Microsoft is offering a six-month free trial to the premium version of its Microsoft Teams business chat/collaboration application, a part of the Office 365 suite. The move comes as fears of the coronavirus outbreak cause many businesses to have their employees work from home.

Companies and businesses that take advantage of the six-month free trial of Teams premium will gain access to many of the application’s features which aren’t available of the free plan—including better access to scheduling and meeting features. Additionally, Microsoft says it will begin to allow users on the free Teams plan to schedule meetings starting March 10. The move promotes public health safety by making it easier to work from home.

At Microsoft, the health and safety of employees, customers, partners and communities is our top priority. By making Teams available to all for free for six months, we hope that we can support public health and safety by making remote work even easier. https://t.co/e8aaocLzYD

— JP Courtois (@JP_Courtois) March 3, 2020

Microsoft has recently begin promoting Teams as the place for employees to access from anywhere, likely as the result of the increased demand from working from home. A Microsoft employee from Shanghai also shared some tips for those who will be taking their work to their homes.

While coronavirus concerns have resulted in the cancellation of numerous tech events including Microsoft’s summit, the company says it will continue to monitor the situation before it decides on whether or not to cancel this year’s Build event.

Will you be working from home? What do you think about Microsoft’s promotion? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments area below.

Microsoft and Accenture have teamed up to help deepen the reach of entrepreneurs and startups that are focused on social impact and sustainability. The collaboration is part of the companies’ shared vision to amplify the societal impact of emerging technology and benefit a million people by democratizing access.

As part of the initiative, Microsoft Research India and Accenture Labs will help social enterprise startups test and validate proofs-of-concept, conduct design thinking sessions to help them re-envision the impact of their solutions, and provide support in exploring and using Microsoft technologies. The partnership will help these startups build scalable solutions and business models with more tangible and lasting benefits.

“Our experience shows that by applying emerging technologies to critical challenges facing society, we can accelerate social transformation. This collaboration is a great illustration of delivering on ‘value’ and ‘values’ – creating tangible business and social value while aligning with people’s values. By providing social impact entrepreneurs with direct access to the combined power of Accenture and Microsoft’s technology expertise, we can help significantly improve access, equality, education, inclusion, health, sustainability, and the environment.”

– Paul Daugherty, Group Chief Executive, Accenture Technology & Chief Technology Officer, Accenture

The program will initially engage with startups in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, leveraging the MSR India Center for Societal impact through Cloud and Artificial Intelligence (SCAI). Initially, the program will focus on the areas of agriculture, education, and healthcare.

Microsoft’s involvement in this initiative is part of Microsoft’s Global Social Entrepreneurship program. The Global Social Entrepreneurship program is designed to empower an ecosystem of tech-enabled startups, focused on addressing important social or environmental challenges. The involvement of Accenture Labs is part of its ongoing Tech4Good program, which is focused on applying emerging technologies to help solve complex social challenges.

It’s no secret that Microsoft has been on a mission to give Windows 10 a new look. We’ve seen new icons roll out across the operating system, as well as the Light Mode introduced in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update. But, there could be bigger things ahead. Indeed, Microsoft recently teased a cleaner looking Windows 10 Start Menu, which appears to be heavily designed by Fluent Design and the new modern Windows icons (via PCWorld.)

As seen in the featured image above, this new Start Menu isn’t much different from the current version of Windows 10 when it comes to layout and overall format. It does, however, look to be more uniform, with less randomly colored backgrounds on the app tiles. Overall, it is cleaner with more uniform colors throughout, allowing the icons to blend in nicely with the acrylic effects delivered by Fluent Design.

This Start Menu was originally discussed by Microsoft during today’s Windows Insider webcast. You can see a still of it in action by watching the webcast on-demand here, at around the 46-minute mark. “The idea is to visually unify the Start menu, [from] a somewhat chaotic color, to something a bit more uniform,” said Mike LaJoie, the person in charge of icon design at Microsoft.

