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Play the unsettling opening of 'Prey' for free
With epics like Zelda and Persona 5 still occupying many players' time, the idea of spending more hard-earned cash on another $60 game is a big ask. It seems as though publishers have realized this too, as in a bid to drive sales for the upcoming Prey, Bethesda is letting you try it before you buy. Starting on April 27th, PS4 and Xbox One owners will be able to dive into the game's unsettling first hour free of charge. With the full game not launching until May 5th, this gives console gamers a week to figure out whether Prey's worth the cash. Putting you in the shoes of Morgan Yu, this sci-fi adventure sees players exploring the seemingly idyllic Talos 1 before you discover the space station's terrifying secret.
Xbox One launch title 'Ryse' is free to play next month
April is fast approaching, which means another handful of games will be free to play on Xbox One through the Games with Gold program. During the course of next month, four titles -- two for Xbox One and two for Xbox 360 -- will be free to download. The most notable of the group, Ryse: Son of Rome, will be available for players to download during the entire month of April. If you'll recall, Ryse was an Xbox One launch title back in 2013.
Play both 'Banner Saga' games for free via Twitch Prime
Now here's an offer from Twitch and Banner Saga creator Stoic you can't refuse. Twitch Prime members (that is, anyone on Amazon Prime) can download the original Banner Saga for free right now, and on March 2nd, also get Banner Saga 2 gratis. But wait, there's more: For everyone who downloads and plays either game through the Twitch launcher, Amazon will donate a dollar to the Banner Saga 3 game currently in funding on Kickstarter.
You don't need to sign in to use Skype anymore
Unless you have Skype configured to boot-up when you start your computer, starting the program, logging in and connecting to a call can be mildly tedious. It's not anymore -- Microsoft just announced a new 'Guest' mode for Skype that makes user accounts almost completely optional. Now if you want to join a Skype call, all you have to do is click a link and enter your name.
Play 'Overwatch' for free all next weekend
If you already aren't one of Overwatch's 20 million players, developer Blizzard Entertainment wants to fix that. Starting next Friday at 1pm Eastern, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners can play the wildly popular shooter for free. And this isn't just a limited slice of the game, either. The entire roster of heroes and maps are available across Quick Play, Custom Games and the Weekly Brawl.
Vudu offers ad-supported movies 'on us'
For years, Walmart-owned Vudu has had a reputation for its high picture quality and ties to Ultraviolet digital copies. Now, the video on-demand store is trying something new: free movies. There is a catch, however, as the free flicks will contain advertising breaks. Otherwise, viewers will be able to log in from computers, phones and TVs to watch movies like True Grit, Mad Max and more without paying a dime. It's an interesting scheme, and if anything, may get more people to try out the Vudu app installed on their TV, game console or Chromecast.
One month after going free, 'Evolve' averages 15,000 players
Pick a random moment in June and you'd likely find about 100 people playing Turtle Rock Studios' Evolve on Steam. That's not a lot of players in general, but this number is especially sad for a game billed as an online multiplayer extravaganza. One and a half years after launch, it looked like Evolve was dying. And then, in July, Evolve's active player base shot up to an average of 15,400 at any given time on Steam, according to current lead designer Brandon Yanez. This didn't happen by accident: Developers at Turtle Rock knew they had to take drastic action to save Evolve and so, on July 7th, they did. They made the game free on PC.
Clearing 'Trials of the Blood Dragon' demo unlocks full PC game
Game demos typically are little more than a bullet point in a publisher's marketing plan designed to give folks an early taste of what a game might end up being while simultaneously driving pre-order numbers northward. But for Trials of the Blood Dragon, Ubisoft is trying something different. If you download the, err, trial version of the game on PC and complete the available challenges within a certain threshold of perfection, you'll unlock the full version of the game. Of course, you'll have to suffer through using Ubisoft's Uplay interface to do so, but that's probably a lot less work than getting 15 faults or fewer across the some 30 available stages.
France's free coding school is coming to Silicon Valley
For 3 years, Paris residents wanting to learn programming have had access to 42, a school that offers a radical approach to technical education: there are no teachers, no lesson plans... and no tuition fees. As long as you're between 18 and 30 and thrive in a 4-week coding challenge, you can spend 3 to 5 years mastering software development at no cost and on very flexible terms. Sound good? Well, you won't have to move to France to give it a shot. The 42 team has announced that it's opening a 200,000 square foot Silicon Valley-area campus (in Fremont, to be exact), with applications beginning immediately. The first class starts in November.
France wants Apple to pay $55 million over strict carrier deals
Have you noticed that many carriers give prominent placement to the iPhone in their catalogs, with virtually identical marketing? That's because Apple gets to dictate some pretty strict terms to providers that want the iPhone in their roster... and France isn't happy about it. The country's competition regulators have launched a complaint against Apple that asks the tech giant to pay a total of €48.5 million (about $55.3 million) and change carrier deal clauses that are reportedly illegal. If you ask officials, these pacts are extremely lopsided.
EA's Vault is free for Xbox One Gold members next week
The EA Access Vault creaks open next week on Xbox One for those with an Xbox Live Gold membership, which enables many of the console's online functions. EA's Vault will be open from January 19th to 24th for Gold folks. Its library features 14 games, including Battlefield Hardline, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Titanfall, FIFA 15 and Madden 15.
