Join the Modern Warfare® II Open Beta and get hands-on experience with the signature Multiplayer combat coming to Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® II.

Infinity Ward is bringing fans state-of-the-art gameplay, with all-new gun handling, advanced AI system, a new Gunsmith and a suite of other gameplay and graphical innovations that elevate the franchise to new heights.

Additionally, the Red Team 141 Operator Bundle and FJX Cinder Weapon Vault** will be available to all Vault Edition owners during the Beta.

1. Steam Deck.
2. Pre-purchase Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
3. Save 50% on Cyberpunk 2077.
4. Slime Rancher 2.
5. Pre-purchase EA SPORTS FIFA 23.
6. Return to Monkey Island.
7. Construction Simulator.
8. God of War.
9. ELDEN RING.
10. NBA 2K23.

In many ways the influence of UO is so pervasive that it isn’t visible. Whether it’s Runescape, Minecraft, Eve, DayZ or Neopets, those younger folks probably played something that was inspired by UO in some fashion, and don’t realize how big a shift from prior games it represented. These days, when people say they are sick of crafting being in everything — it makes me want to apologize a little bit. Won’t apologize for games that let you sit, decorate a house, or go fishing, though.

I’m running low on specific stories about UO and its development, so instead, I’ll just point back at older ones:

• BlazBlue creator Toshimichi Mori has left developer Arc System Works.
• Why Disney's In-House Video Game Business Failed.

• "The Witcher" S3 & Spin-Off Set Launches. Thanks Ant.

• Hardest Enemy in the Game - Elden Ring #22 - Carbot. Thanks Ant.

• The Blockbuster World Video Game Championship to return for the first time since the 90s.

• Oxenfree arrives on Netflix Games as six new games announced for the autumn.

• Neal Stephenson's Lamina1 drops white paper on building the open metaverse. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Ryzen 9 7950X Soars To 6.5 GHz, Shattering Two CPU Records.
• Intel Raptor Lake Non-K CPUs Show Up In New Benchmarks.
• Nvidia Issues Fix for Windows 11 22H2 Lag and Stuttering Bugs.
• How To Dual Boot Linux and Windows 11. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Release Audacity 3.2.0. Thanks Ant.

• Bosses spying on you? Here's the most disastrous truth about surveillance software.
• Significant cyberattack hits Australian telco Optus. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• AFP investigates $1m ransom demand posted online for allegedly hacked Optus data. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Case: Montech Sky One Lite Review- Novice-Friendly, but Noisy - Tom's Hardware.
• Headset: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless review- Excellent audio quality and impeccable battery life - XDA.
• Laptop: Acer Aspire 5 A515-57G laptop review- weak showing for RTX 2050 - NotebookCheck.net Reviews.
• Laptop: Acer Predator Triton 500 SE review- I expected more - The Verge.
• Laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad T16 G1 Intel laptop review- 16-inch marathon runner - NotebookCheck.net Reviews.
• SSD: Solidigm P41 Plus 2TB SSD Review - DRAMless Perfection - TweakTown.

• Something weird is going on in Diablo 2- Resurrected and we have no idea what it is…

Normal Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Brunch Link

• An iconic soap with two weird claims to fame -- "It floats" and it's "99+44⁄100% Pure."
• CIA museum: Inside the world's most top secret museum. Thanks brother19.

Stories

• James Earl Jones lets AI take over the voice of Darth Vader.
• A carbon dioxide shortage threatens the beer industry.
• Two arrested after man watches pornography on phone, pulls out drug pipe in front of police.

Science

• Can Brown Noise Turn Off Your Brain?
• Meta-Study Shows Ancient Maya were at High Risk of Mercury Poisoning.

Media

• Top Gun: Maverick - Official Trailer IN LEGO. Thanks Boing Boing.
• Stranger Things Season 4 Bloopers. Thanks Kxmode.
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - Exclusive Clip.

Follow-up

• NASA calls off Artemis I launch as Tropical Storm Ian looms.