Rumors have previously said that Windows 10’s Live Tiles might be dead in the future, but judging from what Microsoft PM Brandon LeBlanc said during the webcast, the Live Tiles are here to stay. As the image of the Start Menu is still, we can’t tell if they’re present in this new Start Menu. However, LeBlanc mentioned that “Those with Live Tiles will still be able to use them.” It could be that users will continue to have full control over Live Tiles and be able to turn them off and on as needed.

Do you think that this new Start Menu is more clean and efficient? Let us know in the comments below.

Great news for Halo fans, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is now available on PC as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. This remaster of the original Halo game follows the release of the Halo: Reach remaster on PC and Xbox One in December, and it’s once again available on Xbox Game Pass for PC, the Windows 10 Microsoft Store, and Steam.

The PC version of Halo: CE Anniversary will still let PC gamers switch between remastered and classic game graphics on the fly, and both modes should look pretty good in 4K. Here are all the power user features you can expect according to 343 Industries:

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary looks and plays better than ever at 60 frames-per-second (or greater) with 4K UHD support, and players can fine-tune their experience with a vast array of options including variable framerate, native mouse/keyboard support and the ability to rebind controls, support for ultra-wide displays and different aspect rations, updates texture/shadow quality and more. Additionally, we’re happy to introduce community-requested features such as the option to use ‘classic’ audio in multiplayer and improvements to Spartan customization

If you have an Xbox Game Pass for PC or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can download Halo: CE Anniversary for free today. The game is also included in the full $39.99 Halo: MCC bundle available on Steam and the Microsoft Store, but you can also purchase it separately for $9.99.

343 Industries is still on track to bring the rest of the Halo games to Halo: MCC on PC throughout the year. You can expect Halo: 2 Anniversary to come next, followed by Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4, the latter being the first Halo game developed by 343 Industries after Bungie went to work on the Destiny franchise.

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Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Developer:
Xbox Game Studios

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Free

Due to the spread of Novel Coronavirus, Microsoft has already canceled both the MVP Summit and its GDC briefing in favor of virtual events. Many have now been wondering if Build 2020, which is set for May 19-21 would be canceled, too.

Although an official decision has not been made yet on that front, the company recently updated its Build 2020 webpage with a message about Coronavirus, saying it will “monitor and make any necessary changes as the situation evolves.” Here’s the statement:

In light of the global health concerns due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Microsoft is monitoring public health guidance in relation to in-person events. At this time, global health authorities have not issued guidance to avoid travel to this location. We are looking carefully at our event calendar as well as our presence at industry events in the coming months. We are not taking decisions lightly, but the health and well-being of our employees, partners, customers and other guests remain our ultimate priority.

We will continue to monitor and make any necessary changes as the situation evolves.

March 2, 2020

Currently, Coronavirus is spreading across the Seattle area, and many Microsoft watchers like Paul Thurrott are doubtful about the status of Build. However, as Microsoft states on the webpage, global health authorities have not yet issued guidance to avoid travel to Seattle, Washington. The company instead insists that it is “monitoring public health guidance in relation to in-person events” and is “looking carefully at [the] event calendar as well as [the] presence at industry events in the coming months.”

While it is still two months out, canceling Build could likely be a huge logistics nightmare for Microsoft. In the statement on the page, the Redmond giant insists it does not take decisions lightly, and wants to put the health and well-being of employees, partners, customers, and other guests first.

There’s been some talk of MVPs, especially if they can’t get refunds for their travel and accommodations, to head to Seattle/Redmond anyway. In a reply to a tweet related to the MVP Summit, former Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar said that people should not be planning to visit Microsoft’s campus, as the company will be locking down visitations with “tons of people working from home.”

Coronavirus is definitely shaking up the conference industry for sure, even outside of Microsoft. Google recently announced it would be re-imagining its Cloud Next ’20 conference as a free, global, digital-first, multi-day event. Adobe also canned its annual summit in Las Vegas in favor of an online event. And, outside of the United States, Microsoft canceled its Ignite Tour in Zurich.

