Blizzard announces the official launch date for the Dragonflight expansion, saying this will take flight in World of Warcraft on November 28th. There are also posts expanding on the news with the Season 1 and Raid Schedule and details on the return of the Winds of Wisdom 50% Experience Buff. Here's a bit on what this brings to the party:

Players will discover the Dragon Isles and explore four new zones—each themed around and revealing more about the ancient dragon aspects—all lovingly crafted by the World of Warcraft development team for veteran and new players alike. As the Dragon Isles awaken, so too do long-forgotten secrets, and players will traverse land and sky as they explore what the Dragon Isles has to offer.

It is here that they will discover the dracthyr, who have emerged from their long slumber to join the fight and will become available to play during the Dragonflight pre-expansion patch for players who pre-purchase the expansion. Able to switch between a humanoid visage and a fearsome draconic form, the dracthyr are highly mobile, and their unique Evoker class can specialize in ranged damage-dealing or in aiding their allies as a healer by harnessing the mystical gifts of dragonkind.

Version 1.0 "Inferno" for Foxhole is now available on Steam, so the MMO World War II game is now officially out of Early Access. This post has details on what's new, including the introduction of player-built facilities. It also offers an Official 1.0 Preview Trailer with a look. Have you ever wanted to be game content? The description says this one has you covered:

Foxhole is a massively multiplayer game where thousands of players shape the outcome of a persistent online war that lasts for weeks. Players ARE the content in this sandbox war game. Every individual soldier is a player that contributes to the war effort through logistics, base building, reconnaissance, combat, and more.

Continue here to read the full story.

The World War 3 Website announces this tactical online first-person shooter for Windows has relaunched into Early Access as a free-to-play game. This is available on the official website and Steam. As seen in this new Launch Trailer, this stage of development is being referred to as an open beta. Here are the Open Beta Patch Notes, and here's more:

World War 3 is a tactical online first-person shooter developed by The Farm 51. Engage in thrilling, team-based skirmishes on the ground, drive tanks and vehicles, utilize drones to survey the battlefield, and call in tactical strikes for maximum damage. Up to 40 players can battle in two core game modes—Tactical Ops and Team Deathmatch—across a range of stunning, realistic maps. Squad up and take the fight from the streets of Warsaw, Berlin, Moscow, and Polyarny, to the outskirts of Smolensk and beyond!

Countless improvements have been made to World War 3 on a technical, visual, audio, and gameplay level. Bugs have been squashed, crashes have been conquered, new features such as Mastery Achievements have been added, and many of the game’s weapons and strikes have been rebalanced in pursuit of a fairer and more competitive gameplay experience. Even if you played World War 3 in a previous testing stage, be sure to check out the Open Beta build and see just how far the game has come!

Continue here to read the full story.

Trinity Team studio and 101XP announce October 13 is the release date for The Darkest Tales, a hardcore adventure game where you play as a warrior teddy bear. You can see this in the Official Release Date Trailer which celebrates the news. Also, The Darkest Tales Prologue released during a previous Steam Next Fest is updated and is now available as a playable demo on Steam. Here's word on the game:

The Darkest Tales is a hardcore and exciting adventure, full of familiar characters and watercolor landscapes, that shall transport you to a recognizable but distorted fairytale world rife with a multitude of challenges — from fighting bloodthirsty rubber duckies to exploring the giant’s castle in the clouds.

Help Teddy the stuffed bear on his quest through enchanted realms consumed by darkness, all to save his owner Alicia from her eternal nightmare. Who, if not a long-forgotten dusty old toy, should challenge the forces of evil and fight for the life of their now grown-up child?

Continue here to read the full story.

• Have a Nice Death - The Natural Disasters Update is LIVE.
• Quake - Update 4.1.
• Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Notes: Version 1.0.6.0a.

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

• Quake Reignited mod for Quake Patch 1.1.

• For Honor: Content of the Week - 29 September.
• The Crew 2: Discover Alexandre Claudin's DeLorean DMC-12 Outadrift.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• The Challenge of Remaking Resident Evil 2 & 3 - Design Dive. Thanks Ant.

• BioWare Community Update- Writing Our Worlds.
• Sea of Thieves - Community Spotlight - Zookie.

• PlayStation Rewards Big Spenders With Better Customer Support.
• New Games with Gold for October 2022.

• Alleged AMD Desktop CPU Roadmap Leaks Out.
• Meta announces Make-A-Video, which generates video from text.
• Amazon launches its own QLED 4K TVs, starting at $800.
• Notepad++ v8.4.6 release. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• The cost of a ‘free’ VPN: When cheap is expensive. Thanks Neutronbeam.

Last Link of the Day: Honest Trailers - The Sandman.

