Ubisoft Releases Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Last Chapter Update Early

 

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has released The Last Chapter of Eivor's saga a little bit earlier than Ubisoft promised – meaning that the content is already available to all players across all platforms. The new direction that started when Assassin's Creed Origins released to critical and popular acclaim is coming to an end with Valhalla's finale, as Assassin's Creed Mirage vows to take the franchise back to its stealthier roots in 2023.

Ubisoft released The Dawn of Ragnarok for Assassin's Creed Valhalla earlier this year, and The Last Chapter promises to conclude the story of Eivor, as Basim Ibn Ishaq prepares to take center stage as the new Assassin's Creed protagonist. Unlike the previous DLCs of Valhalla, The Last Chapter requires no monetary investment on the part of its audience – but it does demand a bit of time to meet its in-game prerequisites. Namely, it asks the players to complete the main story of the game, finish the Asgard and Jotunheim plot, as well as eliminate all the targets from the Order of the Ancients.

Originally, The Last Chapter was supposed to come out on December 6, but the official Assassin's Creed Valhalla account on Twitter surprised its fans with an early release today, making the final DLC and its accompanying patch available for download. Without delving into spoiler territory, the update recontextualizes Eivor's connection with Havi in a way that may end up polarizing among Assassin's Creed fans. On a less controversial note, it does feature a crossover with Assassin's Creed Mirage, allowing players to become more acquainted with Basim in a leading role.

❗📢 Due to an unforeseen glitch in the Animus, the final content update for Assassin's Creed Valhalla has arrived early in Ravensthorpe. ❗

We hope you enjoy The Last Chapter of Eivor's story...and the additional surprises we have before 2022 comes to an end. #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/mw5zpeQnx8

— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) November 29, 2022

Unfortunately, the reception towards the new DLC has been rather lukewarm – a trend that has followed Valhalla's DLCs over the past two years, with many Assassin's Creed players becoming fatigued by the presence of content, but absence of depth. With the previous installment taking a deep dive into Greek mythology in its post-launch content, the story direction of Valhalla's DLCs paled in comparison for most fans of the franchise.

Despite a few shortcomings, The Last Chapter for Assassin's Creed Valhalla provides an additional half-hour epilogue to Eivor's tale, stays true to her character, and sets up the plot of Assassin's Creed Mirage perfectly – featuring a few familiar faces in the modern day plot. The rumored release date window for Mirage seems to be next spring, so players can expect to see the next chapter of the Assassin's Creed franchise very soon.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available now on Amazon Luna, PC, Stadia, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: GameRant

PS Plus Free Games for December 2022.

 PlayStation Plus December 2022 games. 

Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition

One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it’s ever faced. Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors, and packs – remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD.

RELIVE THE CINEMATIC SAGA: Heart-pounding action meets gripping interactive storytelling where you decide how your unique story unfolds.

EXPERIENCE THE LEGEND OF SHEPARD: Create and customize your own character, from appearance and skills to a personalized arsenal then lead your elite recon squad across a galaxy in turmoil.

REFLECT ON YOUR CHOICES: Your choices seamlessly travel from one game to the next. Each decision you make will control the outcome of every mission, every relationship, every battle – and even the fate of the galaxy itself.

Biomutant

"BIOMUTANT® is an open-world, post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu fable RPG, with a unique martial arts styled combat system allowing you to mix melee, shooting and mutant ability action.

A plague is ruining the land and the Tree-of-Life is bleeding death from its roots. The Tribes stand divided. Explore a world in turmoil and define its fate – will you be its saviour or lead it to an even darker destiny?

KEY FEATURES

- Experience maximum freedom of movement while mixing shooting, melee and powers from your mutations

- Re-code your genetic structure to change the way you look and play with mutations like the Turtleform and Mucus Bubble

- Explore a vibrant open world by foot, mech, jet-ski, air-balloon or area unique mounts

- Mix and match parts to create your own unique slash, crush and pierce melee weapons, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and more

- A storyteller narrates every step of your journey, but it’s your actions and choices that’ll decide how your story of survival ends"

Experience BIOMUTANT®’s incredible story and expansive world on PlayStation®5! Now smoother and more beautiful than ever with ultra-fast loading times, native 4k resolution, HDR support and with up to 60 FPS. Choose between three different graphic modes:

• Quality: 30 fps @ 4k resolution

• Quality Unleashed: 40+ fps, averaging 50-60 fps, up to 4k resolution

• Performance: 60 fps locked @ 1440p

BIOMUTANT® on the PS5 unleashes not only framerates, but also the power of the DualSenseTM. Feel even more immersed with haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, motion control and speaker sound. On top of that the PlayStation exclusive Activity Cards will also offer a variety of different ways to jump straight back into BIOMUTANT®. If you already own the PlayStation®4 version, you will be able to upgrade to this enhanced version for free and you can even bring those delicious PS4 save files with you!

Divine Knockout (DKO)

KO the gods in the world’s only 3rd-person platform fighter! Become a small-but-mighty god of myth, brawl in all three dimensions, and knock your friends off the map to reign supreme.

Intense Multiplayer Action

Damage enemies to make them vulnerable, then knock them out of the arena with a mighty blow! Enjoy combat inspired by 2D platform fighters, but brought into a unique third-person perspective.

Evolving Battlegrounds

Each arena features a new mechanic that players must master to win. Some crumble over time, while others feature deadly traps.

Unleash Godly Powers

Hurl boulders as Hercules, swing Excalibur as King Arthur, or wield Mjolnir as Thor.

Game Modes for All

In DKO’s core 3v3 mode, each round is a new adventure – and a new mode. Or play intense 2v2 and 1v1 duels.

Cross-Platform

With full cross-play and cross-progression, you can play anyone, anywhere.

Play Your Way

Customize each god to play exactly how you want, and to show your unique style.

New Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Legendary Duplication Glitch Discovered

 

The launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has not been a smooth one thanks to a litany of bugs and performance issues, and it appears another one is cropping up to let players duplicate the games' new legendary Pokemon. While the new legendary Pokemon are front-and-center on the game's cover art as in past games, Koraidon and Miraidon are also present in the game from the start to help players traverse the region of Paldea. The new glitch, though, can potentially give players an unfair advantage with duplicates that can be used with more freedom.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the ninth generation game release in the Pokemon franchise, bringing with it the new region of Paldea and 103 new Pokemon. As in previous games, players can traverse the region to catch and train Pokemon to defeat the region's various gym trainers and become the best Pokemon trainer in Paldea. It also offers three storylines for players to complete on their quest to become the best trainer around, with a fourth storyline becoming available after completing the three starting storylines.

As mentioned above, the latest bug players have discovered in the game is, essentially, an extension of the item duplication bug which allows players to duplicate Koraidon and Miraidon. The bug requires players to have completed the Area Zero quest, allowing them to transform the legendary Pokemon from their ride forms to battle forms. Players can then trick the game into depositing Koraidon and Miraidon into its storage box, though players need to be fast enough in entering the necessary inputs.

