This tweet announces that today's version 2.8 update for Marvel's Avengers is the final update for the superhero game before its closure, which will happen in September. As promised, this unlocks almost all of the game's premium cosmetics for all players. Also, this tweet notes that as of today, player's Credit balances have been converted to in-game resources, offering a chart breaking down the distribution. This post has the complete patch notes. Word is:

Update 2.8 is the final content update for Marvel’s Avengers. Official support will end on September 30, 2023. For more questions about our end-of-support plans for Marvel’s Avengers, please see our End-of-Support Q&A.

A playable demo is now available on Steam for Between Horizons, a narrative detective adventure in a sci-fi setting. A new Demo Release Trailer sets up the story and shows off the game's throwback 2.5D graphics. Here's the pitch:

Between Horizons is a 2.5D pixel art detective adventure that puts the player in control of a passenger aboard a massive spaceship known as the Zephyr. This brief demo will give you an opportunity to experience the enriching atmosphere of the Zephyr as a member of the ship's middle generation, a crew tasked with ensuring that the ship will reach its destination, but who will tragically not live to see it reach there. This taste of gameplay is just the tip of the iceberg of a grand conspiracy that threatens to derail the flight of the Zephyr, and doom its crew.

Continue here to read the full story.

Early Access to Formula Retro Racing - World Tour is now underway on Steam, offering a racing game with retro graphics, but the promise of modern gameplay. This is for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and includes VR support for a real back to the future experience. Here's the trailer from the game's Kickstarter with a look. Read on for more:

A retro racer updated for the modern age, Formula Retro Racing: World Tour fuses the pick-up-and-play simplicity of 90s-style arcade racing with realistic physics, split-screen multiplayer, and 60fps performance.

Building on the success of the original retro racing hit, Formula Retro Racing: World Tour introduces new tracks and car types for an additional level of depth. You'll race through iconic global locations, compete against other drivers, and try to beat your own lap times. Do you have what it takes to master each racing line, hug every apex, and cross the checkered flag to victory?

Continue here to read the full story.

Early Access to GunSuit Guardians is now underway on Steam, set to send you into bullet hell with nothing more than your gumption and a gunsuit. The game features retro graphics and an equally old school midi soundtrack, which you can experience firsthand through this new trailer. Here's what to expect:

Defend Earth from an immeasurable alien invasion in GunSuit Guardians, an action-roguelite twin-stick horde survival.

Take to the skies in an advanced aerial combat suit, wield enormous weapons, and upgrade your gear to become an unstoppable force of destruction.

GunSuit Guardians condenses arcade shooter combat with roguelike elements to create a deep, action-packed experience where each run provides a fresh challenge.

Continue here to read the full story.

• Assemble Entertainment: Welcome to our annual Steam Publisher Sale 2023.
• Save 66% on Midnight Ghost Hunt on Steam.
• Save 33% on The Entropy Centre on Steam.
• Save 80% on Do Not Feed the Monkeys on Steam.

• Ryutaro Ichimura, Dragon Quest Chief Producer, Announces Departure From Square Enix.

• HBO's The Last Of Us Will Be Filming Season 2 In Vancouver.

Content creator videos. Thanks Ant.

• Act 5 Nightmare - DiabLoL 2 - Carbot.
• Building your first base in a survival game - Viva La Dirt League.

• Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 453: Tetris – A Conversation with Henk Rogers & Alexey Pajitnov – PlayStation.Blog.

• GM is cutting off access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for its future EVs.

• Twitter’s $1,000 checkmark will be free for the 10,000 most-followed companies.
• Google Drive does a surprise rollout of file limits, locking out some users.

• AI Theorist Says Nuclear War Preferable to Developing Advanced AI.
• YouTuber Tricks ChatGPT Into Generating Windows 95 Keys.

• ChatGPT- Italy blocks AI chatbot over privacy concerns.

• German Police Raid DDoS-Friendly Host ‘FlyHosting.’

Last Link of the Day: "Fantastic 4" Gets "Avatar" Sequel Scribe.

The Spring Sale on GOG.COM* is heading into its final weekend, and the good old gamers have rolled out its final giveaway to celebrate. Between now and Monday, all new and current GOG newsletter subscribers can pick up a copy of Deep Sky Derelicts for free. This turn-based strategy game features squad-based combat in a sci-fi environment. It was first released in 2018, offering support for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Here's more:

In a grim dystopian future, where mankind has scattered across the galaxy and the human society has split into two distinct classes, you are a poor stateless outcast forced to live off scraps from derelict alien stations and ships in the outer space, yet you dream of becoming a privileged citizen and living on the surface of a habitable planet, enjoying non-synthetic air, water and food. A fabled alien derelict ship somewhere within the Deep Sky sector of space is your voucher for a citizenship and a promise of cozy life on a hospitable planet.

