Rockets, flirting and bruised egos on Steam Early Access

Steam launched its Early Access program in 2013, allowing developers to publish and sell incomplete, in-progress builds of their games on the internet's largest digital distribution hub. And publish they did -- by May 2014, more games had launched on Steam that year than in all of 2013, partially thanks to Early Access. This contributed to the gaming industry's ongoing digital revolution, where publishers shifted away from shipping physical products, indies were on the rise and Kickstarter changed how everyday players interacted with game creators. The revolution continues to simmer today and developers, especially independent ones, are still figuring out what to do with all of these new tools -- including Early Access.%Gallery-slideshow284498%
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Watch Wolfenstein: The Old Blood's Brutal Launch Trailer

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, a standalone prequel to last year's Wolfenstein: The New Order, is available now on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The mark the game's release, Bethesda has released a launch trailer that sets up the story and introduces some of the new elements, such as the brutal pipe weapon.

The Old Blood is available now across digital channels for $20. A disc-based version will be available in Australia/New Zealand on May 14, followed by a boxed release in Europe on May 15.
The game comes with eight chapters spread across two main campaigns: Rudi Jäger and the Den of Wolves and The Dark Secrets of Helga Von Schabbs You play as BJ Blazkowicz in the year 1946 as the Nazis are on the verge of securing victory in World War II. In the first chapter, you break into Castle Wolfenstein in an effort to steal the coordinates to General Deathshead's compound.
In the second, you follow the coordinates to the city of Wulfburg "where an obsessed Nazi archaeologist is exhuming mysterious artefacts that threaten to unleash a dark and ancient power."
Overall, developer MachineGames is aiming to achieve a "pulp B-movie vibe" for The Old Blood.

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Engadget giveaway: win a gaming headset and sound bar courtesy of Polk!

This week's giveaway goes out to all the Xbox One owners out there (and even future adopters). Polk Audio collaborated with Microsoft to fine tune some of its gaming-centric gear and we've got a set of prize packages for a few lucky Engadget readers. First off, we have the Striker ZX headset, which offers wireless connectivity for Xbox owners and an omni-directional boom mic for in-game chats or phone calls. Also, when the coast is clear, you'll be able to fire up Polk's N1 Gaming SurroundBar for open-air audio immersion. The company worked alongside designers from Halo and Forza to provide optimized sound experiences for the games in addition to its Music and Cinema settings. You can also connect to the sound bar with your Bluetooth devices and aptX support is on the menu. It has its own Sub Bass tech, but if you're a glutton for punishment, you can add your own subwoofer to the mix, too. It's a trifecta this week, with three pairs of speakers and headsets ready to ship out to a trio of lucky winners. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget for up to three chances at winning!
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