Source: GameRant 

Far Cry 6 Lost Between Worlds Finally Revealed, Price and Release Date Announced

Ubisoft has finally given a first look at the highly anticipated Far Cry 6: Lost Between Worlds expansion along with its release date and price point. It looks like Lost Between Worlds will continue Far Cry's trend of being more experimental, with Dani Rojas' new sci-fi adventure being a sharp departure from the grounded tone and story of Far Cry 6. The last batch of DLC from Far Cry 6 featuring the series previous villains drew a lot of mixed opinions, so hopefully Lost Between Worlds can correct the course for players.

Lost Between Worlds has been teased extensively by Ubisoft over the last week on social media as the next chapter in Dani Rojas' story. Initially, players were concerned that the expansion would only be available as part of the very expensive Far Cry 6: Game of the Year Edition at $199.99 due to a leak that was posted to the Xbox Database in September. Fear not though, as many have predicted, players will be able to pick up Lost Between Worlds on its own and at a very reasonable price.

Far Cry 6: Lost Between Worlds will release on December 6 on Consoles and PC and will start at $19.99. The trailer sees Dani traverse a broken and distorted Yara through dimensional rifts, each of which has its own rules and laws of physics. It looks like Dani will be getting some help along the way from an extra-terrestrial companion that looks and sounds a lot like The Ghosts from Destiny.

Each of the dimensional rifts contains crystal-like enemies which seem to be tied to the elements, Dani's weapon changes colour depending on which enemy type she's facing, so this could be a core gameplay mechanic. Ubisoft has teased that the new expansion will expand the Far Cry 6 lore while introducing new enemies and gameplay challenges along with "life or death trials."

It's a pleasant surprise that players will be able to jump into Lost Between Worlds in a matter of days. There'll also be a sigh of relief that the expansion can be bought on its own without having to pay for the extortionate Game of the Year Edition. If Ubisoft had made that decision, as was previously thought, it would have gone down as perhaps one of the worst moves from a developer in recent years. There's little word if this new expansion is completely stand-alone but the sci-fi influence in this expansion could very well be hinting at where Ubisoft plans to take the franchise next.

Far Cry 6: Lost Between Worlds releases December 6 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/gaming/far-cry-6-lost-between-worlds-finally-revealed-price-and-release-date-announced/ar-AA14HW7y?ocid=anaheim-ntp-feeds&cvid=af44576e382a48cda5c4e3edbcdcdf0b

PS5 will have at least seven-year shelf life as PS6 won't appear before 2027, says report

 

Sony's PlayStation 5

The PlayStation 5 might be around for a while yet, as Sony doesn't expect to launch a new console until at least 2027, a new document suggests.

The document (via Eurogamer) is Sony Interactive Entertainment's observations on the Competition and Market Authority's issues statement on Microsoft's bid to buy the Activision Blizzard gaming company. The acquisition would make Microsoft the third biggest games company in the world – a move that Sony objects to.

Sony's objections are laid out in this document. And one of them suggests the shelf life of the PS5 will be at least as long as its predecessor, the PS4.

The passage in question reveals that Sony expects to lose access to the Call of Duty franchise (which is made by Activision Blizzard) in 2027. It goes on to say that by the time Sony "launched the next generation of its PlayStation console... it would have lost access to Call of Duty and other Activision titles."

All of which suggests Sony won't launch a new console until at least 2027.

(A likely launch date of Sony's next console is stated within the document, but it's redacted.)

Sony fears that losing Call of Duty in 2027 would leave PlayStation "vulnerable to consumer switching and subsequent degradation in its competitiveness," the document says. In other words, by lacking one of the biggest selling gaming franchises, Sony's next console would be at a disadvantage versus Microsoft's next Xbox machine.

For the record, Microsoft has said that should the deal go through it will continue to release and support Call of Duty on PlayStation.

The PS5 launched in November 2020. If it was succeeded in 2027, it would match the seven-year shelf life of its predecessor, the PS4, which launched in 2013. (That wouldn't mean the PS5 stopped being sold or supported then.)

The PS5 suffered stock shortages for the first year and some change of its life, though these have mostly been resolved now.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/gaming/ps5-will-have-at-least-seven-year-shelf-life-as-ps6-won-t-appear-before-2027-says-report/ar-AA14HutN?ocid=anaheim-ntp-feeds&cvid=aa9d23af7bb747e1a7b34db8c85a8acc

The Microsoft / Activision Merger Just Took Another Positive Step

Microsoft's plan to merge with "Call of Duty" publisher Activision Blizzard has faced numerous roadblocks, but the company recently took another important step in bringing the deal to fruition. Per a report from Reuters, Serbia has cleared Microsoft's $69 million purchase of Activision Blizzard unconditionally. The only other countries to have done so thus far are Saudi Arabia and Brazil, marking the third approval out of the many that Microsoft reportedly needs to see the deal through.

Serbia's clearance marks a positive turn for Microsoft in what has otherwise been an uphill battle to push this massive acquisition through. Amid investigations into the Microsoft/Activision Blizzard deal, several regulatory bodies are seemingly moving to challenge the merger. On November 23, Politico reported that the Federal Trade Commission may file an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. Several days later, it was reported that the company is already gearing up to offer solutions to appease European Union regulators and avoid similar pushback. Such efforts are due in part to increased scrutiny on the deal following Sony's repeated claims that Microsoft merging with Activision Blizzard would be detrimental to the gaming industry at large (via VGC).

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if Microsoft can successfully complete the ground-breaking deal by its planned date of June 2023 (via Business Wire). The company has some major obstacles to overcome and the merger going through is still anything but a guarantee. However, Serbia's decision may bode well for the eventual marriage of the two gaming giants.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/the-microsoft-activision-merger-just-took-another-positive-step/ar-AA14Hzvb?ocid=anaheim-ntp-feeds&cvid=aa9d23af7bb747e1a7b34db8c85a8acc

Xbox Games with Gold December 2022 Games.

 

Xbox Games with Gold games for December 2022 are......

Colt Canyon

Take your revolver and rescue your partner in this atmospheric and punchy rogue-like game.

Colt Canyon is a 2D pixel art shooter where you control a cowboy, or one of the many other unlockable characters, whose mission is to save his kidnapped partner from the ruthless bandits. Take your gun and TNT and shoot your way through a hostile canyon full of hidden treasures, weapons, obstacles and all kinds of bloodthirsty scum.

Maybe you can save more people than just your partner. But watch out. Once you got your partner your job is not done. You'll also have to get back home...

Published by: Headup   

Developed by: Retrific

Release date: 16/06/2020

Bladed Fury

Bladed Fury is a classic 2D action game, based on Chinese mythology with an accompanying traditional art style and sound design, but with a dash of surrealism added to the mix. Featuring a fluid combat experience, a high-octane combo system, and a plethora of ancient enemies and gods to destroy.

Published by: PM Studios, Inc.

Release date: 25/03/2021

For The Younger People: What is a Floppy Disk? It's Not The Save Icon.

 

A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a fabric that removes dust particles from the spinning disk. Floppy disks store digital data which can be read and written when the disk is inserted into a floppy disk drive (FDD) connected to or inside a computer or other device.

