A tweetX from OneBGS_USA announces the formation of a new labor union comprising "a majority" of developers at Bethesda Game Studios Dallas, Rockville, and Austin. Word is: "Together as #OneBGSUSA, we advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry." A follow up tweetX from Jason Schreier shares the Bloomberg reporter's opinion that more such announcements should be expected, as "labor in the video game industry has reached a tipping point." Jason also reports that Microsoft has already recognized the union:

(Rockville, Md.)—Workers at Bethesda Game Studios have joined the Communications Workers of America, forming the first wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft video game studio. The workers, consisting of 241 developers including artists, engineers, programmers and designers have either signed a union authorization card or indicated that they wanted union representation via an online portal. Microsoft has recognized the union. Bethesda Game Studios produces popular games including Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Starfield.

Tom Warren xeets a follow-up from Microsoft to his report yesterday of a US FTC letter to the courts criticizing Microsoft Game Pass. It called the new Game Pass Standard a "degraded product," and a sign of antitrust problems warned about during Microsoft's ZeniMax acquisition. Microsoft explains the Federal Trade Commission is failing to appreciate the nuances of trade, saying the changes are pro-consumer developments: "The transaction thus continues to benefit competition and consumers—exactly what the district court correctly found." It states that implying the new Game Pass is a rip-off ignores the fact that the old one was also a rip-off:

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced changes to its gaming subscription service, Game Pass, to provide consumers valuable options at different price points. Microsoft is offering a new service tier, Game Pass Standard, which offers access to hundreds of back-catalog games and multiplayer functionality for $14.99/month. It is wrong to call this a "degraded" version of the discontinued Game Pass for Console offering. That discontinued product did not offer multiplayer functionality, which had to be purchased separately for an additional S9.99/month (making the total cost $20.98/month). While Game Pass Ultimate's price will increase from $16.99 to S19.99/month, the service will offer more value through many new games available "day-and-date." Among them is the upcoming release of Call of Duty, which has never before been available on a subscription day-and-date.

• Automation Games Sale 2024 on Steam.
• Save 86% on EA SPORTS PGA TOUR on Steam.

• How One Indie Game Maker Narrowly Dodged Bankruptcy - Bloomberg (may require registration or subscription). Did not trigger the usual hard paywall for us. Thanks Neutronbeam.

Official patches.

• FlatOut 2 - Steam Deck ✅, Workshop 🔧 and more.
• Once Human - Fixes for "Deposit Function Causing Item Loss" and "Territory Module Loss" Issue.
• Sapiens 0.5 Trade and Multiplayer update out now.

• Microsoft says it’s wrong to call Game Pass ‘degraded’, responding to FTC - VGC.

• Nexon changes The First Descendant gold farm promise after one hour - PCGamesN.

• Diablo IV - Inside the Game - The Spiritborn.

↑ Official trailers. ↓ Content creator videos.

• Firearms Expert Reacts to Helldivers 2 PART 4.

• Rage and Fury Make These Diabolical Games Easy to Watch - The New York Times. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• Interview- The Outlast Trials Dev Talks Project Lupara and Beyond - GameRant.

• One of the biggest games in the world right now isn't on PC, and it's not clear why - PC Gamer.

• Arcade Archives FOOTBALL CHAMP trailer.

• Pornhub Pulls Out of Nebraska - Gizmodo. Phrasing?
• Grindr Dating App Crashes in Milwaukee During RNC- Everything We Know - Newsweek. Thanks Simon.
• FCC Expands E-Rate Program to Include Wi-Fi Hotspots - Telecompetitor. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.
• X is working on a way to block links in replies.

• IT outage exposes fragility of tech infrastructure - BBC.
• Intel Needs to Say Something- Oxidation Claims, New Microcode, & Benchmark Challenges - Gamers Nexus (video). Thanks Simon.
• Breaking Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, 8GB GPUs Holding Back The Industry - Hardware Unboxed (video). Thanks RedEye9.
• Nvidia GPU partners reportedly cheap out on thermal paste, causing 100C hotspot temperatures — cheap paste allegedly degrades - Tom's Hardware.
• A Windows version from 1992 is saving Southwest’s butt right now - Yahoo! Tech. Thanks The Flying Penguin.
• 5 simple ways to give new life to your old tech and avoid the scrapyard - XDA. Thanks Neutronbeam.

• Photobucket Is Using Biometrics To Sell Your Photos to train AI and opting you IN by default - Louis Rossmann (video). Thanks RedEye9.
• LAPD warns residents after spike in burglaries using Wi-Fi jammers that disable security cameras, smart doorbells - Tom's Hardware.
• Crowdstrike: Global cyber agencies warn about scammers - BBC.

• Keyboard: GamaKay TK75HE Hall Effect Wireless Mechanical Keyboard Review - TechPowerUp.
• PSU: NZXT C1500 Platinum Power Supply Review - Tom's Hardware.
• Router: Engenius Cloud Managed ECW536 Wi-Fi 7 Access Point - TweakTown.

Moon fests, moon movie and even a full moon mark 55th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing. It was 55 years ago today that Neil Armstrong took "one small step for (a) man." Putting astronauts on the Moon and safely returning them to Early just 66 years after the first powered flight is such a monumental achievement that many do not accept that it actually happened. Just be careful where you express your opinions if you're one of these skeptics, though, because there's still a chance they'll get you punched out by Buzz Aldrin, despite the second human on the Moon having turned 94 at the start of this year.

We have some plans afoot that will probably impact tomorrow's update, which will likely show up later in the afternoon than usual.

Obituary: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee dies after battle with cancer.
Obituary: Nguyen Phu Trong- Vietnam's long-serving leader dies at 80 - BBC.

Round-up
Thanks Ant, Neutronbeam, and Max.

Stories

• EU seals 'historic' pact on Serbia's lithium deposits - BBC.
• Everest- Bodies of fallen mountain climbers finally recovered from 'death zone' - BBC.

Science

• Scientists Spot Possible Signs of Life in Clouds of Venus - Futurism. Thanks Max.
• Will burying biomass underground curb climate change? - Ars Technica.
• NASA’s Curiosity rover makes its ‘most unexpected’ find on Mars - CNN.

Media

• "Weird Al" Yankovic - Polkamania! (Official Music Video).
• The Biggest Lie in Hollywood - Technicolor.

Creature Features

• Project Rattlecam - Explore the Secret Lives of Rattlesnakes - Rattlesnake Cam.