Steam regularly has free periods where you can play a game all weekend, but you usually have to buy it if you want to keep playing past Sunday. However, this weekend is different, and with Black Friday just around the corner, Steam and publisher Sega are offering free digital copies of Company of Heroes 2 until November 17 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

All you have to do to get your free game is go to Company of Heroes 2’s Steam page, add it to your cart, and then checkout as if you were buying the game normally. You won’t be charged, and it’ll still be yours to keep forever. Sega is also discounting much of the game’s DLC, so if you find you enjoy the game, you can pick some of it up at a cheaper price.

GameSpot’s Company of Heroes 2 review scored the real-time strategy game a 7.5/10. “Such multiplayer mayhem recalls the original Company of Heroes’ best moments, and you couldn’t accuse this sequel of reaching the heights of the classic that spawned it,” critic Kevin Van Ord wrote.

“This familiarity is unlikely to breed much contempt, however, given Company of Heroes 2’s consistent level of enjoyment. Its barrage of online and offline skirmishes doesn’t always hit its mark. But when it finds its target, Company of Heroes 2 delivers a loud and mighty payload.”

In related news, Steam is offering a free-play weekend for the tactical FPS, Squad. If you enjoy playing it, you can grab it for 50% off all weekend–$20 USD, $25 CAD, or £16.25. Other games on sale include 2016’s Doom, Watch Dogs 2, and Street Fighter 5, among others.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-excellent-steam-pc-game-is-free-to-keep-forev/1100-6471505/

Path of Exile 2 has been officially announced. Revealed at ExileCon in New Zealand today, the sequel is a seven-act game promising numerous updates and improvements over the first game.

Grinding Gear Games founder Chris Wilson said the studio was hesitant to make a full-on sequel because it worried about splitting the community. But Path of Exile’s story was becoming too large already, and the team thought it would be better to make a new game, with new features.

All the game content you might already have for Path of Exile 1–including microtransaction items, expansions, and more–will carry forward to the sequel.

Developing…

Disclosure: Grinding Gear Games is paying for GameSpot’s flight and accommodation in Auckland, New Zealand to attend ExileCon.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/path-of-exile-2-officially-announced-at-exilecon/1100-6471501/

ExileCon, the first-ever fan convention dedicated to the free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile, kicks off today, November 16, with a keynote address. Grinding Gear Games founder Chris Wilson will be on hand to speak about the future of the game. Among the expected announcements are new expansions and further details about the game’s 3.9.0 and 4.0.0 updates. Jonathan Rogers, the other founder of Grinding Gear, will also speak at the keynote address.

The briefing will be livestreamed, and you can watch through the embed here beginning at 10 AM NZDT / 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET. GameSpot will have a rundown of the big news as it’s announced.

The ExileCon Day 1 schedule also includes numerous panels dedicated to other parts of Path of Exile, including how the team creates the in-game effects and a deep-dive on what’s announced during the keynote. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

Day 2 will also be a big day, as the creators of the original Diablo–Dave Brevik, Max Schaefer, and Erich Schaefer (who have since left Blizzard)–will be on hand for a special presentation. That should be especially interesting in the wake of the Path of Exile announcements and the reveal of Diablo 4 by Blizzard earlier this month.

You can see the full ExileCon schedule here. If you’re interested in attending, tickets are still on sale, starting at $180 USD.

Path of Exile was initially released on PC in 2013 before coming to Xbox One in 2017 and PS4 earlier this year. The game is free-to-play, supported by microtransactions.

In 2018, Grinding Gear was acquired by Chinese internet giant Tencent. That company also has a controlling interest in Riot Games (League of Legends) and Supercell (Clash of Clans). Tencent also owns 40 percent of Fortnite studio Epic Games and has a 5 percent stake in Activision Blizzard.

Disclosure: Grinding Gear Games is paying for GameSpot’s flight and accommodation in Auckland, New Zealand to attend ExileCon.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-the-exilecon-keynote-address-right-here-path/1100-6471499/

The latest Xbox One update begins rolling out today, introducing a number of new features and improvements to the console’s functionality. Xbox Action for the Google Assistant is the headlining new feature of the November update, but there are also changes to the way gamertags are displayed, new text filters that make sure you don’t have to read everything angry guys send you after killing them too many times in Gears 5, and improvements to the Mixer viewing experience.

Xbox Action for Google Assistant is available in all countries where the Google Assistant is supported, although only English language options are available right now, with additional language support coming in the future. This new feature allows you to use voice control with your Xbox One from any Google Assistant and Home-enabled smart speakers or devices, including iOS and Android smartphones with the Google Assistant app installed. Much like the Xbox Skill for Alexa, Xbox Action gives you more options when it comes to controlling your Xbox with the power of speech.

During E3 earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would be revamping gamertags across PC, mobile, and Xbox One. As of today, 13 additional worldwide alphabets have been added as part of the latest update, along with a new display option for gamertags on Xbox One. Thanks to a new four-digit suffix, you can also now choose a gamertag name even if it’s already been taken. Xbox will simply add the small suffix to the end to ensure everyone is still unique.