A 3+1⁄2-inch floppy disk
removed from its housing

The first floppy disks, invented and made by IBM, had a disk diameter of 8 inches (203.2 mm). Subsequently, the 5¼-inch and then the 3½-inch became a ubiquitous form of data storage and transfer into the first years of the 21st century. 3½-inch floppy disks can still be used with an external USB floppy disk drive. USB drives for 5¼-inch, 8-inch, and other-size floppy disks are rare to non-existent. Some individuals and organizations continue to use older equipment to read or transfer data from floppy disks.

Floppy disks were so common in late 20th-century culture that many electronic and software programs continue to use save icons that look like floppy disks well into the 21st century. While floppy disk drives still have some limited uses, especially with legacy industrial computer equipment, they have been superseded by data storage methods with much greater data storage capacity and data transfer speed, such as USB flash drives, memory cards, optical discs, and storage available through local computer networks and cloud storage.

History

The first commercial floppy disks, developed in the late 1960s, were 8 inches (203.2 mm) in diameter; they became commercially available in 1971 as a component of IBM products and both drives and disks were then sold separately starting in 1972 by Memorex and others. These disks and associated drives were produced and improved upon by IBM and other companies such as Memorex, Shugart Associates, and Burroughs Corporation. The term "floppy disk" appeared in print as early as 1970, and although IBM announced its first media as the Type 1 Diskette in 1973, the industry continued to use the terms "floppy disk" or "floppy".

8-inch, 5+1⁄4-inch (full height),
and 3+1⁄2-inch drives

In 1976, Shugart Associates introduced the 5¼-inch FDD. By 1978, there were more than ten manufacturers producing such FDDs. There were competing floppy disk formats, with hard- and soft-sector versions and encoding schemes such as differential Manchester encoding (DM), modified frequency modulation (MFM), M2FM and group coded recording (GCR). The 5¼-inch format displaced the 8-inch one for most uses, and the hard-sectored disk format disappeared. The most common capacity of the 5¼-inch format in DOS-based PCs was 360 KB, for the Double-Sided Double-Density (DSDD) format using MFM encoding. In 1984, IBM introduced with its PC/AT the 1.2 MB dual-sided 5¼-inch floppy disk, but it never became very popular. IBM started using the 720 KB double density 3½-inch microfloppy disk on its Convertible laptop computer in 1986 and the 1.44 MB high-density version with the IBM Personal System/2 (PS/2) line in 1987. These disk drives could be added to older PC models. In 1988, Y-E Data introduced a drive for 2.88 MB Double-Sided Extended-Density (DSED) diskettes which was used by IBM in its top-of-the-line PS/2 and some RS/6000 models and in the second-generation NeXTcube and NeXTstation; however, this format had limited market success due to lack of standards and movement to 1.44 MB drives.

Throughout the early 1980s, limits of the 5¼-inch format became clear. Originally designed to be more practical than the 8-inch format, it was becoming considered too large; as the quality of recording media grew, data could be stored in a smaller area. Several solutions were developed, with drives at 2-, 2½-, 3-, 3¼-, 3½- and 4-inches (and Sony's 90 mm × 94 mm (3.54 in × 3.70 in) disk) offered by various companies. They all had several advantages over the old format, including a rigid case with a sliding metal (or later, sometimes plastic) shutter over the head slot, which helped protect the delicate magnetic medium from dust and damage, and a sliding write protection tab, which was far more convenient than the adhesive tabs used with earlier disks. The large market share of the well-established 5¼-inch format made it difficult for these diverse mutually-incompatible new formats to gain significant market share. A variant on the Sony design, introduced in 1982 by many manufacturers, was then rapidly adopted. By 1988, the 3½-inch was outselling the 5¼-inch.

Generally, the term floppy disk persisted, even though later style floppy disks have a rigid case around an internal floppy disk.

By the end of the 1980s, 5¼-inch disks had been superseded by 3½-inch disks. During this time, PCs frequently came equipped with drives of both sizes. By the mid-1990s, 5¼-inch drives had virtually disappeared, as the 3½-inch disk became the predominant floppy disk. The advantages of the 3½-inch disk were its higher capacity, its smaller physical size, and its rigid case which provided better protection from dirt and other environmental risks.

Prevalence

Floppy disks became commonplace during the 1980s and 1990s in their use with personal computers to distribute software, transfer data, and create backups. Before hard disks became affordable to the general population, floppy disks were often used to store a computer's operating system (OS). Most home computers from that time have an elementary OS and BASIC stored in read-only memory (ROM), with the option of loading a more advanced OS from a floppy disk.

By the early 1990s, the increasing software size meant large packages like Windows or Adobe Photoshop required a dozen disks or more. In 1996, there were an estimated five billion standard floppy disks in use. Then, distribution of larger packages was gradually replaced by CD-ROMs, DVDs, and online distribution.

Imation USB floppy drive, model 01946:
an external drive that accepts high-density disks

An attempt to enhance the existing 3½-inch designs was the SuperDisk in the late 1990s, using very narrow data tracks and a high precision head guidance mechanism with a capacity of 120 MB[12] and backward-compatibility with standard 3½-inch floppies; a format war briefly occurred between SuperDisk and other high-density floppy-disk products, although ultimately recordable CDs/DVDs, solid-state flash storage, and eventually cloud-based online storage would render all these removable disk formats obsolete. External USB-based floppy disk drives are still available, and many modern systems provide firmware support for booting from such drives.

Gradual transition to other formats

In the mid-1990s, mechanically incompatible higher-density floppy disks were introduced, like the Iomega Zip disk. Adoption was limited by the competition between proprietary formats and the need to buy expensive drives for computers where the disks would be used. In some cases, failure in market penetration was exacerbated by the release of higher-capacity versions of the drive and media being not backward-compatible with the original drives, dividing the users between new and old adopters. Consumers were wary of making costly investments into unproven and rapidly changing technologies, so none of the technologies became the established standard.

Apple introduced the iMac G3 in 1998 with a CD-ROM drive but no floppy drive; this made USB-connected floppy drives popular accessories, as the iMac came without any writable removable media device.

Recordable CDs were touted as an alternative, because of the greater capacity, compatibility with
existing CD-ROM drives, and—with the advent of re-writeable CDs and packet writing—a similar reusability as floppy disks. However, CD-R/RWs remained mostly an archival medium, not a medium for exchanging data or editing files on the medium itself, because there was no common standard for packet writing which allowed for small updates. Other formats, such as magneto-optical discs, had the flexibility of floppy disks combined with greater capacity, but remained niche due to costs. High-capacity backward compatible floppy technologies became popular for a while and were sold as an option or even included in standard PCs, but in the long run, their use was limited to professionals and enthusiasts.

Flash-based USB-thumb drives finally were a practical and popular replacement, that supported traditional file systems and all common usage scenarios of floppy disks. As opposed to other solutions, no new drive type or special software was required that impeded adoption, since all that was necessary was an already common USB port.

