The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences announce the winners the 29th annual D.I.C.E. Awards. Along the way Sandfall Interactive racked up five more wins for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, including another Game of the Year award for the RPG. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294498/

Saber Interactive and Lionsgate officially announce an upcoming AAA third-person shooter for PC and consoles based on the John Wick franchise. It will take place before the movie series and will feature the participation of Keanu Reeves. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294470/

PC plans for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach reveal it will arrive on March 19th. This version of Hideo Kojima's action/adventure sequel will include several PC-specific features. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294469/

Nobody Wants to Die (Windows) and The Darkside Detective (Windows, macOS) are now free on the Epic Games Store. You have a week to grab your copies, after which the store will start handing out Return to Ash and STALCRAFT: X Starter Edition. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294443/

Blizzard has launched a new expansion for Diablo II: Resurrected adding a Warlock class to the 25-year old action/RPG. It also announces this class will be part of the next Diablo IV expansion, promising more details on that next month. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294415/

ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is now available for Windows, a day before the console arrival of Grasshopper Manufacture's sci-fi action/adventure. The review embargo also ends today, so we have a full roundup of evaluations. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294354/

The promised Airborne update is now available in Foxhole, the MMO World War II combat game. This joins the game's land and sea combat to create what's described as "a seamless online battlefield." More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294320/

A free weekend is underway on Steam for XCOM 2 for Windows, macOS, and Linux, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the turn-based tactics game. It's on sale for 95% off, and progress will carry over if end up buying it. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294251/

Nioh 3 is now available for Windows PC and PlayStation 5, offering a dark samurai action/RPG sequel from KOEI TECMO and Team NINJA. There's no launch discount, but the playable demo remains available to try before you buy. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294217/

Botany Manor and a Poison Retro Set for Pixel Gun 3D are now free on the Epic Games Store as its weekly giveaways. They're for keeps if you act by next Thursday when two new freebies will arrive. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294186/

Valve offers an update on recently announced plans for new Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame hardware. Shipments should still begin by middle of this year, but exact dates and prices are up in the air due to RAM shortages. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294160/

Blizzard announces plans to overhaul Overwatch 2, starting with reverting the name to just Overwatch. The FPS will get five new heroes next week when a new season begins, and five more heroes over the course of the year. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294134/

The Alone in the Dark Trilogy is currently free on GOG.com as its latest giveaway. This DRM-free survival/horror anthology is yours to keep if you collect it over the next three days. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/294016/

Definitely Not Fried Chicken is the latest freebie on the Epic Games Store. In this your fried chicken business is a front for illegal activities. It's for keeps if you get it before Botany Manor and Poison Retro Set land as next week's giveaways. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293895/

Double Fine Productions announces its next project is a game called Kiln. Quirky as ever, it describes this as a "multiplayer pottery-party brawler." It's expected on PC and consoles later this year. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293659/

Rustler (Grand Theft Horse) is now free on the Epic Games Store as its weekly freebie. This open-world medieval crime game is yours to keep if you claim it by next Thursday, when Definitely Not Fried Chicken will be the store's new giveaway. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293633/

Ubisoft announces a major reorganization around "creative houses" concept it announced last year. This includes an unspecified number of layoffs it calls "rightsizing" as well as the cancellation of six games, including the Prince of Persia Sands of Time Remake. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293607/

Square Enix announces LIFE IS STRANGE: REUNION, a continuation of the series coming to PC and consoles on March 26th. This will reunite Max and Chloe for a new full-length adventure. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293569/

Bungie offers recommended system requirements for Marathon. These are relatively modest, suggesting the upcoming extraction shooter should run well on most gaming PCs. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293548/

Bungie confirms plans to launch Marathon in March, saying the extraction shooter will arrive on PC and consoles on March 5th. Preorders are underway, and all Destiny 2 players can get free rewards to celebrate, including special ornaments for preorder customers. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293519/

Alistair McFarlane, COO of Facepunch Studios (Rust) reacts to Amazon's plan to close New World's servers at the end of next January. Saying "games should never die," he makes a $25 million "final offer" for rights to the MMORPG. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293445/

The Epic Games Store is now handing out free copies of Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness, the first two installments in the series. They're for keeps if you snag them before next Thursday when Rustler - Grand Theft Horse will be the new freebie. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293395/

A&R Atelier announces development of Ecco the Dolphin, a new revival of this aquatic platformer series that first made a splash back in 1992. Word is several products and games are coming to echo this character's history. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293349/

Early Access is underway for Hytale, a voxel-powered PC adventure from Hypixel Studios inspired by Minecraft. The game was almost cancelled last year, but is now available in three different editions with increasing rewards. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293297/

The Independent Games Festival announces nominees for March's IGF Awards. Baby Steps leads the way with five, and controversial horror game HORSES got one. Presumably Clair Obscure: Expedition 33 didn't qualify. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293193/

Bloons TD 6 is now available for free from the Epic Games Store as its weekly freebie. This is for keeps if claimed by next Thursday, but you may own it already, as it was already a previous giveaway. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293153/