Searching for gamertags has been made easier now, too, with the new “People Search” feature that allows you to find others using partial or non-exact search terms.

In terms of content filtration, the newest update gives you the opportunity to set your own specific level of automated filtration when it comes to receiving text-based messages on Xbox Live. There are four filtration levels to customize–Friendly, Medium, Mature, and Unfiltered–that you can configure by going to Settings > General > Online safety and family > Privacy & online safety > Message safety on your Xbox One. From here, any message that’s beyond your safety setting will be replaced with a [Potentially offensive message hidden] placeholder.

The new update also adds some minor improvements for Mixer viewers. Anyone watching content on the streaming platform now has the option to move the Mixer chat to either the left or right side of the screen, or hide it altogether. When one of your subscriptions is within a week of expiration, the subscribe button has also now been updated with a reminder to renew.

For further details, Xbox Wire has information on everything included in this month’s patch.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-ones-new-update-introduces-fan-feedback-drive/1100-6471489/

Things are a bit quiet this week in Destiny 2. There have been several new Exotic weapons added to the game–Xenophage, Deathbringer, Divinity, and Leviathan’s Breath–but right now, we’re between events in the Season of the Undying. That’s okay, though: Xur is back for the weekend, and he’s got a few Exotics for you to pick up if you’re all done hunting down all the new ones from this season. Here’s where you can find Xur and what he’s offering for your Exotic collection this week.

Xur Location

To find Xur this week, you’ll want to travel to Io. Spawn in at the Giant’s Scar transmat zone and head northeast through the archway, then northwest to the edge of the area. You’ll find Xur hanging out in a dark cave.

What Is Xur Selling?

There’s not much of note in Xur’s haul this week. The weapon he sports is Riskrunner, a solid Year One SMG option to have in your arsenal, especially with nerfs on their way next season for The Recluse. He also has one Year Two Exotic this week in Ophidia Spathe, a piece of chest armor for Hunters.

If Xur’s wares aren’t compelling, you can always roll the dice on the expensive Fated Engram he brings with him. This gives you a single Exotic from the limited pool of ones you haven’t already earned, for the price of 97 Legendary shards. If there’s something you’re missing from your collection, it’s a good deal, but be sure to purchase it on the character who’s missing the Exotic, and note that you can only get one per week, so choose wisely which of your characters makes the buy. If you’re a PC or Xbox One player taking advantage of cross-save, you can now potentially get Wavesplitter from the Fated Engram as well.

Xur Item Lineup (Nov. 15-19)

• Riskrunner (Exotic submachine gun)
• Mask of the Quiet One (Exotic Titan helmet)
• Skull of the Dire Ahamkara (Exotic Warlock helmet)
• Ophidia Spathe (Exotic Hunter chest armor)

Riskrunner

In any situation in which you need to kill a lot of enemies fast–particularly Fallen enemies–Riskrunner is the gun for the job. The SMG Arc Conductor perk causes it to get overloaded by Arc damage you take from incoming fire, making it more powerful while giving you a shield that resists additional Arc damage. While Arc Conductor is running, there’s a chance your Riskrunner shots will create chain lightning between enemies and return ammo to the gun. Thus, while you’re under fire from Arc weapons, Riskrunner becomes a lightning-spraying bullet hose that can keep you alive.

Mask of the Quiet One (Titan)

For Titans, Xur has the Mask of the Quiet One, which gives you bonuses whenever you’re hurt. Taking damage gives you ability energy for your grenades, barriers, and melee strikes. If you take critical damage, kills you score can regain maximum health, making it a great Exotic to take into tough situations or the Crucible to help you turn the tides of battle.

Stats:

• Mobility: 6
• Resilience: 8
• Recovery: 10
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 6
• Strength: 12
• Total: 48

Skull of Dire Ahamkara (Warlock)

A Warlock Exotic favorite, the Skull of Dire Ahamkara used to be a must-have whenever you were running Nova Bomb–but despite some recent nerfs, it’s still a highly useful helmet. When using your Nova Bomb, the helmet makes you more resistant to damage, which helps make sure you can get your Super fired even under fire in the Crucible. Landing kills with the Nova Bomb returns Super energy so you can get it back faster, which is very handy in PvE situations.

Stats:

• Mobility: 10
• Resilience: 3
• Recovery: 11
• Discipline: 22
• Intellect: 2
• Strength: 2
• Total: 50

Ophidia Spathe (Hunter)

The only Year Two Exotic in Xur’s bag this week is for Hunters: Ophidia Spathe. This simple but effective Exotic chest armor gives you two throwing knives per melee charge instead of just one. Paired with the middle tree of the Gunslinger class, Ophidia Spathe can be highly effective, allowing you to use melee attacks to activate the Playing With Fire perk again and again for super-fast melee recharges.

Stats:

• Mobility: 12
• Resilience: 6
• Recovery: 7
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 2
• Strength: 16
• Total: 49

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/where-is-xur-today-destiny-2-location-exotic-weapo/1100-6471491/