Usage in the 21st Century

By 2002, most manufacturers still provided floppy disk drives as standard equipment to meet user demand for file-transfer and an emergency boot device, as well as for the general secure feeling of having the familiar device. By this time, the retail cost of a floppy drive had fallen to around $20 (equivalent to $30 in 2021), so there was little financial incentive to omit the device from a system. Subsequently, enabled by the widespread support for USB flash drives and BIOS boot, manufacturers and retailers progressively reduced the availability of floppy disk drives as standard equipment. In February 2003, Dell, one of the leading personal computer vendors, announced that floppy drives would no longer be pre-installed on Dell Dimension home computers, although they were still available as a selectable option and purchasable as an aftermarket OEM add-on. By January 2007, only 2% of computers sold in stores contained built-in floppy disk drives.

Floppy disks are used for emergency boots in aging systems lacking support for other bootable media and for BIOS updates, since most BIOS and firmware programs can still be executed from bootable floppy disks. If BIOS updates fail or become corrupt, floppy drives can sometimes be used to perform a recovery. The music and theatre industries still use equipment requiring standard floppy disks (e.g. synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, sequencers, and lighting consoles). Industrial automation equipment such as programmable machinery and industrial robots may not have a USB interface; data and programs are then loaded from disks, damageable in industrial environments. This equipment may not be replaced due to cost or requirement for continuous availability; existing software emulation and virtualization do not solve this problem because a customized operating system is used that has no drivers for USB devices. Hardware floppy disk emulators can be made to interface floppy-disk controllers to a USB port that can be used for flash drives.

Different data storage media (Examples include:
Flash drive, CD, tape drive, and CompactFlash)

In May 2016, the United States Government Accountability Office released a report that covered the need to upgrade or replace legacy computer systems within federal agencies. According to this document, old IBM Series/1 minicomputers running on 8-inch floppy disks are still used to coordinate "the operational functions of the United States' nuclear forces". The government planned to update some of the technology by the end of the 2017 fiscal year.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 no longer comes with drivers for floppy disk drives (both internal and external). However, they will still support them with a separate device driver provided by Microsoft.

The British Airways Boeing 747-400 fleet, up to its retirement in 2020, used 3.5-inch floppy disks to load avionics software.

Some workstations in corporate computing environments still retained floppy disks while disabling USB ports, both moves done to restrict the amount of data that could be copied by unscrupulous employees.

Sony, who had been in the floppy disk business since 1983, ended domestic sales of all six 3.5-inch floppy disk models as of March 2011. This has been viewed by some as the end of the floppy disk. While production of new floppy disk media has ceased, sales and uses of this media from inventories is expected to continue until at least 2026.

FURTHER READING HERE: WIKIPEDIA POST

Dr Robot: How automation and tech could cure the crumbling NHS

 

As he prepares to slash the number of managers running NHS England by as much as half, Rishi Sunak has proffered a potential solution to the crisis engulfing the health service: Send in the robots.

The Prime Minister has vowed to “radically innovate”, using new technology to deliver healthcare reforms that will challenge “conventional wisdom”.

His suggestion conjures images of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator carrying patients into A&E, or the sinister HAL 9000 overseeing hospital wards. However, experts say the reality is more prosaic – and ultimately more useful. Improvements can be made in digital record keeping, appointment management and analysis of X-rays that could yield huge improvements.

The overhaul proposed by Mr Sunak comes at a critical time, with the NHS battling inflation, recruitment problems and an enormous patient backlog following the Covid crisis. A record 7.1 million patients are waiting for procedures in England, up from 4.2 million before the pandemic.

This is contributing to the huge tally of 2.5 million people who are unable to work because of long-term sickness, which is acting as a drag anchor on economic growth.

Although automation cannot completely fix the NHS's problems, there are hopes it can at least lighten the load. The ultimate goal of rolling out technology across the NHS is to free up staff time to use their time more productively.

At the moment, even simple tasks can be frustrating. Everything from how much fluid a patient has drunk to whether they have been turned in bed must be diligently entered into an electronic records system, but just logging on to sluggish hospital computers can sometimes take five to 10 minutes alone. Hospital computer systems are also usually not linked up to GP surgeries and social care providers, which often forces staff to manually request information be shared by email or phone.

Worse still, it is not uncommon for patients to be transferred from one hospital to another with no electronic records at all. Instead, they arrive accompanied by a sheaf of papers that must be read through.

Many of these basic problems would be tackled if a national strategy published during the summer is adopted, which will require local NHS care systems to have joined-up patient records by March 2025.

The strategy also calls for more technology to improve patient care, particularly in diagnostics. Artificial intelligence (AI) – or machines trained to recognise patterns from huge troves of data – may in future be used to analyse X-ray images and CT scans, offering diagnostics with just as much precision as a doctor.

Google’s artificial intelligence division DeepMind has already developed software that can diagnose eye diseases that are as good and sometimes better than top doctors, according to a 2018 paper.

Robots could suggest treatments, help to triage patients, automatically deliver tests results and book people in for in-person consultations.

Tom Hardie, a senior fellow at The Health Foundation, says automation could help tackle “the mountain of admin” in the NHS, including letter-writing, paperwork and scheduling.

One trust in Suffolk has trialled the automation of appointment reminders using a text-messaging system, which can reallocate free slots when patients cancel. The system has cut missed appointments and sped up GP referrals.

In another example, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has trialled the use of AI to analyse thousands of patient feedback forms in minutes – a task that would normally take several days to produce reports on how services need to improve.

Other technologies go beyond the confines of the hospital and into patients’ own homes.

A pioneering scheme called Project Breathe in Cambridgeshire involved people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that weakens the lungs and affects the digestive system. Sufferers were given wearable digital devices that monitored lung function, blood oxygen levels, weight, sleep and temperature, with this information uploaded to “the cloud” via their smartphone.

A machine algorithm was then used to spot any worrying symptoms and deliver alerts to clinicians at the Royal Papworth Hospital, allowing them to intervene sooner and prevent the need for a lengthy stay in hospital.

Another promising area automation could transform is cancer diagnoses. Machines trained to spot anomalies in scans have proved highly accurate in academic studies.

Hardie believes these kinds of systems, which “augment” rather than replace human beings in the NHS, will help to make the health system more efficient and ease pressures on staff.

“That is partly because many tasks in healthcare are not wholly automatable and human agency is such an important factor,” he explains.

Despite the promise of a utopian tech-powered future, attempts to digitise the NHS have proven stubbornly difficult over the years.

Many private companies complain that a mess of red tape slows down work with the NHS and say contracts offered by the cash-strapped service are not profitable enough.

Professor Sir John Bell, Oxford University’s regius professor of medicine and an adviser to the Government, says that medical staff under huge pressure to meet targets can also be resistant to new technology because of fears it will go wrong and simply make things worse.

But he points to innovation that happened during the Covid pandemic, borne out of necessity, as proof that big changes can be made.

The health service, the Government, private sector and regulators came together to rapidly deploy mass testing systems and the vaccination rollout during the crisis, with rules that would have blocked easy information-sharing temporarily waved away by ministers.

It resulted in British authorities having a better analysis on the spread of the disease than almost any other government, Bell argues.

“People said we're in a hurry, we're going to get this stuff done quickly. I call it the burning platform mentality,” he adds.

“But now many barriers have reappeared and the speed at which stuff happens has become glacial again.”