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

There's an interview on GamesIndustry.biz talking with ESA president and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis about the news that E3 2023 has been cancelled. The conversation covers how the changing industry landscape over the years has affected the show and what led to this point. Discussing why this year's show was cancelled leads to this assessment: "First, several companies have reported that the timeline for game development has been altered since the start of the COVID pandemic. Second, economic headwinds have caused several companies to reassess how they invest in large marketing events. And third, companies are starting to experiment with how to find the right balance between in-person events and digital marketing opportunities." Pierre-Louis says the E3 does not economically impact the ESA's industry advocacy, which will continue as before. Whether or not E3 will return in some form in the future is less definitive. Several questions touch on this, but none generate a definitive answer. Here's word for now on E3 2024:

We're committed to providing an industry platform for marketing and convening but we want to make sure we find that right balance that meets the needs of the industry. We're certainly going to be listening and ensuring whatever we want to offer meets those needs and at that time, we will have more news to share.

BAFTA announces the winners of the 2023 BAFTA Games Awards. This page has a rundown on all the honorees. Here are some highlights:

God of War Ragnarök won five BAFTAs: Animation; Audio Achievement; Music; Performer in a Leading Role for Christopher Judge and Performer in a Supporting Role for Laya DeLeon Hayes.

Vampire Survivors won two BAFTAs: Best Game and Game Design.

Elden Ring won two BAFTAs: Multiplayer and Original Property.

Tunic won two BAFTAs: Artistic Achievement and Debut Game.

Rollerdrome won British Game.

Stardock announces Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova, an upcoming standalone expansion for Galactic Civilizations IV, the 4X space strategy sequel. This does not yet carry a release date, but the Announcement Trailer concludes with the words "coming soon." The Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova Website is online, offering signups to be notified when this is ready for preorder. As a standalone expansion, this will include all the content of the original game, along with all the new Supernova content. Here are some burning details:

Thanks to the invention of Hyperdrive, your civilization is now ready to explore the mysteries of the galaxy. Discover new worlds, encounter new civilizations, and learn about the dark history that encompasses them all.

No one makes computer AI like Stardock. Each computer opponent is a sophisticated and nuanced AI entity with its own ambitions and goals. Every civilization has its own unique history and story to tell.

Stay ahead in an endless arms race by designing starships to counter adversaries' strengths and reduce your own weaknesses. Whether you let the AI design the ships for you or meticulously create your own to resemble those of your favorite Sci- Fi series, Galactic Civilizations IV: Supernova takes ship design to a whole new level.

Continue here to read the full story.

The Steam Listing for Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong now shows a release date for the vampire RPG (thanks Acleacius). This says the game will launch on Steam on May 18th, one year to the day following the Windows version's exclusive launch on the Epic Games Store. It's been a while, so here's a refresher:

Based on the cult role-playing game and developed by specialists in the genre, Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is a narrative RPG in which your every choice determines the fate of the three main characters and of the Boston Camarilla.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
What if vampires were real? What if these bloodthirsty predators lived hidden among us in complex societies and had been hatching conspiracies for thousands of years? And what if you became one of them?
In Vampire: The Masquerade, you play as these alluring monsters in a sophisticated world where the lines between the real and supernatural are always blurred.

Speaking of vampires, Xbox Wire has the announcement of Tides of the Foscari, a second DLC pack coming to Vampire Survivors. The news comes right after the game's big night at the BAFTA awards, where it won two prizes, including best game. Here's a bit on what to expect:

In Tides of the Foscari, our story takes us to the rolling hills and wooded lands of Western Europe. We were heavily influenced by fairy tales and folklore, which whisper warnings to not step too close to foreboding woods.

The Great Forest is home to all manner of magical beasts, spellcasters, demi-humans, spirits, demons, angels, and the kinds of things you might not want to meet when your lantern flickers out. Here, the barrier between worlds is perilously thin, but there are those who traverse the woods to reach what lies at its center: The Foscari Academy.

You wouldn’t think that parents of the world’s elite would be eager to send their progeny into danger just to get an education, but The Foscari Academy is no mere school. Here, the next generation of warriors, scholars, and leaders learn what it takes to be masters of their crafts.

• CD Projekt Red Reports Major Profit And Revenue Growth Year-On-Year.
• CD Projekt explains why Witcher game ‘Project Sirius’ has seemingly been restarted.
• Dragon Quest series chief producer Ryutaro Ichimura leaves Square Enix.

Official patches.

• Microsoft Flight Simulator March 30th, 2023 Development Update.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic to open test server hosted on the cloud.
• World of Warcraft Hotfixes- March 30, 2023.
• World War 3 - Operation Sunstorm- New Update Available Now. Here's a trailer.

Official trailer.

• Granblue Fantasy Versus- Rising - EVO Japan 2023 Trailer.

• E3 2023 is cancelled. ESA tells us why - GamesIndustry.biz.

• Nominations for the MCV/DEVELOP Awards 2023 close on Monday morning.

• Trackmania Spring 2023 campaign out on April 1st. Do you believe them? Thanks Frans.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic In-Game Events for April.