Google announces its "long term streaming strategy," and it turns out this does not include Stadia. The cloud gaming service launched in late 2019 and now word is it will shut down on January 18, 2023. "We remain deeply committed to gaming," the company explains. "And we will continue to invest in new tools, technologies and platforms that power the success of developers, industry partners, cloud customers and creators." Of course Google is notorious for killing products, so there have always been concerns that this day would come. The good news for those who took fliers on this is that Google is stepping up and providing full refunds on all hardware and software purchases:

A few years ago, we also launched a consumer gaming service, Stadia. And while Stadia's approach to streaming games for consumers was built on a strong technology foundation, it hasn't gained the traction with users that we expected so we’ve made the difficult decision to begin winding down our Stadia streaming service.

We’re grateful to the dedicated Stadia players that have been with us from the start. We will be refunding all Stadia hardware purchases made through the Google Store, and all game and add-on content purchases made through the Stadia store. Players will continue to have access to their games library and play through January 18, 2023 so they can complete final play sessions. We expect to have the majority of refunds completed by mid-January, 2023. We have more details for players on this process on our Help Center.

Attention all snaggers, the new giveaways are now live on the Epic Games Store. This week the store is handing out free copies of Runbow for Windows and The Drone Racing League for Windows and macOS. Either or both are yours to keep if you stake your claim before next Thursday at 11:00 am EDT. At that time two new hellish giveaways take effect. These are Rising Hell and Slain: Back From Hell. Here are the elevator pitches for today's two freebies:

Runbow is the party platformer you've been waiting for! With tons of characters, costumes, and crazy game modes, Runbow is full of colourful chaos that you just have to experience for yourself.

The DRL Simulator is the premier FPV racing game and simulator. The DRL Sim offers a robust, evolving feature set, including high-intensity drone racing. It packs tracks that DRL's real world pilots compete on, with more added every season.

Slitherine and Muha Games announce a December 13th release date for the new Master of Magic Slitherine announced when it acquired the franchise. To celebrate the news, GOG.com is giving away free copies of Master of Magic Classic, the fantasy-themed turn-based strategy game first released in 1994. You only have a few days to claim your copy, but if you do, it's yours to keep. Here's word on the game's illustrious history: "Originally published by Microprose and Simtex in September 1994, Master of Magic is considered one of the founding milestones of the grand strategy genre, together with classics such as Civilization and Master of Orion. In 2019, the Master of Magic franchise was acquired by Slitherine, and published on Steam in 2020 for the first time together with the community Mod: Caster of Magic. Now, GOG.com and Slitherine are celebrating the 28th anniversary of Master of Magic by granting it to any player that wants it – but only for a few days. Download it now and keep this epic strategy game forever." Here's a bit on the game itself:

In Master of Magic, players choose their alter ego from a set of 14 Wizards or create their own ultimate magician, choosing traits like Warlord or Runemaster, and a number of spell books from five colored magic schools. The spellbook number and their type determines the power of the mage: a mix of various schools allows the mage to cast a versatile mix of spells from those schools. Choosing only one school of magic narrows the mix but grants the most powerful and rare spells.

Continue here to read the full story.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure now has its own Epic Games Store and Steam listings, revealing a PC edition of this popular PlayStation spinoff of the LittleBigPlanet series. The listing says this will arrive on October 27th, and this video shows off the PC edition. It says this is targeting 120 fps 4K gameplay, with 21:9 support, NVIDIA DLSS, and variable refresh rates. Here's more on the game and some cosmetic pre-purchase incentives:

Go solo in an epic race against time stuffed with danger and peril – or create teams of two to four adventurers for fun-packed party play as you work together to overcome nefarious tasks however you can imagine. Can you save Craftworld from the dastardly Vex and his nightmarish Topsy Turver device… and become the Knitted Knight of legend?

Pre-Purchase bonus!
Pre-Purchase to get four bonus costumes and dress Sackboy up as the leading stars of some of the biggest PlayStation® hits:
Connor – prototype Cyberlife android.
Jin Sakai – fearless samurai warrior.
Deacon St. John – outlaw biker hero.
Sam Porter Bridges – intrepid courier.

Overwatch 2 will launch next week. Reviews are poppung up today, but there's a rushed quality to these, as these all use the "in progress" hedge. Here's a roundup:

• Overwatch 2 review-in-progress- A more polished Overwatch experience - Dexerto.
• Overwatch 2 Review In Progress - Disquiet In The Soul - GameSpot.
• Overwatch 2 Review in Progress - IGN.
• Overwatch 2 review-in-progress - PC Gamer.
• Overwatch 2 early impressions: It’s still Overwatch - Polygon.