Automation could make an enormous difference, he says, but the organisation itself lacks the in-house expertise to develop the powerful, scalable software that is needed.

“I think it requires serious collaboration with the tech companies,” he adds. “Apple or Microsoft, or Oracle – they really get this stuff, they've got terrific software capabilities and they can make stuff that works.”

More futuristic solutions were also proffered in a 2018 report by Lord Darzi and the Institute for Public Policy Research, including the introduction of physical robots that stitch wounds, bring patients meals and porter them around buildings.

Pritesh Mistry, a fellow for digital technologies at the Kings Fund, says some of the most impactful changes may end up being mundane, rather than cutting-edge.

“The real low hanging fruit is things like reliability of systems, quicker devices and things like that,” Mistry says.

“Making sure the technology actually works through better IT support, so it doesn't take up more staff time, doesn’t require them to be trained up or change their processes and workflows, that might be the easiest thing to do.”

Hardie agrees, saying that basic measures which ease pressures on staff could then free up time for them to begin thinking about further efficiencies.

“A lot of healthcare staff are exhausted and overstretched, not just because of Covid-19, but also because there's a significant number of vacancies,” he says.

“So technology, if we get it right, might be able to support them to work in a more sustainable way.”

If it comes to pass, Sunak's vision for a tech-empowered health service will be more akin to a Microsoft Office update than the arrival of Dr Terminator.

Meta is making a small but mighty upgrade to its data centers

Meta has launched a new network timing protocol for its data centers, dubbed the Precision Time Protocol (PTP), which it claims will improve accuracy and precision across its networks.

The tech giant has previously used the older industry standard Network Time Protocol (NTP) to govern use cases such as messaging, videoconferencing, and online gaming which rely on precise, accurate timing among multiple servers and sometimes multiple data centers. 

After a successful pilot, Meta has started extending PTP into all its data centers, claiming that it can provide sub-microsecond accuracy, as opposed to NTP, which provides infinitesimally slower millisecond accuracy.

What is the PTP?

Unlike NTP, PTP uses a "master-slave" approach to its architecture, syncing to a single grandmaster clock, using techniques like hardware timestamping and "transparent clocks" to improve consistency and symmetry.

In contrast, systems and servers that use NTP are asynchronous, according to Meta, as they are distributed systems without a single global clock.

These data center clocks do their jobs independently, but they check in with one another to make sure they’re in sync.

Meta claims that even though the telecom industry has been using PTP for "well over a decade", hyperscale data centers have been slow to adopt it. 

What does this mean for users?

Meta claims this new technology will be beneficial for use cases where “lag” can be an issue, such as cloud-based gaming, particularly of the more graphically intensive variety. The tech giant also claims it could help with advanced remote collaboration and video conferencing.

In addition, Meta claims that PTP has the potential to enable the synchronization of GPUs across data centers, which could open up a level of "unprecedented scale" in AI capabilities that would be hard to achieve with current technology.

If PTP sounds like something which you may be interested in, Meta is set to make all of its PTP-related work open source, including the source code for its Time Appliance client software and transparent clock.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/meta-is-making-a-small-but-mighty-upgrade-to-its-data-centers/ar-AA14qk9I?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3489799e56544e22dfb75cf80825ee58

WhatsApp data breach sees nearly 500 million user records up for sale

 

A post on a “well-known hacking community forum” claims almost half a billion WhatsApp records have been breached and are up for sale.

The post, which multiple sources have confirmed is likely to be true, claims to be selling an up-to-date, 2022 database of 487 million mobile numbers used on WhatsApp, which contains data from 84 countries.

This means that almost one-quarter of all WhatsApp's estimated two billion monthly active users are possible at risk.

WhatsApp data breach

More than 32 million of the leaked records are said to be from users in the US, with 11 million from UK users. Other affected nations include Egypt (45 million), Italy (35 million), Saudi Arabia (29 million), France (20 million), Turkey (20 million), and Russia (10 million). 

It seems that individual countries’ data is up for grabs, with the US dataset up for $7,000, and British numbers up for a similar per-capita figure of $2,500.

Most alarmingly, it doesn’t seem to be an empty promise designed to threaten the Meta-owned company, with almost 2,000 numbers shared with Cybernews in a sample request verified to be WhatsApp users.

Leaked phone numbers could be used for any number of reasons, including marketing and phishing, highlighting the importance of a good ID theft protection tool.

This isn’t the first time that WhatsApp has hit the headlines for data security, and while it may not be alone, its history is one that has been plagued with vulnerabilities and scams.

TechRadar Pro has reached out to Meta to verify the authenticity of this seller’s claims and for further comment, which will be posted here if and when received. 

These are the best authenticator apps for protecting your accounts

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/whatsapp-data-breach-sees-nearly-500-million-user-records-up-for-sale/ar-AA14yRG5?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=3489799e56544e22dfb75cf80825ee58

This ransomware will steal your Discord account and encrypt all your files for good measure

 

A new ransomware family has been detected targeting the cryptocurrency community. 

Cybersecurity researchers from Cyble recently discovered a strain they dubbed “AXLocker” which, aside from the usual encrypting of all files found on the endpoint, also ends up stealing Discord authentication tokens from the victims.

Discord is a communications platform that’s been around for quite some time, but has recently found new life in the cryptocurrency community. NFT projects, crypto tokens, and similar start-ups have chosen Discord as their communications platform of choice. 

48-hour deadline

When a user logs into Discord, the platform installs a small token onto the computer, so that the user doesn’t need to authenticate every time they come back. Stealing this token would allow threat actors access to the victim’s account, even without knowing their passwords or other login details.

Other than that, AXLocker is nothing out of the ordinary. Once triggered, the malware targets specific file extensions and avoids some folders. It encrypts the files using the AES algorithm, but it doesn’t change their extensions - they remain with their normal filenames. It demands payment in cryptocurrency and gives users 48 hours to comply. 

While the NFT and crypto community is used to cyberattacks and various criminals going after their digital belongings, stealing Discord tokens in the process makes this ransomware attack a lot more potent. 

After all, should an owner, or developer, of such a project, have their Discord tokens taken, crooks could abuse their identity to launch fake campaigns and steal the community members’ NFTs and cryptocurrencies. 

Still, according to BleepingComputer, the targets of AXLocker are first and foremost - consumers. 

There was no word on AXLocker’s distribution method. Usually, threat actors would go for phishing emails, fake landing pages, and social engineering (fake LinkedIn identities, for example) to trick people into downloading and running the malware.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/this-ransomware-will-steal-your-discord-account-and-encrypt-all-your-files-for-good-measure/ar-AA14nqr1?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2405b4966b4a4707d634f07a7a5de3a6

Elon Musk wants Twitter DMs to be more secure, interested in video and voice chat

 

What you need to know

Elon Musk told employees his plan for Twitter 2.0 involves encrypting user DMs.

Musk spoke with Signal's creator and former CEO Moxie Marlinspike about how to go about this with the creator seemingly interested in assisting with the process.

Musk also mentions wanting to offer video and voice chatting features to users through DMs.

