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19 Jul 2025

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The art made out of plastic bottles and old toys
Artist Anya Beaumont was inspired by "horror" of realising the amount of plastic in her own home.

Free right now! Civilization VI with all expansions and DLC packs
Fans of complex strategy games, rejoice! Because this week Epic Games is offering a free PC game that’s truly worthwhile. Starting yesterday, you can get Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Platinum Edition for free! The Platinum Edition not only includes the excellent base game, but also the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm expansions, plus the six DLC packs that came out post-release. It’s a must-have for fans of the series, but it’s especially great as an entry point for Civ newcomers. What makes Civilization VI so special? The Civ series has earned itself a special reputation among strategy gamers, as it combines all the aspects you could wish for—global strategy with different factions, city building, tech trees, and combat—all at a very high level with deeply complex systems. All of these elements take place on a hex map, which is also an iconic feature of Civilization games. Civilization VI is one of the best-rated games with a current score of 88 on Metacritic. The most recently released Civilization VII wasn’t as well-received by fans, so newcomers should try this one first. In the Platinum Edition, you get all of the following content: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI Civilization VI: Rise and Fall (expansion) Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (expansion) Civilization VI – Viking Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Poland Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Australia Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Nubia Civilization & Scenario Pack Civilization VI – Khmer and Indonesia Civilization & Scenario Pack If you decide to dive into Civilization VI, you can look forward to many sleepless nights thanks to its addictive “one more turn” nature. It’s great solo (local) and multiplayer (online). How to get Civilization VI for free All you have to do is log in to the Epic Games Store with an existing account and download Civilization VI. If you do this by 11 AM on July 24th, you can keep the whole game afterwards at no extra cost. This is an insane deal since Epic normally charges $79.99 for Civilization Vi: Platinum Edition. Get it for free while you can!

Microsoft targets better Windows 11 stability with stricter driver standards
Windows 11 25H2 is coming this fall, which is right around the corner. But until recently, Microsoft hasn’t given us many details about it, so we’re still pretty much in the dark. But that darkness is slowly receding… and we’re starting to get a better picture of what to expect. The latest news is that Microsoft will be upping the “static analysis” requirements for driver certification, a move meant to improve the security and stability of Windows 11 25H2. According to the Windows Driver Developer blog post from earlier this week, all drivers will be required to undergo a so-called static analysis. “Static analysis is a foundational requirement of Windows Hardware Compatibility Program,” says the post. “The validation … [identifies] potential issues in driver code before deployment.” In other words, companies that want their hardware designated as reliably compatible with Windows 10 and 11 will need their drivers reviewed and validated by Microsoft. Windows 11 25H2 will probably be released at the end of September, but expect the rollout to take a number of months. Further reading: Important Windows settings to change ASAP