Valve announces the availability of an updated Steam Mobile App for iPhone and Android. This includes two-factor authentication for your Steam account, store and library access, customizable notifications, and more. Here's a new video showing off all that's new. Here's a summary:

We've completely revamped the Steam Mobile app - with a new framework, new design, and new features. You’ll still be able to browse the store, get Steam Guard codes, and confirm trades - with additions like QR code scanning for PC sign in, smarter notifications, customizable tabs, and a new Library view with remote downloads.

Supported by work across the entire Steam platform to improve account security, including new sign in experiences on the web and in the Steam Client, the mobile app is the best way to keep your account secure with two-factor authentication.

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Publisher Kalypso Media and developer Gaming Minds Studios unveil testing plans for Tortuga – A Pirates Tale, the upcoming pirate strategy/adventure game. A closed beta will run on the Epic Games Store from November 3-16 to prepare it for release in Q1 of next year. Those wishing to come aboard for testing should sign up here before October 23rd. Here's word on the game:

Tortuga – A Pirate’s Tale, explores the journey of a pirate captain with an unquenchable thirst for gold and glory. You will assume command of a fleet of pirate ships and set sail, ready to plunder the vast and beautiful world of the Caribbean. Choose from 18 unique ship types and customize distinct features to ensure your fleet is the most formidable of all. It’s a wide world out there, and you can never be sure whom you might encounter on these unpredictable waters. Keep your wits about you and be careful who you decide is friend or foe as you parley with historical pirate captains or take on trading convoys in tactical turn-based battles. With a magnificent fleet and enough gold, you might be able to keep your crew happy. But be warned! Whispers of mutiny can be heard below deck, and if the morale of your crew slips, it won't be long until they make it known.

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PC Building Simulator 2 is now available for Windows on the Epic Games Store, offering a sequel to the hit game based on rigging up your own rig. This carries a 10% launch discount for the next week, and a 15% discount through the end of the year for everyone who participated in the game's open beta test. Here's the new release trailer, and here's more:

PC Building Simulator 2 pushes the limits of virtual PC creation, rendering players’ dream machines in more detail than ever before. Launching with over 1,200 officially licensed parts from industry giants like AMD, Intel, NVIDIA and enthusiast brands like Thermal Grizzly, players will be able to take their builds to the next level.

Career Mode sports a brand new 30+ hour story. Players start their own business by repairing and building PCs, with options to personalize their workshop and unlock new tools as they level up. Customization options are greatly expanded in PC Building Simulator 2, and creativity can run wild in Free Build Mode, where players will find all the components they need to construct the ultimate bespoke rig. With deeper hardware and software simulation, players can go further into their systems than ever before.

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Early Access to Stardeus is now underway on Steam for Windows, macOS, and Linux (for some reason many recent Steam games have obscure platform listings). This puts you aboard a damaged ship filled with hibernating colonists. But rather than play as Chris Pratt or Jennifer Lawrence, you are the AI in charge of getting things back in order. Here's the Early Access Release Trailer and there's also a playable demo to sample. Here's word:

Inspired by Factorio and Rimworld, Stardeus is a deep colony sim set on a broken starship manned by drones and hibernating human survivors. As the immortal AI you will have your drones repair your starship, save or exploit your human crew and travel the stars in this beautifully complex simulation of a procedurally generated universe.

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Imagine the unusual findings you would encounter if you could travel back in time to the 1980s. Now imagine no more, as Unusual Findings is now available for Windows on Steam and for consoles. This point-and-click adventure features throwback pixel art to go with its retro setting. It's inspired by some classics set in that decade, so if the Official Launch Trailer seems familiar, stranger things have happened. Here's word:

Christmas is coming. Vinny, Nick and Tony are trying to decrypt a pay per view adult channel with their brand new cable signal descrambler, but unexpectedly they pick up the distress signal of an alien spaceship crash-landing in the woods near their town. Things only get weirder as they realise that the towering alien is killing specific members of their community!

Immerse yourself into a world that pays homage to 80s classics such as Monster Squad, Terminator and Aliens amongst many others, as well as gameplay that combines the mechanics of a classic point and click adventure such as Full throttle, but with its own unique twist.

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Somber is now available on Steam, offering a Windows action/platformer set in a "semi-open" side-scrolling world. A recent Somber Trailer shows off the game's hand-painted art style. Here's an explanation:

In more ways than one, Somber is what would happen if Tim Burton developed LIMBO but included the game mechanics from the Ori series. Built meticulously for those interested in a real platforming challenge, Somber can be experienced in two ways: slowly, allowing players to soak up the atmosphere – or quickly, like a more traditional platformer.