It seems as though Elon Musk is interested in encrypting users' DMs on Twitter while also floating the thought of adding a couple of new features.

Musk's new Twitter 2.0 vision has had quite a rocky start after many of the company's remaining employees left, but the billionaire continues pushing through, per a recent meeting held at Twitter's HQ on Monday (via a recording obtained by The Verge). In the meeting, Musk expressed interest in encrypting the private messages sent from user to user on Twitter.

He stated that it "should be the case that I can’t look at anyone’s DMs if somebody has put a gun to my head." To do this, Musk has apparently spoken to the creator of the popular messaging app Signal, Moxie Marlinspike, to possibly help with the feature.

Signal is one of the best messaging apps on Android due to the fact that it has long offered end-to-end encryption. The messaging service in October announced it would soon stop supporting SMS on Android devices for security reasons. This move not only ensures the app's end-to-end encryption keeps your information secure but also assists users in receiving unwelcome messaging fees.

It appears as though their initial talks had gone well, with the former Signal CEO "potentially willing" to assist Twitter with its DM encryption software.

During the meeting, Elon stressed that he does not want users to be concerned about the privacy of their messages from parties inside or outside Twitter, particularly when it comes to data breaches.

Twitter's new CEO didn't stop there as he also expressed his interest in bringing video and voice chat to users, likely through DMs to keep conversations private. It's a feature that is surprisingly absent from the platform, given its presence on messaging apps like Messenger, Instagram, and others.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/elon-musk-wants-twitter-dms-to-be-more-secure-interested-in-video-and-voice-chat/ar-AA14r4Rc?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=4c313ed7362148b5eaeda15f066315b5

Cyber-mercenary group Bahamut strikes again via fake Android VPN apps

 

An infamous cyber-mercenary group is injecting Android devices with a spyware to steal users' conversations, new ESET research has found. 

These malware attacks are launched via fake Android VPN apps, with evidence suggesting the hackers employed malicious versions of SecureVPN, SoftVPN and OpenVPN software. 

Known as Bahamut ATP, the group is thought to be a service for hire that typically launches attacks through spear phishing messages and fake applications. According to previous reports, its hackers have been targeting both organizations and individuals across the Middle East and South Asia since 2016. 

Estimated to have begun in January 2022, ESET researchers believe that the group's campaign of distributing malicious VPNs currently remains ongoing. 

From phishing emails to fake VPNs

"The campaign appears to be highly targeted, as we see no instances in our telemetry data," said Lukáš Štefanko, the ESET researcher who first discovered the malware. 

"Additionally, the app requests an activation key before the VPN and spyware functionality can be enabled. Both the activation key and website link are likely sent to targeted users."

Štefanko explains that, once the app is activated, Bahamut hackers can remotely control the spyware. This means that they are able to infiltrate and harvest a ton of users' sensitive data.

"The data exfiltration is done via the keylogging functionality of the malware, which misuses accessibility services," he said.

From SMS messages, call logs, device locations and any other details, to even encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal, these cybercriminals can spy on virtually anything they found on victims' devices without them knowing it. 

ESET identified at least eight versions of these trojanaized VPN services, meaning that the campaign is well-maintained. 

It is worth noting that in no instance was malicious software associated with the legitimate service, and none of the malware-infected apps were promoted on Google Play. 

The initial distribution vector is still unknown, though. Looking back at how Bahamut ATP usually works, a malicious link could have been sent via email, social media or SMS. 

What do we know about Bahamut APT?

Despite still being not clear who's behind, the Bahamut ATP seems to be a collective of mercenary hackers as their attacks don't really follow a specific political interest.

Bahamut has been prolifically conducting cyberespionage campaigns since 2016, mainly across the Middle East and South Asia. 

The investigative journalism group Bellingcat was the one first exposing their operations in 2017, describing how both international and regional powers actively engaged in such surveillance operations. 

"Bahamut is therefore notable as a vision of the future where modern communications has lowered barriers for smaller countries to conduct effective surveillance on domestic dissidents and to extend themselves beyond their borders," concluded Bellingcat at the time.  

The group was then renamed Bahamut, after the giant fish floating in the Arabian Sea described in Jorge Luis Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings.  

More recently, another investigation highlighted how the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group is increasingly turning on mobile devices as a main target. 

Cybersecurity firm Cyble first spotted this new trend last April, noting that the Bahamut group "plans their attack on the target, stays in the wild for a while, allows their attack to affect many individuals and organizations, and finally steals their data."

Also in this case, researchers stressed the cybercriminals' ability to develop such a well-designed phishing site to trick victims and gain their trust.

As Lukáš Štefanko confirmed for the fake Android apps incident: "The spyware code, and hence its functionality, is the same as in previous campaigns, including collecting data to be exfiltrated in a local database before sending it to the operators’ server, a tactic rarely seen in mobile cyberespionage apps."

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/cyber-mercenary-group-bahamut-strikes-again-via-fake-android-vpn-apps/ar-AA14tDwz?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=306cbb07cc9a424b8c151c84e6e65cdf

What is an MVMe?

 

NVM Express (NVMe) or Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface Specification (NVMHCIS) is an open, logical-device interface specification for accessing a computer's non-volatile storage media usually attached via PCI Express (PCIe) bus. The initialism NVM stands for non-volatile memory, which is often NAND flash memory that comes in several physical form factors, including solid-state drives (SSDs), PCIe add-in cards, and M.2 cards, the successor to mSATA cards. NVM Express, as a logical-device interface, has been designed to capitalize on the low latency and internal parallelism of solid-state storage devices.

Architecturally, the logic for NVMe is physically stored within and executed by the NVMe controller chip that is physically co-located with the storage media, usually an SSD. Version changes for NVMe, e.g., 1.3 to 1.4, are incorporated within the storage media, and do not affect PCIe-compatible components such as motherboards and CPUs.

By its design, NVM Express allows host hardware and software to fully exploit the levels of parallelism possible in modern SSDs. As a result, NVM Express reduces I/O overhead and brings various performance improvements relative to previous logical-device interfaces, including multiple long command queues, and reduced latency. The previous interface protocols like AHCI were developed for use with far slower hard disk drives (HDD) where a very lengthy delay (relative to CPU operations) exists between a request and data transfer, where data speeds are much slower than RAM speeds, and where disk rotation and seek time give rise to further optimization requirements.

NVM Express devices are chiefly available in the form of standard-sized PCI Express expansion cards and as 2.5-inch form-factor devices that provide a four-lane PCI Express interface through the U.2 connector (formerly known as SFF-8639). Storage devices using SATA Express and the M.2 specification which support NVM Express as the logical-device interface are a popular use-case for NVMe and have become the dominant form of solid-state storage for servers, desktops, and laptops alike.

Background

Historically, most SSDs used buses such as SATA, SAS or Fibre Channel for interfacing with the rest of a computer system. Since SSDs became available in mass markets, SATA has become the most typical way for connecting SSDs in personal computers; however, SATA was designed primarily for interfacing with mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs), and it became increasingly inadequate for SSDs, which improved in speed over time. For example, within about five years of mass market mainstream adoption (2005–2010) many SSDs were already held back by the comparatively slow data rates available for hard drives—unlike hard disk drives, some SSDs are limited by the maximum throughput of SATA.

