This week in games: Free Overwatch, free Elder Scrolls Online, and more Rainbow Six: Siege

Were finally starting to wind down the year. Watch Dogs 2 hits PC in a week and a half, Dead Rising 4 shortly thereafter, and…thats pretty much it for 2016. Soon itll be time for Game of the Year discussions and then the steady drumbeat of Spring 2017.

But for now, the news rolls on. This weekend its a bunch of free games (including a few days of Overwatch), plus Remedy teases a fresh trailer, Rainbow Six gets another year of add-ons, and Total War goes for broke. This is gaming news for November 14 through 18.

Giving thanks early

If youre one of the dozen or so people whove yet to play Overwatch, set aside some time this weekendBlizzards hero-based shooter is free from today through November 21 at 4 p.m. Pacific. Download Battle.net and create an account if you havent already. Youll see Overwatch in the sidebar. All your progress from the trial carries over to the full game, if you decide to buy in once your free access runs out.

Shoot-y games not your style? You can also hop into Elder Scrolls Online for free, also through November 21. Its been a while since I played, but Ive heard its a bit better than it was at launch. Its no Morrowind, butwell, its free this weekend.

Okay, neither of those sounds good? Well I hope you like winter sports because Ubisofts open-world ski/snowboard/wingsuit(?)/whatever game Steep is in open beta this weekendif you can bear with Uplay.

Wake me up

Over the summer, Remedy 1) Teased two new games and 2) Said that neither of them is Alan Wake 2. So keep that in mind before you get your hopes up.

That being said, Remedys teasing a trailer for a new game. All weve got is this 20-second video of Sam Lake saying hes Sam Lake. Good enough for me.

Long haul truckin

American Truck Simulator captured the time-honored American tradition of roaring down an open road in a big rig, but it certainly didnt capture how damn big the US of A actually is. Good news, then: SCS Software went back in and redid the entire map, making it quite a bit larger in the process. The old map was 1:35 scale, the new (beta) map is 1:20. Time to load up on 7/11 taquitos.

Now if only we could somehow combine American Truck Simulator with Google Earth VR for maximum realism.

Total-er Warhammer

Total War: Warhammer is the strategy game that just keeps on giving this year, with yet another suite of DLC prepped to launch on December 6. This time its Realm of the Wood Elves with uh…Wood Elves, believe it or not. New campaign, new units, new leadersbut unfortunately the same ridiculous $19 price as the last DLC, from which the games Steam rating has still not recovered. Anyway, heres a trailer:

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Total-est War

The Total War news doesnt stop there though. Another historical Total War is on the horizon, and according to an interview with Eurogamer the series is going to an era we [meaning Creative Assembly] havent tackled yet. Considering the breadth of Empire and Medieval, best bets on something modern or something real old.

And the strange development saga of Total War: Arena continues. According to PC Gamer, publishing rights for the free-to-play multiplayer title are being handed over from Sega to Wargamings latest subdivision, Wargaming Allianceand theres still no release date in sight. Bizarre.

Press 0 for Operator

Rainbow Six Siege is coming up on its one-year anniversary, but the end isnt imminent yet. According to Ubisoft the game will receive at least another year of stuffmeaning four maps and eight new characters, if its anything like 2016. Not bad.