“The wait is over: All the hard work is done and Somber is finally available on Steam. Our dimly lit world might seem scary at first – but like most things in life, true beauty is often found beneath the surface. We can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks of the many sights and sounds of Gloom.”

Continue here to read the full story.

• Melee Mayhem Bundle (pay what you want and help charity).*
• ⚡LightningGames Publisher Midweek Carnival⚡ on Steam.
• Save 50% on MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries on Steam.
• Save 50% on Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove on Steam.
• Save 30% on Cat Cafe Manager on Steam.

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

• Sony Wins All-Star GameStop Movie. Thanks Ant.

Official patches.

• Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered v1.1011.1.0 Patch Notes.
• Steam Client Update, October 12.

Official trailers.

• The Chant - Gameplay Overview.
• Rainbow Six Siege: Doktor's Curse: The Returned - Gameplay Trailer.

• Constellation Questions: Talking Starfield with Todd Howard (video).
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me – Interview with Jessie Buckley Part 1 (video).

• Steamworks Development - Steam Next Fest February 2023 Registration.

Thanks Console General.

• PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup for October- Grand Theft Auto- Vice City – The Definitive Edition, more.
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Beta (2210.221010-2130).
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha (2211.221009-2200).
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Skip-Ahead (2308.221010-1900).

• Square Enix To End FF7 Battle Royale First Soldier In 2023.
• Surface Laptop 5 announced with Intel 12th-gen, Thunderbolt 4, and Dolby Vision IQ.
• Apple intentionally made the green chat bubbles of Android text messages look gross. The Mean Girls of tech companies.

• Supporting the Flash Community. Diamond-Level Sponsorship with Ruffle - by Kongregate.
• CNN faces accusations of an NFT rug pull.
• Logan Paul has lost millions on NFTs as collection valued after viral $10 meme.

• Carmack: “There’s a bunch that I’m grumpy about” in virtual reality.
• RTX 4090 Beats Two RTX 3090s in SLI — Barely.
• What does Mark Zuckerberg think ‘open’ means? Something, something, profit.
• AMD Radeon RX 7000 "RDNA 3" Graphics Cards Allegedly Launching In December.
• Scorn Won’t be the First Game to Support PC DirectStorage After All Say Devs.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands details on Texas crypto mining energy consumption.
• Updated Photos app for Windows 11 with iCloud Photos now rolling out to Windows Insiders. Thanks Console General.
• Cool Custom Case Mod of the Day.

• US election workers hit with phishing, malware emails.

• Alex Jones ordered to pay $965 million after misinformation campaign targeting Sandy Hook families.
• Lawsuit accuses Meta executives of taking bribes from OnlyFans.

• Gaming can kill children with undiagnosed heart issues, scientists say. Thanks Max…

Last Link of the Day: Jury awards nearly $1 billion to Sandy Hook families in Alex Jones case.

Open beta testing is now underway for Torchlight: Infinite, the next installment in the action/RPG series. This is for PC and mobile, and the Windows edition is available on the official website and Steam. The game is free to play, so this is basically a soft launch. This post on Steam welcomes new players. Here's an open beta trailer, and here are some details:

Torchlight: Infinite gives fans an opportunity to get fully immersed in an unlimited looting experience, whilst reaping the rewards of creating unique, and powerful classes. Join the ARPG action today!

Brave the ancient City of Ichi, a formidable dungeon home to a plethora of forbidden treasures. Protected by countless traps and adversaries, teamwork will prove essential in navigating such a location as players dispose of enemies that stand between them and the loot they covet. Feast your eyes on what adventure lies afoot in The City of Ichi, in a brand-new and compelling cinematic trailer!

Continue here to read the full story.

Along with its announcement that GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs are now available, NVIDIA announces the release of new "Game Ready" GeForce 522.25 WHQL Windows drivers to support them. These also include DirectX 12 enhancements for older RTX GPUs and support for new and upcoming games. Last but not least, they bring support for the first DLSS 3 games:

Our new Game Ready Driver gets your system ready for the latest DLSS games, including the first DLSS 3 titles.

