read the full story.

Koch Media announces it is now PLAION, a rebranding for the German publisher that will avoid any ongoing confusion with the Koch Brothers, Heckler & Koch, or Ed Koch. It seems like the capitalization is part of the new name, as it's shown that way consistently through the announcement. Here's word:

Our new name offers us the opportunity to build on our rich history as a publishing partner and our outstanding, constantly growing network of world-class development studios and creative people, to keep delivering premium service to our partners, to highlight our ambition as a global player within the entertainment industry but also to reinvent ourselves. Our vision is to enable and inspire our worldwide teams and partners, unlocking their full potential.

Our industry is incredibly dynamic, the expectations of our customers and our partners are continually evolving, and we must recognize this. Relying on our strong foundation whilst embracing change will deliver something new, something better. As PLAION, we're building on our years of success while striving for more, much more. PLAION is a promise to deliver outstanding entertainment to our customers. I'm happy and proud to continue our journey as PLAION."

Valve announces a partnership with Komodo to bring the Steam Deck to Asia. This page is now online to allow customers in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to preorder these mobile PCs for delivery later this year. Here's the plan:

Shipments will begin in Japan, with additional units planned to ship to customers in Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the weeks immediately following. The world's most powerful gaming handheld, which is also a full-fledged PC, first arrived in North America and parts of Europe in February to rave reviews and with hundreds of compatible single and multiplayer games.

Co-founded by Ricky Uy and Jack Momose, Komodo was formed as a spin-off of Degica's games division into a new, independently-owned company bringing years of game publishing experience, including distributing Valve's Index VR system in the region. In addition, Mr. Uy previously led Steam's business development efforts in Asia at Valve during a period of rapid growth in the region, and Mr. Momose, who is also the founder of Degica, has worked with Valve for years as a publisher and by providing regional payment services for Steam.

A tweet from MultiVersus announces that the open beta of this fighting game will continue indefinitely, as the launch of Season 1 is delayed, as is the release of Morty as a playable character. Word is the plan is to unveil Season 1 "very soon":

A big thank you to everyone playing MultiVersus. It’s exciting to see so many players enjoying the game and the launch of the Open Beta is just the beginning.

We want to let everyone know that we are delaying the start of Season 1 & the release of Morty to a later date. We know this might be disappointing for some and want to assure our Community that we are dedicated to delivering new and exciting content that delights players.

We’ll let you know the timing as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience & enthusiasm and look forward to unveiling Season 1 very soon!

Galactic Ruler is out of Early Access and is officially available on Steam for windows. This real-time strategy game offers the chance to take leadership skills learned in Supreme Ruler to space, where no one can hear you rule. Fortune favors the bold, so the game carries a 15% launch discount for the next week. Here's the official release trailer as well as a the release livestream. Would you like to know more?

BattleGoat Studios is very proud to announce the Official Release of Galactic Ruler, a new space-based strategy title from the creators of the Supreme Ruler series. "We've had great feedback and suggestions from our player community during Early Access, and Galactic Ruler is now ready for full release," stated BattleGoat Co-Founder and Lead Programmer George Geczy.

Galactic Ruler is unique in offering real-time strategy tactical game play at both the planetary level and in the vastness of space. From your homeworld, consolidate your power throughout your solar system and from there, throughout a custom-generated galaxy. The possibilities are endless with options for galaxy size, system density and a variety of alien races to play as or against. Lead your faction in diplomacy or conquest across a unique galactic map where any system might hold hostile enemies or resource riches. Harness essential resources and develop advanced technology to rule the galaxy!

Continue here to read the full story.

• Tencent seeks bigger stake in 'Assassin's Creed' maker Ubisoft -sources.
• Rumours suggest new Iron Man game coming from EA.

• Celebrate exciting RPGs and Icewind Dale's 22nd anniversary - GOG.com.*

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

• Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. Announces Financial Results for the Three-month Period Ended June 30, 2022.

• Steam Deck OS Update - Bugfix.
• The Sims 4 Update 08-02-2022.
• World of Warcraft Hotfixes: August 3, 2022.
• Wolcen- Lords of Mayhem -- Patch 1.1.6.0 - Controller Support.

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

• Cancelled game 'Warcraft Adventure Lord of the Clans' gets an impressive remaster.
• GoldenEye 007 mod brings James Bond classic The Spy Who Loved Me to 2022.

Official trailers.

• Cult of the Lamb - Sermons from the Lamb: Fight the Four.
• DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms - Gameplay trailer.
• Men of War II — Dev Diary #1.