High-end SSDs had been made using the PCI Express bus before NVMe, but using non-standard specification interfaces. By standardizing the interface of SSDs, operating systems only need one common device driver to work with all SSDs adhering to the specification. It also means that each SSD manufacturer does not have to design specific interface drivers. This is similar to how USB mass storage devices are built to follow the USB mass-storage device class specification and work with all computers, with no per-device drivers needed.

NVM Express devices are also used as the building block of the burst buffer storage in many leading supercomputers, such as Fugaku Supercomputer, Summit Supercomputer and Sierra Supercomputer, etc

History

The first details of a new standard for accessing non-volatile memory emerged at the Intel Developer Forum 2007, when NVMHCI was shown as the host-side protocol of a proposed architectural design that had Open NAND Flash Interface Working Group (ONFI) on the memory (flash) chips side. A NVMHCI working group led by Intel was formed that year. The NVMHCI 1.0 specification was completed in April 2008 and released on Intel's web site.

Technical work on NVMe began in the second half of 2009. The NVMe specifications were developed by the NVM Express Workgroup, which consists of more than 90 companies; Amber Huffman of Intel was the working group's chair. Version 1.0 of the specification was released on 1 March 2011,[19] while version 1.1 of the specification was released on 11 October 2012. Major features added in version 1.1 are multi-path I/O (with namespace sharing) and arbitrary-length scatter-gather I/O. It is expected that future revisions will significantly enhance namespace management. Because of its feature focus, NVMe 1.1 was initially called "Enterprise NVMHCI". An update for the base NVMe specification, called version 1.0e, was released in January 2013. In June 2011, a Promoter Group led by seven companies was formed.

The first commercially available NVMe chipsets were released by Integrated Device Technology (89HF16P04AG3 and 89HF32P08AG3) in August 2012. The first NVMe drive, Samsung's XS1715 enterprise drive, was announced in July 2013; according to Samsung, this drive supported 3 GB/s read speeds, six times faster than their previous enterprise offerings. The LSI SandForce SF3700 controller family, released in November 2013, also supports NVMe. A Kingston HyperX "prosumer" product using this controller was showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 and promised similar performance. In June 2014, Intel announced their first NVM Express products, the Intel SSD data center family that interfaces with the host through PCI Express bus, which includes the DC P3700 series, the DC P3600 series, and the DC P3500 series. As of November 2014, NVMe drives are commercially available.

In March 2014, the group incorporated to become NVM Express, Inc., which as of November 2014 consists of more than 65 companies from across the industry. NVM Express specifications are owned and maintained by NVM Express, Inc., which also promotes industry awareness of NVM Express as an industry-wide standard. NVM Express, Inc. is directed by a thirteen-member board of directors selected from the Promoter Group, which includes Cisco, Dell, EMC, HGST, Intel, Micron, Microsoft, NetApp, Oracle, PMC, Samsung, SanDisk and Seagate.

In September 2016, the CompactFlash Association announced that it would be releasing a new memory card specification, CFexpress, which uses NVMe.

NVMe Host Memory Buffer (HMB) added in version 1.2 of the NVMe specification. HMB allows SSDs to utilize the host's DRAM, which can improve the I/O performance for DRAM-less SSDs

Babylon Zoo - Spaceman (Radio Edit)

Warzone 2.0 is Coming out Today!!!!

 

Warzone 2.0 is coming out today at (16th November 2022 6PM GMT) featuring an all new map called Al Mazrah, new Gulag, DMZ mode, Battle Pass and pre-load.

Please stop playing Destiny 2’s PS4 version on PS5, Bungie says

Playing Destiny 2 on your PlayStation 5? You might actually be playing the PlayStation 4 version. Bungie cheerfully reminded Guardians on Thursday to check the version they have installed.

“We’ve noticed a notable number of PS5 players playing the PS4 version of Destiny 2 on their current-generation consoles,” Bungie wrote. [Is the number itself notable, or is the number notable because it was noticed? —Ed.] The developers reminded players that “for the optimal experience for PlayStation goodness,” a free, upgraded version for PS5 is available — and has been since late 2020.

However, at the time we pointed out that “the PS5’s clunky interface [makes it] more complicated and annoying to download the upgrade on Sony’s new console.” Perhaps that accounts for why Bungie notably noticed a noteworthy number of people still logging into the PS4 game on PS5.

Find the Destiny 2 tile in your PS5’s Game Library.

Press Options.

Select “View Game.”

When you are taken to Destiny 2’s page on the PlayStation Store, click the three dot menu item.

That brings up another menu item (it says either PS5 | Full | Destiny 2 or PS4 and PS5 | Full | Destiny 2), which sends you to the PlayStation Store’s page for the upgrade. There’s a big download button there.

Destiny 2 players upgrading to the PS5 version should see a noticeable improvement in frame rate and resolution, as the game supports 4K and 60 frames per second. There are also improvements to loading times. Plus, you’re logging in with the same account, so everything carries over, and you can still partake in cross-play with your PS4 friends.

Source:https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/gaming/please-stop-playing-destiny-2-s-ps4-version-on-ps5-bungie-says/ar-AA13KEmr?ocid=anaheim-ntp-feeds&cvid=8740e23bc2454c91b487f1dc3af68ed2

The best free Xbox Series X games you can play right now!!

 It can be a bit hard to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the best free Xbox Series X games. There are plenty of options out there, and the market for these sorts of video games is only continuing to expand. There’s something out there for nearly everyone, thankfully.

As always, it’s important to be wary of microtransactions and the monetization aspects of how free-to-play games operate – nearly all of which are different – but the vast majority of titles only gate cosmetic content behind purchases. Even if you don’t spend a single dime, the Xbox Series X titles below should give you a large amount of fun regardless. So keep reading for our list of the best free Xbox Series X games available right now.

Apex Legends 

EA’s free-to-play shooter appeared to arrive overnight, but instantly challenged Fortnite’s grip on the battle royale genre. By the end of its first month, February 2019, Apex Legends had reached over 50 million players, and hasn’t looked back since. The squad-based shooter’s endearing characters, and defined skill classes are likely why it's maintained a solid player base for the last two and a half years, and developer Respawn Entertainment – they of Titanfall and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order fame – has done a fine job supporting's its runaway hit. Unlike Fortnite’s lore-driven challenges, there isn’t too much in the way of guided strategy here – in Apex Legends, what you see is what you get, and it’s all the better for it! 

Brawlhalla

An accomplished, slick, and refined take on the Smash Brothers formula that’s brimming with energy and character. Speaking of character, Brawlhalla’s span all sorts of historical archetypes – from Vikings to Valkyries, medieval knights to Samurai warriors, and, of course, 1930s gangster because, well, why not? With that, expect chaotic bust-ups, high-flying aerial duels, and general bedlam on the battlefield in a game which, the longer you play, appears to stand alone despite paying constant deference to its inspiration. Another boon for Brawlhalla is its friendly free-to-play model – which offers players a limited selection of its character ensemble on free rotation, the rest of which can be bought with either in-game currency or real-world pennies.

