For over two decades, Counter-Strike has offered an elite competitive experience, one shaped by millions of players from across the globe. And now the next chapter in the CS story is about to begin. This is Counter-Strike 2.

A free upgrade to CS:GO, Counter-Strike 2 marks the largest technical leap in Counter-Strike’s history. Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.

This case presents two critical questions regarding the legal standards governing the Rule of Reason, which determines the outcome of nearly every Sherman Act case. It is well settled that a restraint that has both pro- and anti- competitive effects is unlawful if a ‘less-restrictive alternative” will achieve the same benefits while harming competition less. The circuits are divided, however, on two issues that were outcome-determinative in this case (1) the legal test for identifying a less-restrictive alternative; and (2) if no less-restrictive alternative exists, whether the restraint is valid even when (as in this case) the court finds harms to competition that vastly outweigh the benefits.

The Questions Presented are:

1. Must a less restrictive alternative be free from additional costs to the defendant?
2. If there is no less-restrictive alternative, is the restraint invalid if the harms to competition substantially outweigh the restraint’s procompetitive justification?

Sony Group Corporation and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) today announced that SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan has made the decision to retire in March 2024 after almost thirty years with the PlayStation business. To support Mr. Ryan in his transition, Sony Group Corporation President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki will assume the role of Chairman of SIE effective October 2023. Effective April 1, 2024, Mr. Totoki will be appointed Interim CEO of SIE while he continues his current role at Sony Group Corporation. Mr. Totoki will work closely with Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and the management team of SIE to help define the next chapter of PlayStation’s future, including the succession of the SIE CEO role.

Jim Ryan joined Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Europe-based legal entity, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe (SIEE) -- which was then Sony Computer Entertainment Europe -- in 1994. Since then, he has held a number of senior positions at the company including President of SIEE, Head of Global Sales and Marketing at SIE and Deputy President of SIE since January 2018, before being appointed SIE President and CEO.

Season 06 for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone is now live, with legendary comic book anti-hero Spawn headlining the Battle Pass. Players can unlock further Spawn-themed rewards and Operator Skins throughout the pass, including additional visitors from the Underworld. Additionally, Season 06 features incredible bundles with new Operators from Skeletor, Evil Dead 2, and Hellsing licenses, as well as a Doom Weapon Bundle. And, for the first time in Call of Duty history, Season 06 features a crossover with Diablo with two additional Operators – Lilith and Inarius. Plus, players are in for a thrill-ride with four new Multiplayer maps at launch, three new functional weapons, the return of The Haunting event mid-season, a new BlackCell offering, and so much more.

• Bioshock Franchise Sale on Steam.
• Wolfenstein Franchise Sale on Steam.
• Save 40% on Perfect Heist 2 on Steam.

• Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix – Release Date, New Trailer, and Cast Revealed at Netflix’s DROP 01 Showcase.
• Tomb Raider- The Legend of Lara Croft - First Look Trailer - Netflix.

• Galactic Civilizations IV - v1.9 Early Access Update.
• StarCraft II 5.0.12 PTR Patch Notes.

• Meta Quest 3- New Mixed Reality VR Headset - Shop Now.
• Lego Bricktales - Coming to Meta Quest 3.

• Assassin's Creed Mirage- Launch Trailer.

• Oldest Unity game developer group breaks up over lack of trust in the company. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.

• Bonus Xbox Update for September- A Simplified Experience to Back Up Your Game Captures to OneDrive and More.
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha Skip-Ahead (2408.230925-2000).
• Xbox Insider Release Notes - Alpha (2310.230924-2200).

• Disney’s password-sharing crackdown has begun.
• Meta announces AI chatbots with 'personality.' That's why they call Zuck Mr. Personality.

• ChatGPT can now access up to date information.

• Backdoored firmware lets China state hackers control routers with “magic packets.”

Follow Sun Ce’s struggles after the death of his father, Sun Jiang, in the new story chapter, “Conqueror of Jiangdong”. Here, players journey through Xiangyang and the Shentingling Hills while encountering frightening new Shrimp Soldier monsters along with some of Ancient China’s most fierce warlords, including Gan Ning and Taishi Ci. The DLC pack also features a new Long Sword weapon, new endgame content entitled “The Thousand Mile Journey”, a new Divine Beast, and more!

A key highlight of CodeWeavers’ new release is the integration of the Apple Game Porting Toolkit. This release offers an alternate way to run DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games through CrossOver using its toolkit components. Enabling this new D3DMetal option improves quality, compatibility, and performance for many games on Macs with the M1 chip or later.

The growing list of games improved with CrossOver 23.5 builds on a very long list of popular Windows games that ran on older versions of CrossOver Mac. With the new release, gamers can play top tier AAA rated games, including Elden Ring, Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Mortal Kombat 1, Deep Rock Galactic, Satisfactory, Monster Hunter Rise, God of War, and Batman: Arkham Knight.

Beneath Oresa is a fighting roguelike deckbuilder. Deep within the city, confront your foes in real tactical arenas. As a strategist, choose your cards, upgrades, and artifacts wisely, but as a fighter, keep your distances with your foes, engage them at the right moment and turn their positioning to your advantage. With several factions, many heroes with unique abilities, daily missions, unique game mechanics and more, this furious combination of roguelike and tactics elements will lead you deep beneath Oresa.

A collection of cheeky dinosaurs roams the wild areas of Paleo Pines, waiting to become your friends. Coax them to your farm by mimicking their calls with your flute, then give them a tasty treat and trustworthy nose boop to keep them by your side. Gain a multitude of dinosaur friends by building trust and creating cozy pens for your newfound buddies.