When Apple released the fourth generation MacBook Pro in 2016 it came with a new feature known as the “Touch Bar.” An OLED strip running above the keyboard, the Touch Bar replaced the traditional function keys with multi-touch keys. Depending on which app you use, the Touch Bar is able to adapt and show you various functions, as well as a digital “ESC” key. Many apps in MacOS, including Microsoft’s own Office 365 suite, have special Touch Bar functionality, and in this guide, we’ll show you how to make the most of it in the core Office apps.

Word

In Microsoft Word on Mac OS, there are quite a few useful Touch Bar functions to help you be more productive and skip out common keyboard shortcuts. Starting from left to right, you will find access to a clipboard paste button and a styles button for bold, italics and underline. You’ll also find options for highlighting, followed by text color, and bulleting, numbers, and justification.

Scrolling on the Touch Bar will show additional controls for inserting hyperlinks, photos, and comments. For faster access to opening documents, there’s even a button for opening recent documents. Finally, on the far left, you’ll find one to bring Word full-screen.

It’s worth noting that some of these buttons on the Touch Bar will have secondary functions. Clicking the clipboard gives you quick access to pasting, complete with formatting options. The highlight button will then show you a color wheel and allow you to pick the right color for highlighting. The same also applies to the font color. It’s a quick convenient way of getting to core editing functions and will save you a valuable click.

Excel

Moving on to Excel, the functions of the Touch Bar are quite similar to the ones for Word. Again, left to right, you’ll still have access to some basic editing functionality without using keyboard shortcuts. This includes a paste button, as well as options for formatting for bold, italics and underline. After that, though, the buttons change a bit. There’s a new option for boarders in cells, as well as an option for the cell fill color. That’s then capped off with options for the cell style, and then an option to create a chart.

In terms of secondary functions, the cell border button will give you access to various cell border styles. The Cell fill color, meanwhile, will give you a color picker, as does the font color option. As for the cell style button, you can choose from a variety of styles such as “Good,” “Bad,” or “Neutral.” Finally, the chart button will give you quick picks for charts such as Column, Line, or Pie. Again, this is a quick way of avoiding clicking on the ribbon in Excel for common tasks.

PowerPoint

Next up, there’s PowerPoint. This Office program has perhaps what is the best function for the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro as the functions change based on how you’re using PowerPoint. We’ll be starting first with the functions for editing mode. In this mode, from the left side, you’ll find the clipboard paste option, just as you do in the other Office apps. That’s then followed up by a button to add a new slide and a button to insert a table, photo, and shape. You’ll then find a button to summon the text edit option, followed by a button to open recent files, and another to begin the presentation. We’ll move on to the text edit options next.

With the text edit options for the Touch Bar in PowerPoint on the MacBook. there’s quite a lot similar to Word. There are buttons to bold italics, underline, insert number or bullets, edit the color of text, and change the justification. When in this mode, you can go back to the main view by tapping the ESC key. That will then give you access to additional features such as fill color, outline color, and options to rotate images and change image formats. Again, quite useful, as these are typically buried beneath the right-click menu.

Finally, we’ll talk about how you can use the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro in PowerPoint during a presentation. This is the coolest mode of them all, as here, you’ll be able to see a live preview of your slides. A button on the left of the Touch Bar will allow you to end the show, and the button next to it will show you the progress on the slideshow. You’ll then see a preview of each of the slides, and you’ll be able to drag your way through and touch each slide one by one while seeing it on the screen to move from one to the next. There’s even a mini clock in the Touch Bar to show you the time, and additional controls to switch your screen to the more traditional presentation mode.

Outlook

Much like PowerPoint, the Touch Bar in Outlook will show you different options based on how you use the app. We’ll be starting first with when you’re in your inbox. In this mode, you’ll find a button to switch between the mail and calendar portions of outlook. That’s then followed by options for creating a new message, deleting, arching, moving, and replying to the message. You’ll also find a flag button, too.