Call of Duty Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone drops 150 players into a map, lets them complete contracts, collect loot and, of course, shoot loads of holes in each other with the refined FPS prowess we’ve come to expect from the enduring shooter series. Regular content drops and dense battlefields with plenty of hidey-holes make cautious, stealth-driven strategy as feasible as all-guns-blazing warfare – all of which is complemented by intuitive UI and a smart, easily accessible inventory system, allowing you to focus on what matters most: exercising your hair-trigger finger again and again again.

Destiny 2 

Destiny 2 may have begun life as a regular old pay-to-play game, but its 2019 update, New Light, flipped the free-to-play switch for all to enjoy on a complimentary basis. New Light gives players a tailor-made variation of the full-fat experience that’s focused on the content prior to Shadowkeep – the major expansion which landed alongside New Light. With that, expect a host of weapons, modes, activities, and all the general space opera shoot ‘em up gubbins you’ve to expect from Bungie’s sci-fi shooter series. This is of course a best free Xbox Series X games list, but Destiny 2’s crossplay support lets players play across PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Knockout City 

Knockout City might not immediately be on everyone’s radar, but the spunky free-to-play title from Velan Studios absolutely should be. The family-friendly brawler has multiple different modes where dodgeball maniacs take each other on in teams or free-for-all matches.

While there are plenty of team-based brawlers on the market, Knockout City stands out in part due to its stylish graphics and cosmetic options as well as its frenetic dodgeball-based gameplay. And even if you can’t manage to grab a ball itself, your teammates can ball up to function as one themself. There’s nothing quite like it.

Fortnite: Battle Royale

Fortnite is the battle royale ‘em up that followed the incredible overnight success of PUBG Battlegrounds and, somehow, made it even bigger. You know the format by now – 100 unarmed players parachute into the same map, scramble for loot and weapons, and ultimately fight to the death. The twist from Epic Games’ constantly evolving juggernaut, however, lets players build things on the fly – using gathered resources to throw up shelters, brick walls, and sky-scraping stairways as a means of defense and/or to gain a better vantage point in battle. As the ever-shortening circle of death squeezes the battlefield in its closing stages, building upwards can become increasingly important, making shootouts in the final stretch especially exciting.

Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite isn't just one of the best Halo games of all-time, it's also free-to-play! Well, its multiplayer is. 343 Industries released Halo Infinite's multiplayer across PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in late 2021, and we're having a damned good time with it. The FPS is back to its best, returning to the arena-shooter roots that helped propel Halo 3 to legendary status back in the Xbox 360 years. While Xbox Game Studios is still trying to iron out some of the creases in progression and content rotation, the core experience is undoubtedly excellent. 

MultiVersus 

The free-to-play platform brawler MultiVersus gets compared to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. franchise frequently, and for good reason: it’s essentially what that game would look like if infused with Warner Bros. properties instead. Regular updates, including the recent release of Black Adam to coincide with the film, means that MultiVersus constantly feels fresh as the meta never really has a chance to completely solidify.

While you could technically speed up the process of unlocking fighters and the like through spending some cash, there’s really no reason to bother. It’s a bit of a chore to unlock, but even the most basic fighters in the roster can be a lot of fun if you’re willing to give them a chance.

PUBG: Battlegrounds

The battle royale that started it all is now free-to-play. PUBG: Battlegrounds took the world by storm when it launched in 2017, inspiring the likes of Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Warzone. The version of the game that exists today is finely-tuned, content-rich, and a whole lot of fun. PUBG is slower and more tactical than the games that followed it – it can be punishing, particularly if you don't have a solid squad around you. But don't let that intimidate you, because PUBG is a truly excellent game that is deserving of your time and attention.

Roblox  

Roblox is a family-friendly combination of GTA Online, Fortnite, and Minecraft that favors creation. Like, really favors creation. Its players tend to belong to younger generations, but that doesn’t stop its most creative minds from contributing upwards of 20 million different projects to the platform on an annual basis – with MMO pet game Adopt Me!, episodic horror game Piggy, and RPG school-themed venture Royale High among its most popular servers. Fold in themed events, such as community-wide Easter egg hunts, and virtual Secret Santas, and Roblox has more than earned its place among the best free Xbox Series X games out there today.

Splitgate

Splitgate is carrying the flag for old school shooters. Even with Halo Infinite doing its best to re-capture its arena shooter roots, Splitgate feels like a more mechanically faithful interpretation of the Halo 3 era. Which is weird, given that it also incorporates a portal system, bringing a new degree of dimensionality to its tightly designed spaces. Splitgate is a lot of fun and only getting better now that it's leaving its 'early access' period for its first full season of play. 

Warframe

The Warframe which exists today is not the same game that launched in 2013. That’s thanks to the countless updates developer Digital Extremes has shoveled into the willing hands of the sci-fi shooter’s hardcore fan-base, who, similar to communities such as EVE: Online, travel the world to meet and socialize with their fellow Tenno. With an engaging story mode, PvE quests, competitive deathmatches, and breakneck multiplayer, there’s plenty to keep free-to-play patrons going here – to the point where, with so much going on, it’s quite amazing that Warframe can still be enjoyed in full without spending a penny. Also: filling the shoes of a space ninja will never, ever get boring.

Rocket League 

Rocket League set the gold standard for vehicular sports video games back when it first released and it has only continued to be popular since transitioning to a free-to-play model in late 2020. While certain cosmetic additions and the like are now available for purchase, the base gameplay of cars rushing a large ball around an enclosed field while performing acrobatic stunts to score goals remains unchanged.

Compared to some of the other free video games on the Xbox Series X, Rocket League requires a certain amount of skill and understanding of timing to truly enjoy, and good players can easily stomp bad ones, but all it takes is a little practice to be zooming circles around other players.

The Sims 4

The Sims franchise in general needs little introduction, and The Sims 4 is just the latest and greatest version of the long-running simulation game. Players customize characters, homes, and more while managing the daily lives of their simulated people like who they hang out with and what kind of work they do.

While initially launched as a product you simply buy, The Sims 4 recently went completely free. That’s just the base game, however. If you’re looking for some of the wilder options like, say, high school life or Star Wars, you’ll need to shell out for the game’s DLC packs. Even so, the base version is charming enough even if the console’s controller layout is a bit wonky.

Fall Guys 

Did you know that Falls Guys is free now? You can just download it and… start stumbling across obstacles courses and the like, no money required. While it was initially released in 2020, it relaunched as a free-to-play title when it released on additional platforms earlier this year – and that includes the Xbox Series X|S.

There are, of course, technically ways in which you can spend money in Fall Guys, but they are purely cosmetic and a number of goodies can be earned simply through playing. And while it might not have the same amount of popularity as it did immediately out of the gate, the title is regularly updated and there are still plenty of fellow beans to play against in multiple stumbling rounds to try and win digital crowns as a symbol of your success and skill.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/gaming/the-best-free-xbox-series-x-games-you-can-play-right-now/ar-AAPzs99?ocid=anaheim-ntp-feeds&cvid=eb65197382ee4398a4f42750bf5b4a0e