• BIPOC of Ubisoft – Emmanuel Yao.

• Sarah Arellano is new Lead Writer for Beyond Good & Evil 2.

• HITMAN 3 - AUGUST ROADMAP - IO Interactive.

• iPadOS 16 is reportedly delayed until new iPads arrive in October.
• Rainbow Six Mobile Closed Beta Registrations Open Today.
• Forget those Tesla crashes- GM says you can trust its autonomous vehicles.

• SpaceX and Viasat fight over whether Starlink can meet FCC speed obligations. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• LG TV owners- get yourself a three-month subscription of Stadia Pro for free.
• Discovery Plus Lands CNN Original Content.
• Instagram is expanding NFT features to more than 100 countries.

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 specs have (again) changed, now rumored with more cores and faster memory.
• TSMC Responds To Reports Of Slippages In Advanced Chipmaking Technology.
• Apple, Google, Amazon set to launch new gadgets: What to expect.

• MS-DEFCON 2- Printing issues, again. Thanks RedEye9.
• North Korea-backed hackers have a clever way to read your Gmail.
• UK Parliament closes TikTok account after China data warning.
• This guy made a diabolical form to send spammers to password purgatory.
• Scammers Sent Uber to Take Elderly Lady to the Bank.

• Patent Hoarder Sues Acer, Asus, MSI and Lenovo for Video IP Infringement.

• Hard West 2 review - absolutely stellar fun - Eurogamer.net.
• Hard West 2 Review - Gunslingers and Spirits - Wccftech.
• Two Point Campus PC Review - GameWatcher.
• Two Point Campus Review - IGN.
• Two Point Campus review - PC Gamer.

• Keyboard: Lofree 1% Dual Mode Transparent Mechanical Keyboard Review - TechPowerUp.
• Mini PC: Geekom MiniAir 11 SFF Mini PC Review - TweakTown.
• PSU: Gigabyte UD750GM Power Supply Review - Tom's Hardware.
• SSD: SK hynix Platinum P41 Gen4 NVMe Solid State Drive Review - ThinkComputers.org.

• Alternative game engine The Machinery has been cancelled, with devs told to delete all trace of it…

I have news to share about the proud sovereign nation of Manstovia, and it's not good. A letter from our homeowners association explains that as of a couple of weeks from now, residents will no longer be permitted to keep grills on our decks. There is a regulation in New York State that disallows using grills within 10 feet of flammable structures, like decks. Apparently this has been the law for townhouses like ours for a long time, but it only recently came to light. So now grills must be stored on the patio under the deck, and rolled out to a safe distance when in use. In creating a new rule to cover this requirement, the board will now permit the use of charcoal grills. These were previously disallowed, but now can be operated if they are at least 25 feet from the deck. So why isn't this good news you might ask? Well, as I've mentioned before, we are lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic view of a pond. The bad news is that while there is enough room between the patio and the pond for a propane grill, the pond is close enough that a charcoal grill would have to be in the water to comply. And then there's the convenience factor. Our current setup has a beautiful path from the kitchen out to the deck. But going downstairs through the patio is at the opposite end of the convenience spectrum. And the shore of the pond is not really an even surface to park a grill on either. So there are several reasons why the new setup will be a huge downgrade, which is disappointing. I thought having to switch from charcoal to propane when we moved was the ultimate indignity. Now we are actually discussing the pros and cons of just getting an electric grill, since these can be operated on the deck. We've scaled back on the amount of meat we consume, so at this point I'm just going to work on MrsBlue to get her past her aversion to me potentially setting off smoke alarms by actually making the occasional steak or burgers in the actual kitchen. As you can imagine, the flags in Manstovia are currently flying at half-mast.

Smoldering Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Story

• Brittney Griner: WNBA star sentenced to 9 years in Russian jail for drug-smuggling.

Science
Thanks Max.

• Can Brown Noise Really Cure Your Anxiety and Help You Sleep?
• Be Consistent: Unpredictability Increases Your Child’s Risk of Developing Mental Illness.
• Scientists Uncover the Biological Causes of Social Withdrawal.

Media

• THE LEGEND OF PIPI - ANIMATED SHORTFILM. Thanks Kxmode.
• EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE – Bob Odenkirk’s Amazing New Film. Thanks Videosift.

Follow-up

• What Is Delta-8, and Why Is It So Popular (may require registration or subscription). Thanks j.c.f.