Next, there are functionalities for when you’re replying to an email. In this mode, The Touch Bar will have a button to send out your email, followed by an emoji key, and then the clipboard paste button. There are then the standard editing options seen from the rest of Office 365, such as style, font color, and more.

Lastly, there are some functions for the calendar. In this mode, there are options for sorting through the different views: Day, Month, Week, Work Week. There’s even a key to start a new meeting or event. It’s quite the nifty little trick, to help you avoid clicking buttons in the menu bar, or using keyboard shortcuts.

Just a little way to boost productivity

Looking at things all together, these Touch Bar tricks are just one small way to boost your productivity. Instead of having to worry about keyboard shortcuts or where to click in the Office Ribbon, you can slide your fingers up to the Touch Bar instead. It’s just one small thing, though, as we’ve previously explained tips and tricks for many of the Core Office 365 apps. Check out our coverage here for more, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

A couple of games are leaving Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC soon, as seen on the Xbox Game Pass mobile app today (via TrueAchievements). Shenmue I & II, Thimbleweed Park, Litchspeer: Double Speer Edition will be leaving the Console and PC catalogs soon, and you can add to that list Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on Console as well as Titan Quest Anniversary Edition and Apocalipsis on PC.

The Xbox Game Pass Mobile app doesn’t reveal when these games will be removed, but it will likely be later this month. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will actually be the latest high-profile Square Enix to disappear following Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Just Cause 4.

It’s not all bad though as Xbox Game Pass will get two new Xbox Game Studios titles this month with the much-anticipated metroidvania game Ori and the Will of the Wisps (coming March 11), as well as the team brawler Bleeding Edge (coming March 23). Microsoft will likely announce more games very soon, as it usually does at the beginning of every month. If you have yet to try Xbox Game Pass, we remind that you can get your first month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for just $1.

In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, many companies have been canceling pubic events or suggesting employees work from home via telecommuting solutions like Teams or Slack. This is of particular concern in the Seattle area, Microsoft’s home-base where the virus is still spreading.

As a result, Microsoft recently canceled its MVP summit, but that isn’t stopping the company from advertising its products in the wake of the virus. Ironically, some timely new ads for Teams are showing how it is the “Teamwork from anywhere” solution.

Recently, we noticed two of these new Teams ads online. Our managing editor came across an advertisement for Teams on Twitter, which can be seen above. The ad mentions that remote work is made easy for free with Teams and shows an image suggesting how Teamwork can be done from anywhere. In a separate instance, one of our writers also noticed a banner ad for Microsoft Teams on Microsoft’s support website for two-factor verification. The “Learn how” banner mentions how users can keep in touch and stay productive with Teams and Office 365 with working remotely.

This is a fairly engrossing way to draw more attention to Teams. Microsoft previously aired an ad for Teams during the NFL Playoffs in January, and it took jabs at Slack. As a result, it will be interesting to see how this campaign helps boosts Teams’ popularity as Cortanavirus spreads and more companies encourage folks living in impacted cities to work from home.

Several Microsoft apps began to update on Windows 10 devices last week with their new app icons such as Calendar and Mail and now it looks like even more have started to get their icon refresh.

Earlier today, Films & TV (Movies & TV), Microsoft Alarms & Clock, and Groove Music (see above image) all got an update that replaces their old icon with their new one. The app icon update appears to a bit staggered with others claiming that their Calculator, Photos, and Voice Recorder apps have also been refreshed.

Microsoft revealed their intention to update their numerous app icons back in December of 2018 but the rollout has been strangely delayed and randomly implemented across Windows 10, iOS, and Android devices. The company then expanded on this idea in December last year with an even more ambitious icon plan.

Do you like these new app icons? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest and Twitter for more Microsoft app news.

Word is filtering out through Twitter today that the Microsoft MVP Summit, a sometimes annual event bringing some 1500 Microsoft MVP award recipients to Microsoft’s Redmond campus for a week of NDA protected sessions, has been cancelled.

#MVPSummit is officially canceled… Will be a virtual event only #SadPanda ?