With in-depth character customization and a broad selection of styles, you can turn your plot of land into the dino ranch of your dreams, and with deep customization options you can dress it, and yourself, in the style of your choosing. It’s up to you and your companion, a delightful Parasaurolophus named Lucky, to uncover the mysteries of the island. Of course, you can befriend all of the dinos you can find along the way.

While mining for minerals in the vast reaches of the galaxy, four Hypergiant Inc. employees crash-land on a small planet and become hopelessly stranded.

In the hopes of reuniting with their fleet, you must help them to cover every inch of the planetary surface, solve puzzles in unique and creative ways, and then build a shuttle and fuel it to launch back into space.

Astronimo lifts platforming and customisation to the interstellar medium and beyond with a quirky campaign and customisation tools that stretch the bounds of your imagination.

• Far Cry 7 Reportedly Due Fall 2025 And Will Use The Snowdrop Engine.

• Activision Blizzard reportedly cuts 10 from Hearthstone team.
• Supercell acquires majority stake in Ultimate Studio.
• Xsolla Announces Acquisition of AcceleratXR, a Multi-Player Platform for Games.
• EA has removed FIFA back catalogue from digital storefronts, days ahead of FC 24 release.

• Statue maker Gaming Heads told to destroy all PlayStation merchandise, it claims.

• Baldur's Gate 3 - Hotfix #7 Now Live.
• Lies of P - Update Notes Version 1.2.0.0.
• World of Warcraft Hotfixes: September 26, 2023.

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

• New Cyberpunk 2077 Mod improves the quality of Path Tracing by increasing the number of rays and ray-bounces.

• Microsoft Signs Octopath Traveler 2 for Xbox Game Pass.

• The best bit about SteamVR 2.0 is no longer having to take your headset off every 5 minutes.

• HIGH ON KNIFE DLC RELEASE DATE.
• How We Brought Spawn to COD w/ Todd McFarlane - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II & Warzone.
• FORT SOLIS - Accolade trailer.
• Last Train Home - Siberian Journey Trailer.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Kids in games are indestructible - Viva La Dirt League. Thanks Ant.

• Endzone 2 by Assemble Entertainment — Kickstarter. "Endzone 2 is a post-apocalyptic survival colony builder, where you embark to secure humanities survival after a cataclysmic disaster."

• Alan Wake 2: The Final Preview - IGN.

• Cuphead's Xbox Anniversary Update Brings a Bevy of Behind-the-Scenes Content Exclusively to Xbox Fans.
• Sarah Bond Interview: The Importance of Japan and Asia to Xbox - Xbox Wire.

• Apple iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Reports- Insider Addresses Issue. Thanks Ant.
• We try out the first legal level 3 automated driving system in the US.

• Twitch dips 2% in viewership for August.
• Tor Project Browser version 12.5.5. Thanks Console General.
• The World’s Oldest Active Torrent Turns 20 Years Old. Thanks Ant.

• Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Available Now With NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 & Full Ray Tracing.
• Nvidia was born in Denny's and now a booth in the East San Jose restaurant has been dedicated to the trillion-dollar company.
• Intel Core i7-14700KF 20 Core CPU Benchmarks Leak- Up To 6 GHz Clocks & 20% Faster Than 13700K.
• Intel Clarifies Meteor Lake is Not for Desktop PCs- Not in Socketed Form.
• macOS 14 Sonoma: How to use Game Mode to boost performance. Thanks Ant.
• Releasing Windows 11, version 23H2 to the Release Preview Channel. Thanks Console General.
• Crucial Unveils X9 Portable SSD- QLC for the Cost-Conscious Consumer.

• Valve fails to get out of paying its EU geo-blocking fine.

• The Making of Karateka is the new gold standard for making engaging video game documentaries. - Indie Retro Ramble (video).

• Graphics Card: Sapphire RX 7700 XT Pure Review- Pretty but Expensive - Tom's Hardware.
• Headset/Earbuds: Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Review- Masterful Budget Noise-Canceling Buds - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).
• Headset/Earbuds: HyperX Cloud III Gaming Headset Review - ThinkComputers.org.
• Headset/Earbuds: thinksound ov21 High-Fidelity Headphones - Nikk Tech.
• Laptop: AMD's Secret Weapon for Gaming Laptops - Hardware Canucks. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Mini PC: Beelink SER7 7840HS Mini-PC Review - TechPowerUp.
• PC: Alienware Aurora R16 Review - PCMag. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• RAM: Corsair Dominator Titanium First Edition DDR5-7200 32GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit - TweakTown.
• RAM: KLEVV Bolt V DDR5-6400 32GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit - TweakTown.

• Riot pulls off rare positive PR move, adds Make-A-Wish winner to League of Legends canon…

Excited Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Stories

• Sheep with a serious case of the munchies snuck into a greenhouse in Greece.
• Airlines Are Just Banks Now (may require registration or subscription). Thanks Slashdot.

Science

• New AI algorithm can detect signs of life with 90% accuracy. Scientists want to send it to Mars. Thanks A.C.M.
• Drug that mimics exercise triggers weight loss and builds lean muscle. Thanks Max.

Media

• STAR WARS 1923. Thanks VideoSift.

Creature Features

• Black bear invites himself to a picnic, eats with stunned family (video).

Follow-ups

• How Much Coffee Is Too Much Coffee?
• Lack of SLS rockets limit NASA Artemis manifest. Thanks Cannibella.
• Hans Niemann: Chess grandmaster ‘categorically’ denies using vibrating sex toys to cheat in the sport.