Watch Amazon's 'Mozart in the Jungle' for free this weekend
To celebrate its two Golden Globe wins, Amazon is letting you watch its original series Mozart in the Jungle for free this weekend. Starting tomorrow at midnight ET, you'll be able to stream the show without a Prime membership until midnight Sunday local time. During the awards ceremony this week, the show won Best Musical or Comedy Series and Gael García Berna won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series. This brought Amazon's Golden Globe win total to four following Tranparent's wins in the same categories last year. [Image credit: Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images]
Play 'Threes' for free in your browser right now
Threes, the adorable number-squishing, tile-sliding puzzle game, is available to play for free (and without ads) in browsers via desktop and mobile devices. The game is otherwise free (with ads) on Android and iOS, or you can spend $2 for a version without commercial breaks. Designer Asher Vollmer and illustrator Greg Wohlwend announced the browser edition during a Reddit AMA on Thursday.
Online multiplayer is free this weekend on PS4
Sony is lifting its PlayStation Plus requirement for online multiplayer access on PlayStation 4 this weekend. This means online multiplayer will be free for all PS4 players from Friday, December 11th at 12:01AM PT to Sunday, December 13th at 11:59PM PT. Playing online usually requires a PlayStation Plus subscription, which costs $10 monthly, $18 for a three-month bundle or $50 for an entire year. A Plus membership also guarantees at least two free games and a lineup of discounts every month.
Download every 'Tribes' game for free
Fancy yourself a fan of playing awesome PC shooters online? Boy howdy, do I have a story for you: Developer Hi-rez Studios has released every game in its Tribes series for free on its website as part of the franchise's 21st birthday celebration. That means everything from Starseige: Tribes to the free-to-play Tribes: Ascend is available right now, gratis. And you don't even have to buy it a drink -- the party's on Hi-rez's dime! As if you had any big plans for this weekend anyway.
'Titanfall' is going mobile
Titanfall, the mech-based multiplayer shooter from the creators of Call of Duty, will land on iOS and Android in some form in 2016. Titanfall studio Respawn Entertainment has partnered with free-to-play publisher Nexon and mobile developer Particle City in a multi-year, multi-game deal. There are no details about the mechanics or style of the coming Titanfall mobile games, but considering Nexon's involvement, it's a good bet that they'll be free with in-app payments. "Nexon's unrivaled publishing network and free-to-play expertise will allow Titanfall to reach new global audiences. And with Particle City, we are closely collaborating to create all-new standalone games with original gameplay experiences that expand the Titanfall universe to players everywhere," Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella says in a press release.
A 'Quake Live' Steam update raises the game's price from $0 to $10
Quake Live, a highly competitive first-person shooter from Doom studio id Software, has been free since it launched in 2010. Rather, it had been free. On Wednesday, long-time players booted up the game to find it now costs $10 on Steam and no longer offers subscription options for serious fans. The move is part of Quake Live's transition to Steamworks, which allows players to use their Steam display names in-game, receive Steam stats and achievements, and download new content through the Steam Workshop. "By retiring our services and subscription service, all players now have the same benefits and features in-game," the Quake Live team says. The move also erases all previous game data, which, for some players, is five years' worth of clan-building and killing. Many players were surprised (and some were enraged) by today's news.
Telltale's 'Game of Thrones' first season ends next month
Beware, for the night is dark and full of terrors folks: Telltale Games is wrapping the first season of its Game of Thrones series, Iron from Ice soon. When the season finale, dubbed "The Ice Dragon," releases next month on the 17th, Telltale says it'll be the first time that an episode hits each platform simultaneously (Android, iOS, Mac, PC, Playstation and Xbox). What's more, the story-focused developer says that the finale will provide "a uniquely harrowing conclusion" for every player based on the decisions you've made thus far. If I know anything about Telltale and Game of Thrones that means a number of characters are going to die. Probably viciously. Need a place to start? Telltale's using a classic pusher move and is offering the first episode for free. Try not getting attached to anyone.
Adobe ditches the Creative Cloud requirement for Lightroom mobile
Adobe's Lightroom mobile apps were already free to download. However, the software still required a Creative Cloud login or for you to own the desktop version to get any real use out of it. Well, that's not the case anymore. Adobe nixed the membership requirement for Lightroom on iOS this week, and it'll soon to the same for the Android version that debuted earlier this year. Now that the photo-editing app is really free to use on your phone or tablet, you're free to add it to your photo-editing arsenal. There's a smattering of new features as well, including a Dehaze filter to improve photo quality, Targeted Adjustment tool for focused tweaks, an in-app camera for snapshots and more. As we previously reported, you can also select photos for retouching in Photoshop Fix before easily returning to Lightroom thanks to the newfangled Creative Sync technology. New versions of both Lightroom mobile for iPhone and iPad are available in iTunes now.
Experience bullet time in Epic's crazy VR demo
Game-tech powerhouse Epic Games and its Unreal Engine are capable of some seriously impressive stuff, and now the North Carolina-based outfit wants you to experience what it's capable of in the virtual reality space. "Showdown" is the demo that the outfit's been showing off at industry events for the past year or so (I got to try it at CES back in January) and it's by far the most bad-ass bullet-time walk toward a hulking, missile-happy, bipedal robot I've ever experienced. The path is predetermined, sure, but as the street explodes into chaos around you, it's entirely possible to duck down or peer around objects like pop cans or even cars as they hurtle toward you in slow motion.