— Bas van Kaam (@BasvanKaam) March 2, 2020

Quick update, here’s the notice, as posted by an MVP

#MVPSummit. The latest conf to succumb to the media pressure of the COVID-19 virus. I’ll still attend virtually, but I’m more than disappointed. I’ll wash my hands, not give MVPs hugs, refrain frm licking door handles & promise to sneeze into the crook of my elbow. #MVPBuzz? pic.twitter.com/M7nDz6UqBg

— Darrell as a Service ???? | Modern Workplace Change (@DarrellaaS) March 2, 2020

MVPs have been notified via email about the cancellation. The event was to be held March 15-20, in Bellevue and Redmond, Wa. MVPs tweeting about the cancellation are saying that it will be replaced by a virtual event.

With concern about the COVID-19 Coronavirus spreading, the MVP Summit is one among a growing number to be cancelled or postponed. So far, there’s no word about Microsoft’s Build developer conference, slated for May 19-21 in Seattle, but prospects aren’t probably looking good for any large conference. The Mobile World Conference, Facebook’s F8, and the Game Developer Conference (GDC) have already been cancelled, or in the case of GDC, postponed. So far, Google I/0, set for May 12-14, is still on, as is Build, but obviously plans could change.

The Xbox team unveiled today a new Limited Edition Xbox Controller that looks even cooler than the purple Fortnite Limited Edition controller that launched last year. Indeed, the new Xbox Phantom Magenta controller will use the same translucent design seen on the well-received Phantom Black and Phantom White controllers, but this time with a dark pink design.

This new Limited Edition controller will cost $69.99 and start shipping on May 17, and you can already pre-order it from the Microsoft Store. There’s also a $49.99 officially licensed charging stand that uses the same Phantom Magenta design, and you can pre-order it today before it starts shipping on March 17.

Keep in mind that all existing Xbox accessories will keep working on the upcoming Xbox Series X when it’s released in holiday 2020. We’ll likely see Microsoft launch more Limited Edition controllers throughout the year, and the company really seems to be onto something with this “Phantom” series using a translucent design.

Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

Microsoft’s SwiftKey Keyboard adds support for Dark Mode on Android phones and tablets

SwiftKey on Android has received a new update that has brought Dark Mode for both phones and tablets, The Settings screen has also received a new design.

Ex-Microsoft engineer faces up to 20 years in prison for defrauding company of $10 million

One of Microsoft’s ex-engineers is facing up to 20 years imprisonment for defrauding the company of $10 million. Following a 5-day trial, the ex-engineer was found guilty of 18 federal felonies.

Xbox Series X will support audio ray tracing and resuming games after a reboot

New information surrounding Microsoft’s next gaming console, the Xbox Series X, has been announced. Of note is the console’s ability to resume a game after rebooting the console.

Microsoft updates Q3 FY20 guidance as coronavirus outbreak to impact Windows OEM and Surface revenues

As the Coronavirus continues its course across an increasing number of countries, Microsoft has updated its Q3 FY20 guidance to make note of the impact that coronavirus could have on its financial performance. Notably, Microsoft expects it to impact Windows OEM and Surface revenue.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Microsoft news.

Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Cortana to lose consumer skills in Windows 10 20H1 update, but Alexa integration is here to stay

Microsoft looks to be massively scaling back Cortana as it has started work on removing a number of consumer skills, including music, connected home and third-party skills, as well as ending support for Cortana on unsupported versions of Windows 10, including Windows 10 Mobile.

New Instagram PWA is now available in the Windows 10 Microsoft Store

Instagram is rolling out a new app for Windows 10 to the Microsoft Store. This time, it is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Along with it comes the ability to use Direct Messages via the desktop. For Windows 10 users, hopefully it ends the issue of long delays between updates compared to other platforms.

Windows 10 Start Menu may lose its Live Tiles according to new report

According to a new report, Windows 10’s Start Menu could lose its Live Tiles functionality. The report states that Microsoft could replace Live Tiles with icons.