DLSS 3 Games (Includes support for DLSS 2, also known as DLSS Super Resolution)

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Bright Memory: Infinite
• F1Ⓡ 22
• Justice”Fuyun Court” New Graphics Showcase
• Loopmancer
• Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• SUPER PEOPLE

Speaking of new GPUs, as promised with yesterday's roundup of GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition reviews, today the embargo ends for third-party reviews of new NVIDIA-powered graphics cards. This results in another flood of evaluations, much like this one:

• ASUS GeForce RTX 4090 STRIX OC Review - TechPowerUp.
• ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition Review - TweakTown.
• Colorful GeForce RTX 4090 NB EX-V review - PC Gamer.
• Colorful GeForce RTX 4090 Vulcan OC-V Review - TechPowerUp.
• Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming OC Review - TechPowerUp.
• MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid X Review - TechPowerUp.
• MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Suprim X Review - TechPowerUp.
• MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM LIQUID X Review- Whisper Quiet, Chilled - TweakTown.
• Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC Review - TechPowerUp.
• Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 Amp Extreme Airo - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Zotac GeForce RTX 4090 Amp Extreme Airo Review - TechPowerUp.

This tweet announces a livestream Friday to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the launch of Dead Space:

Celebrate 14 years of Dead Space, ft. an Extended Gameplay Walkthrough: 10/14 @ 8AM PT.

🔴: http://youtu.be/GO00Aw7_z7s
🟣: http://twitch.tv/motivestudio

⚠️This livestream may contain content not suitable for all audiences

LEGO Bricktales is now available for PC and consoles, offering the latest way to play with LEGOs without leaving weaponized bricks laying around on the floor. The Windows edition is offered through the Epic Games Store, GOG.com*, and Steam. Here's a release trailer along with the tale of Bricktales:

LEGO Bricktales sees you journeying across 5 beautiful LEGO brick-themed biomes, taking you to the green foliage of the deepest jungles, the scorching sand of sun-drenched deserts, the hustle and bustle of a city corner, the epic sight of a towering medieval castle and the paradise of tropical Caribbean islands. An intuitive new brick-by-brick building mechanic will help you solve the many fun puzzles you encounter on this adventure and bring your creative solutions to life.

As you search for inspiration to help your grandfather reinvigorate his rundown amusement park and meet a host of colourful characters that you can help with your LEGO-building skills, you’ll be tasked with putting together cool aesthetic creations, such as market stands and music boxes, and have your building skills tested with functional physics-based puzzles like building cranes and gyrocopters, delivered by the team behind the Bridge Constructor series.

*Blue's News may receive a commission on sales of this item. Continue here to read the full story.

EA Sports announces over 10 million players have played FIFA 23 in its first week, making the recent launch of the association football/soccer sequel "biggest launch period in EA SPORTS FIFA franchise history." Here's word on the successful kick-off of the last game of EA's FIFA license:

Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) celebrated a record-breaking launch of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 23 with over 10.3 million players within the first week, signaling the biggest launch period in EA SPORTS FIFA franchise history.

“The response from our fans has been nothing short of incredible, and we’re thrilled that our community is playing with their favourite players and teams across FIFA 23 in record numbers, ” said Nick Wlodyka, SVP, GM of EA SPORTS FC. “With both the Men’s and Women’s World Cups, and exciting updates to our women’s club football content in game still yet to come, we’re just getting started on providing players with the most authentic and immersive experience yet.”

Continue here to read the full story.

• Rumor - Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 To Get Campaign DLC In 2023.
• Steam Deck Startup Movies are coming to the Steam points shop.

• Save 50% on Overcooked! All You Can Eat on Steam.

• UK regulator details concerns over Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox responds.

• John Carpenter says a Dead Space movie is something “I could do.” Likely on time, under budget, and to poor reviews.

• Achilles: Legends Untold - First Major Update.
• Hunt- Showdown -- Update 1.10 - Now Live.
• Overcooked! All You Can Eat - World Food Festival Update OUT NOW. Here's a trailer.
• Team Fortress 2 Update Released.
• Wartales - Major Update #2 - The Great Gosenberg.
• World of Warcraft — Hotfixes- October 11, 2022.

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

• Missing an obvious game mechanic - Viva La Dirt League. Thanks Ant.

Content creator videos.

• Ace Ventura in Cyberpunk 2077. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Wild Kemono Appears! - Our Developer Interview and Hands-On for Wild Hearts - AusGamers.com.

• Diablo Immortal — Scare Your Way Through Sanctuary During Hallow’s Wake.