The occasional games arriving early does not offset all the games that get delayed, but they still happen. In this case, Ebb Software and Kepler Interactive announce Scorn will arrive on October 14th, a week earlier than previously planned. Although the horror/adventure previously suffered a delay of its own. And we mean literally suffered, as the announcement drew fire for its tone. But now word is the game is on track to arrive a full 168 hours sooner than last planned. Here's a trailer announcing the news along with word:

Developer Ebb Software and publisher Kepler Interactive are ready to welcome you to their upcoming horror adventure one week earlier than planned. Originally set for Oct. 21, players will now be invited to envelop themselves in its Scorn’s nightmarish hellscape from Oct. 14, 2022.

Scorn takes players into an isolated, strange, dream-like world. Left unguided to fend for themselves, players must explore Scorn’s interconnected bio-labyrinth, learning its rules and mastering grotesque puzzles along the way as they come to understand their own predicament

Continue here to read the full story.

Publisher Team17 and modest developer Super Awesome Hyper Dimensional Mega Team announce November 29th is the night which we should expect The Knight Witch, a Metroidvania deckbuilder/shoot'em up for PC and consoles. The news is highlighted in a new Date Reveal Trailer which shows off gameplay. You can wishlist the game on Steam, where there's a playable demo to sample. Here's word:

Encounter evil foes and choose whether you wield your magic or use your weapons and wits to take them down. With their flight capabilities, superior fighting strength and reality-bending magic, The Knight Witches absolutely control the battlefield!

Shooting or Spell Cards? Why not both? Customize your own unique playstyle, upgrading your Knight abilities for a more fast-paced shmup experience, or strengthen your Witch magic and explore tons of different deckbuilding strategies with over 30 unique spell cards to choose from.

Continue here to read the full story.

Because I'm hoppy, clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do! Brewmaster: Beer Brewing Simulator is now available for Windows on Steam, offering what publisher Fireshine Games and developer Auroch Digital call "the world’s first realistic beer brewing sim. This involves authentic recipes and techniques intended to appeal to newcomers and enthusiasts alike. There's no word if this will ever include a Beer Foister add-on where you try and distribute your beer to friends and neighbors. Crack open a cold one and check out the Steam Launch Trailer and the details:

Developed by Auroch Digital, Brewmaster is an authentic beer brewing simulator that invites beginners and beer aficionados alike to master the art of homebrewing in the ultimate celebration of craft beer. Create recipes, upgrade your equipment, customize your brewing space, bottle and label your brews, enter competitions and use a realistic chemistry simulation to brew your perfect beer, from hoppy IPAs to creamy stouts.

Continue here to read the full story.

Slitherine announces Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations - 1944, new DLC "coming soon" to Panzer Corps 2. Word is this will be the first add-on for the World War II strategy game that will offer two entirely separate new campaigns:

The Axis Operations - 1944 DLC Campaign is the first DLC that offers two entire campaigns that are completely separate and independent from one another.

In the historical campaign, prepare to face the brutal realities of the decline of the German Wehrmacht as it struggles to survive the Allied onslaught battering it from all directions.

In the ahistorical campaign, continue your success that has secured the Caucasus region for Germany as you defend your extensive conquests from familiar and totally new challenges.

To properly explore the historical battles and ahistorical events in the 1944 DLC, Axis Operations 1944 has grown to provide the largest amount of content a DLC has yet to have.

DreadXP and AMC Networks announce plans for a video game based Creepshow, the horror/anthology television series based on George R. Romero's 1982 film of the same name. Details are extremely scant for now, so we don't know what platforms this will support or when it will arrive. Here's what we do know:

DreadXP — an independent horror publisher and production company — and AMC Networks announced today a partnership to produce a video game based on Shudder & Cartel’s iconic horror anthology series Creepshow, based on George R. Romero’s iconic 1982 film and executive produced by Greg Nicotero (AMC’s The Walking Dead) and Cartel Entertainment. In collaboration with AMC and Creepshow production company Cartel Entertainment, DreadXP’s game will bring the hit series to an interactive format in 2024 across multiple platforms, featuring the twisted talents of several renowned independent video game developers. The Mortuary Assistant developer Brian Clarke (DarkStone Digital) will act as Creepshow’s creative director.

• New Dead Space Remake screenshots leaked online.

• Celebrate GOG’s 14 years of making games last forever - GOG.com.*
• Save up to 80% on Ubisoft Games With The Ubisoft Store’s Autumn Sale.

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

• Saudi Arabia says it will spend $13bn to acquire ‘a leading game publisher.’ Just watch out for bonesaws.

• Limited Run Games Announces ‘Press Run’ Book Publishing Imprint Led by Former Games Journalists, Jeremy Parish and Jared Petty.
• Mythic Quest Season 3 Premieres November 11.
• Shenmue's animated series has been cancelled.

Official patches.