• Kotaku - Why Was E3 Canceled? It Wasn't, It Was Killed By Companies.
  "They don’t need to pay for big E3 press conferences anymore, they can just film their own presentations and show them on a day when there’s no competing news. They don’t need to walk journalists around for three days answering questions that may be occasionally uncomfortable when they can just get influencers to hype their games live on Twitch and YouTube. And every time they’re doing this, an incentive to pre-order their product—often from their own online store—isn’t far away. The feeding ramp is polished to a mirror sheen."

• Final Fantasy XVI goes gold.
• Next Week on Xbox: New Games for April 3 to 7.

• Looks like Netflix games may come to TV, with smartphone controllers.
• Niantic Raises Prices Of Pokemon Go Remote Raid Passes, Implements Daily Limit.

• Elon Musk Tried to Meet With F.T.C. Chair About Twitter but Was Rebuffed. Thanks Matthew.
• iTunes version 12.12.8. Thanks Console General.
• SeaMonkey 2.53.16 is out. Thanks Ant.
• York student uses AI chatbot to get parking fine revoked.
• Google CEO Sundar Pichai promises Bard AI chatbot upgrades soon: ‘We clearly have more capable models.’

Thanks Neutronbeam and Ant.

• 510K CPUs, HDDs & more seized as smugglers keep trying to sneak tech into China. Guessing some of them have succeeded.
• Are Solid State Drives / SSDs More Reliable Than HDDs?
• Watch 23 years' worth of programs failing to respond in Windows (from Windows 2000 to Windows 11) in just two minutes. Trigger warning.
• How to use ChatGPT to write Excel formulas.
• PowerToys' upcoming registry tool will let you preview and edit registry files.
• Thinking about switching to Linux? 6 things you need to know.
• LibreOffice version 7.5.2. Thanks Console General.

Thanks Ant.

• FDA requires medical devices be secured against cyberattacks. Thanks DSLReports.
• Here's how attackers could have changed Bing search results.
• Toyota scrambles to patch customer data leak. Thanks DSLReports.
• The Story Behind Dish & Sling TV's Security Breach That Infected Over 10,000 Computers & How Dish Responded. Thanks DSLReports.
• Silence gets you nowhere in a data breach. Thanks DSLReports.

• Google faces new multi-billion advertising lawsuit.
• ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns.

• The Last of Us Part I Benchmark Test & Performance Analysis Review - TechPowerUp.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Case: The Phanteks NV7 Review - Airflow is Optional - Hardware Canucks (video).
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900 Review - Impressive Efficiency - TechPowerUp.
• Graphics Card: GALAX GeForce RTX 4070 Ti EX White review - Guru3D.
• Headset/Earbuds: Audeze Maxwell gaming headset review - PC Gamer.
• Headset/Earbuds: Razer Hammerhead HyperSpeed - IGN.
• Headset/Earbuds: Quick Look- ThieAudio Ghost Open-Back Dynamic Driver Headphones - TechPowerUp.
• Laptop: Asus ROG Flow Z13 ACRONYM review- it’s a lot - The Verge.
• Laptop: Lenovo Tab M10 2022 (Gen 3)- An inexpensive tablet that skimps on a little bit too much - NotebookCheck.net News.
• Laptop: Core i7-13700HX performance debut- Uniwill GM6PX7X IDX laptop review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews.
• Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Monitor (U4323QE) Review - PCMag.
• Monitor: Pixio PXC277 Advanced gaming monitor review - PC Gamer.
• Monitor: XGIMI Horizon Pro 4K Projector - TweakTown.
• Mouse: Dream Machines DM4 EVO S Gaming Mouse - Mad Shrimps.
• PSU: The XPG Fusion Titanium 1600 PSU Review- Outrageous Power, Outstanding Quality - AnandTech.
• SSD: Crucial P3 Plus 4TB Review - APH Networks.

Happy World Backup Day! The fact that I was backed up was a lifesaver during my recent PC upgrade fiasco, so I'm all in on this. But I won't rest on my laurels. Seems like an excellent time to get with the spirit of the occasion and review my setup to be sure I'm comfortable with it going forward.

Obituary: Mark Russell Dead: Piano-Playing Political Satirist Was 90.

Backed-up Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• The Incredible Challenge of Counting Every Global Birth and Death.
• Virgin Orbit funding plans fail, will stop operations, conduct layoffs.

Science
Thanks Max.

• Brains also have supply chain issues – blood flows where it can, and neurons must make do with what they get.
• NASA establishes 'Moon to Mars' office to get astronauts to Red Planet.
• The Carnian Pluvial Event: When It Rained For 2 Million Years On Earth. Now over to Tom for the sports report.
• Plants aren't silent, and make more noise when stressed, study says.

Media

• Florida drawbridge climber goes viral after daring ascent.
• An 89-year-young surfer lives his best life as he catches a wave (video).

Auction

• Rarest Yu-Gi-Oh! Card In The World Will Be Sold After 18 Years.

Follow-up

• New plan to sink massive 5,000-mile-wide seaweed blob headed to Florida.