That’s it for this week. We will be back next week with more Windows 10 news!

Microsoft’s may launch its first dual-screen device a bit sooner than expected according to a new report from Windows Central. The Surface Duo, the company’s first Android device may, start shipping as soon as this summer, with Microsoft possibly confirming the news during a Spring Surface event where Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 could also appear.

“I’m told that Microsoft is hoping to have all the software done by early April, and that Surface Duo could start shipping in limited quantities in time for the summer if everything goes according to plan,” wrote Windows Central’s Zac Bowden. “I expect that this initial launch will be aimed primarily at developers and enthusiasts, with its availability announced in the spring alongside the Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3.”

Sources also told Windows Central that Surface Duo will come with a Snapdragon 855 SoC, 6GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, though there will be different configurations with more RAM and storage. However, Surface Duo using Qualcomm’s flagship processor for 2019 means that it won’t support 5G.

Bowden also has a theory about some of the Surface Duo’s surprising design choices such as the pretty big bezels (for today’s standards), as well as the lack of multiple cameras. This may be because the hardware has been ready for quite some time, before Microsoft decided against using Windows Core OS on Surface Duo in favor of Android:

Surface Duo has had a long, hard journey internally. Microsoft started working on it back in 2016 under the codename Andromeda, and the plan was for Surface Duo to be one of the first products to ship with Windows Core OS. Under those plans, the product was supposed to launch in 2018, but that changed when Microsoft dumped Windows for Android instead.

Because of this, the hardware has essentially been ready to go for two years, with only iterative changes being made to the device since. This might explain why Surface Duo doesn’t have slim bezels or multiple camera sensors. These were only just starting to be a thing on smartphones launching in 2018. In 2020, thin bezels, 5G, and multiple cameras are pretty much the norm.

As of this writing, the Surface Duo page on Microsoft’s website still indicates that the device is “coming holiday 2020.” However, we were wondering earlier this week if a leaked promotional Surface Duo video where the date on the device’s display is 06/18/2020 may actually be teasing the Surface Duo’s launch date. Technically, June 18 is just 3 days ahead of summer, but a June launch doesn’t sound that crazy especially after we’ve seen a video a Surface Duo out in the wild.

The games, Just Cause 4 and Dragon Ball Fighter Z, are now free to play on Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles as part of this week’s Free Play Weekend campaign.

Both games join the previously announced The Division 2 as Xbox One games that can be played in full by anyone with an active Xbox Live Gold subscription from now until the end of Sunday with all game progress being saved to their accounts.

Here’s the official trailers for each game along with their online store links at the bottom of the page.

In addition to being free to play this weekend, all three titles have also had their prices slashed with discounts ranging from 65% to 95% now being activated. The Standard Edition of The Division 2 is now just $2.99 which is kind of insane.

Let us know what games you’ll be playing this weekend and then follow us on Pinterest and Twitter for more Xbox gaming news.

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Just Cause 4

Developer:
Square Enix

Price:
Free

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DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ(Xbox One)

Developer:
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.

Price:
Free

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Tom Clancy’s The Division® 2

Developer:
UBISOFT

Price:
Free

If being able to get Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 for just $2.99 (that’s 95 percent off) wasn’t enough to get you to give it a shot, Ubisoft has something else for you. Starting today until March 2, the game is available for free to those on both Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

On the Xbox One, you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play the game. Additionally, if you enjoyed the game when it was free to play last October for Xbox One, all of your previous saved data will carry over to this renewed trial.

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Tom Clancy’s The Division® 2

Developer:
UBISOFT

Price:
Free

PC owners will be able to access the free-to-play access of the game though either Uplay or the Epic Store. Playstation 4 owners also won’t require a Playstation Plus membership, unlike that of the Xbox One console.

With the sale and the free-to-play trial both going on, it could be the best time for players to get into the action. Especially as the older Tom Clancy’s The Division was recently removed from the Game Pass catalog.

Will you be participating in the free-to-play weekend of the game? Let us know what you think about it in the comments area below.