Ubisoft announces it is closing down Ubisoft Halifax, the studio behind Assassin’s Creed Rebellion. It's described as a cost-cutting measure, but CWA Canada is demanding answers, since the studio just unionized last month. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293103/

IO Interactive announces details on support for NVIDIA tech in 007 First Light. These come along with minimum and recommended system specifications for the upcoming James Bond game. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293065/

NVIDIA now offers a new version 591.74 GeForce Windows driver and the launch of DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution for RTX graphics cards. It also confirms support for 6X Multi Frame Generation is coming to 50-series GPUs. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293049/

Terra Invicta has completed Early Access, and this grand strategy game from Hooded Horse and Pavonis Interactive is now available for Windows. Its sci-fi plot starts on Earth but you must eventually extend your reach throughout the solar system. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/293023/

Happy New Year! The Epic Games Store is handing out free copies of Total War: THREE KINGDOMS and Wildgate for Windows as this week's freebies. They're for keeps if you get them before next week, when Bloons TD 6 returns to the giveaway pile. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292932/

Happy New Year's Eve! Chivalry 2 is currently free on the Epic Games Store as a daily holiday giveaway. This Windows first-person slasher is yours to keep as long as you collect before a new freebie arrives at 11:00 am EST tomorrow. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292917/

Trine Classic Collection is now free on the Epic Games Store as a holiday giveaway. This bundle of four Windows platformers is yours to keep if you get it before the store starts handing out another game tomorrow at 11:00 am EST. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292900/

Michał Kiciński is now owner of GOG after buying the DRM-free games marketplace from CD PROJEKT, which he co-founded. Word is the store will continue its mission of game preservation as before. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292888/

Viewfinder is now available for free on the Epic Games Store. This photographic puzzle game for Windows is for keeps if you collect it before a new daily holiday giveaway begins at 11:00 am EST tomorrow. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292882/

SKALD: Against the Black Priory is free today on the Epic Games Store, where a new giveaway arrives every day for the rest of 2025. This retro, party-based RPG is for keeps if you snag it before tomorrow's freebie launches at 11:00 am EST. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292866/

Cassette Beasts is now free on the Epic Games Store as today's holiday giveaway. This RPG is yours to keep if you snag it by tomorrow at 11:00 am EST when a an unnamed game arrives as the new freebie. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292856/

We Were Here Together is now free on the Epic Games Store as today's holiday giveaway. The co-op puzzle game is for keeps as long as you snag it by 11:00 am EST tomorrow, when a new freebie takes its place. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292844/

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut has hit the dance floor as the new holiday giveaway from the Epic Games Store. If you boogie on over and snag this by 11:00 am EST tomorrow it's yours to keep. After that, a new freebie will arrive. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292831/

Today's free game on the Epic Games Store is The Callisto Protocol, and the survival/horror game is yours to keep if you collect it by 11:00 am EST tomorrow. At that point a new freebie will arrive as this giveaway spree rolls on through the rest of this year. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292814/

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is now available for free on the Epic Games Store as today's giveaway. This side-scrolling action/RPG is for keeps if you snag a copy before tomorrow's freebie arrives at 11:00 am EST. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292797/

Windows open-world adventure Paradise Killer is the new giveaway on the Epic Games Store between now at 11:00 am EST tomorrow. The store is giving away a free game every day for the holidays, and you can keep today's as long as you snag it before tomorrow's lands. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292769/

Sorry We're Closed is now free to keep on the Epic Games Store as its new daily holiday giveaway. You have until tomorrow at 11:00 am EST to snag a copy. After that the cycle will renew with the release of another freebie, still listed for now as a "mystery game." More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292740/

Blood West is now live on the Epic Games Store as its latest daily holiday giveaway. This wild west eldritch horror FPS is yours to keep if you snag it by 11:00 am EST tomorrow, when the new freebie will go live. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292733/

Action dating game Eternights is now available for free on the Epic Games Store as its latest daily holiday giveaway. This is for keeps if you snag it before 11:00 am EST tomorrow when a new mystery game will be the next freebie. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292710/

The Steam Winter Sale is underway, offering discounts on thousands of games between now and January 5th, and the chance to earn some free (virtual) stickers. Also, voting is now open for The 2025 Steam Awards. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292686/

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel is now free to keep on the Epic Games Store, beginning the store's annual holiday giveaway spree. So you must snag it before 11:00 am EST tomorrow when a new gift arrives, a process that will repeat daily for the rest of the year. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292668/

Wild Terra 2: New Lands is currently free on Steam, offering an MMORPG for Windows in a medieval setting. It's yours to keep as long as you snag a copy by midday tomorrow. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292620/

The promised free trial is underway in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 on all platforms. It allows full access to the multiplayer and zombies modes in the FPS sequel. This arrives just in time for CODMAS, the in-game celebration of the holidays. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292590/

A new video for Marathon confirms a March release for Bungie's extraction shooter. Word is the game will have a 39.99/€39.99/£34.99 price tag, which comes with assurances it will not be pay-to-win. More: www.bluesnews.com/s/292535/