• Destroyer- The U-Boat Hunter - First Hotfix Patch incoming.
• The Elder Scrolls Online - Uncover the Mysteries of the Druid King in the Free Firesong Prologue.
• Kingdom Rush Vengeance - The Primal Ravage update is here.
• Sea of Thieves Release Notes - 2.6.2.
• Team Fortress 2 Update Released.
• Terra Invicta - Patch 2 (bug fixes and balance adjustments).
• World of Warcraft — Hotfixes- September 28, 2022.

• How to fix FIFA 23 "unrecoverable error" anti-cheat bug.

Official trailers.

• Aya Nakamura is the Next Fortnite Soundwave Series Performer.
• SuperPower 3 - Explanation Trailer - Economics.

• ‘PUBG’ creator’s new project is an open source metaverse, Artemis - The Washington Post. Makes Star Citizen sound like a 48-hour game jam.

• Matchmaking experiments - Trackmania - The ultimate track racing game. Ranked 3v3 to evolve. Thanks Frans.

• Inside Dead Space #1- Remaking a Classic.

• Start Your Journey in VALKYRIE ELYSIUM - Now Available.

• Garmin InReach Messenger lets you text anywhere. Agonizing moments of textlessness no more. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• You can now check the -vibe- of a place on Google Maps before paying a visit.
• Razer announces Edge 5G gaming handheld powered by Android. Like an Adroid phone without all the phone.

• Among Us Players Are Using The Lobbies To Have Cyber Sex Now.
• Google’s impressive multisearch tool will be available in a lot more languages. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Mozilla Thunderbird — Release Notes (102.3.1). Thanks Frans.
• SeaMonkey 2.53.14 is now out. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Ant.

• Alleged Benchmarks for Intel's Unannounced Core i3-N300 - N305 CPUs Appear.
• 95C Ryzen 7000 is not the whole story. Here is what I found with these chips. Thanks Simon.
• Gaming Monitor Market Facing First Ever Downturn Say Market Analysts.
• SSD price slump shows no end in sight. Thanks Max.
• How to Set Up PC Case Fans for Airflow and Performance.
• BurnAware Free v15.9. Thanks DSLReports.
• Is Microsoft forcing Spotify onto Windows 11 users? Showed up on my laptop the other day for no reason.

Thanks Ant.

• Russian hackers' lack of success against Ukraine shows that strong cyber defences work, says cybersecurity chief.
• Never-before-seen malware has infected hundreds of Linux and Windows devices.
• How Underground Groups Use Stolen Identities and Deepfakes. Thanks DSLReports.
• New malware targets VMware for espionage, Mandiant says.

• Activision QA worker warns OSHA about excessive overtime in games.
• Activision ramps up lawsuit against prolific Warzone hacking company.
• How hobbyist hackers are preserving Pokémon’s past—and shaping its future.
• SEC fines Oracle $23 million for allegedly bribing foreign officials. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Taliban bans popular video game for ‘promoting violence.’

• Alfred Hitchcock- Vertigo review – uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons - The Guardian.
• Lost Judgment PC Performance Analysis - DSOGaming.
• Overwatch 2 Review In Progress - Disquiet In The Soul - GameSpot.
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider- XeSS vs. DLSS Comparison Review - TechPowerUp.

• Headset: MUSE HiFi Power Planar Magnetic In-ear Earphones Review - TechPowerUp.
• Smartwatch: Apple Watch Series 8 review- better women’s health tracking in same capable package - Apple - The Guardian.
• SSD: Kioxia XG8 SSD Review- A Satisfactory OEM SSD - Tom's Hardware.
• SSD: SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD - Nikk Tech.

Happy National Coffee Day to those here in the U.S. It seems like only yesterday that we last celebrated this. And that's because it is. As I've mentioned before, every day at the BlueTower is National Coffee Day. I'm going to celebrate the occasion by experimenting with the grind for my Chemex. It drips too slowly, and I think my over-grinding the coffee is the problem. I've been waiting a decade for the death of the cheap blade grinder to get a new burr grinder. But this thing is going to outlive me, so I think I just have to throw caution to the wind and replace it anyway.

Obituary: Coolio Dead: 'Gangsta's Paradise' Rapper Was 59.

Ground-up Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• Weather Reporter Hit By Flying Tree Branch At Hurricane Ian Landfall. While warning everyone to stay inside.
• Yankees star Judge hits 61st home run, ties Maris' AL record. Aka the *legit* Major League Record.

Science
Thanks Max.

• Fasting-Mimicking Diet Reduces Signs of Dementia.
• Covid might have changed people’s personalities, study suggests.

Media

• Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (feat. L.V.) [Official Music Video].
• I ALMOST Can’t Believe How Bad: MyPin Fingerprint Lock. Thanks RedEye9.
• Best Of Kipchoge's Bottle Man, Claus-Henning Schulke at the 2022 Berlin WR Marathon. Thanks VideoSift.
• Esteemed meteorologist draws giant penis across Florida on screen during coverage of Hurricane Ian.