• PS5 System Update 22.02-06.02.00.04 Is Now Available To Download.
• Essential Picks promotion comes to PlayStation Store.

• After fight vs. FAA, Verizon’s and AT&T’s new spectrum is boosting 5G speeds.
• Garmin just quietly released five new watches.

• Mozilla Thunderbird — Release Notes (102.3.3). Thanks Frans.
• The internet is mocking Meta for announcing its 'probably most requested feature'- legs.
• The internet is already over. Thanks Max.
• Russia confirms Meta's designation as extremist.
• Twitter reviewing policies around permanent user bans.

• Intel 31.0.101.3490 Windows driver brings Arc A770 and A750 support, and more.
• Nvidia Benchmarks Show 4080 12GB Up to 30% Slower Than 16GB Model.
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Graphics Cards Now Available at Newegg.com.
• GALAX TecLab OC team breaks multiple world records with GeForce RTX 4090 and LN2, up to 3.45 GHz overclock.
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Ti Rumored To Be Up To 20% Faster Than 4090.
• Intel Could Be Preparing For Massive Layoffs as Demand for PCs Plunge.
• LG to start producing more W-OLED gaming screens.
• ViewSonic Launches Two New 34-inch Curved Gaming Monitors.
• Sysmon v14.1, Coreinfo v3.6, AccessEnum v1.35, BgInfo v4.32, and NotMyFault v4.21. Thanks Ant.

• Which Company Has the Worst Online Privacy Policy? Disney has more lawyers than "imagineers." Thanks Neutronbeam.
• This new Windows features makes password-hacking attacks much harder.
• Google introduces passwordless authentication to Chrome and Android with passkeys.
• What's on your network? These are the devices most at risk of getting hacked.
• Fortinet warns that critical authentication bypass flaw has been exploited.
• The metaverse is coming, and the security threats have already arrived.
• Wi-Fi spy drones used to snoop on financial firm.

• Crypto exchange Bittrex pays $53m to settle sanctions claims.

• Cultic review- crunchy retro-inspired FPS is a vicious, violent delight - Rock Paper Shotgun.
• LEGO Bricktales Review - IGN.

• Graphics Card: Beast Mode – NVIDIA RTX 4090 Review - Optimum Tech (video). Thanks Rhialto.
• Laptop: Razer Blade 14 Gaming Laptop (AMD Ryzen-powered) Review - TweakTown.
• Motherboard: ASRock X670E Taichi Motherboard Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• Motherboard: MSI MPG B650 Carbon WIFI review - Guru3D.
• Mouse: Review- Dell’s MS700 wireless mouse has a twisted parlor trick but limited use - Ars Technica.
• SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus-G 2TB SSD Review - Direct Storage Supremacy - TweakTown.

• How to transfer Cyberpunk 2077 from Stadia to PlayStation, Xbox, PC…
• Forget Madden. The Hottest Game in the N.F.L. Is Chess (may require registration or subscription). Thanks brother19…
• Oculus Quest 2 is getting Xbox Game Pass, but only xCloud streaming…
• Lab-grown brain cells play video game Pong…

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Creator Died Trying To Save Someone From Drowning follows up on the recent news of the passing of Kazuki Takahashi. I completely respect the heroic motivation behind the impulse. It's hard to imagine not acting under the circumstances. But as a trained lifeguard I always feel the need to comment on such tragedies. I cannot stress enough the incredible danger of entering the water to help others. In this case, it sounds like he wasn't even a strong swimmer himself. But in any event, a panicked swimmer WILL drown you trying to use you as a life-raft. The lifeguard's rule is, in order, reach, throw, row, go. Swimming is the absolute last resort, even with proper training. For the untrained, it is a recipe for turning a drowning into a double-drowning. I know it's impossible to stand by when a loved one is in danger, but it's also almost impossible to not share advice you feel could save lives.

Obituary: 'American Idol' Runner-Up Willie Spence Dead at 23 After Car Crash.

Cautionary Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Story

• Fat Bear Week winner crowned after cheating scandal. Thanks brother19.

Science
Thanks Max.

• New Study Undermines the Theory That Depressed People Are Just More Realistic.
• Microbes Can Form 'Superorganisms' That Crawl Across Our Teeth.

Media

• Spider-Man 2: The Best Spider-Man Movie? Thanks Ant.
• American Psycho, but it's Pixar Trailer. Thanks Boing Boing.

Follow-up

• Smashing success: NASA asteroid strike results in big nudge.