After more than [10 years of development](https://www.alexbevi.com/blog/2021/05/19/scummvm-asylum-engine/), the ScummVM Team is pleased to announce support for the psychological-horror adventure game *Sanitarium*. Grab your CD version or a digital release and immerse yourself in a story full of nightmares and mysteries. If you don't own the game we have a [demo](/frs/demos/asylum/asylum-demo.zip) available. You will need the latest [daily build](/downloads/#daily). As always, please submit the bug reports to our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/).
After more than [10 years of development](https://www.alexbevi.com/blog/2021/05/19/scummvm-asylum-engine/), the ScummVM Team is pleased to announce support for the psychological-horror adventure game *Sanitarium*. Grab your CD version or a digital release and immerse yourself in a story full of nightmares and mysteries. If you don't own the game we have a [demo](/frs/demos/asylum/asylum-demo.zip) available. You will need the latest [daily build](/downloads/#daily). As always, please submit the bug reports to our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/).
Several months have passed since our monumental 2.5.0 release, and now the ScummVM Team is thrilled to announce the release of the bugfix release, 2.5.1 codenamed “Californium”*. The most notable changes are: we added scalers in OpenGL mode (those AdvMame, HQ etc things), fixed several bugs in _The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes_, made the sound for _Sam & Max_ more accurate, improved graphics for some Macintosh SCUMM games, implemented more renderers for _The Longest Journey_, made many enhancements to _Little Big Adventure_ and we fixed the dreaded bug on _World of Xeen_ startup. The comprehensive list of changes can be found [here](https://downloads.scummvm.org/frs/scummvm/2.5.1/ReleaseNotes.html). You may find the download at the usual place on [our downloads page](https://www.scummvm.org/downloads/). Due to a slight delay regarding the release for macOS, the auto-updater will be released within the next couple of days – stay tuned! Enjoy ScummVM in 2022! \* The average atomic mass of Californium (atomic number 98) is 251.
_Marvel Comics Spider-Man: The Sinister Six_, the first supported game of the [Hypno engine](https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Hypno), is ready for public testing! Get ready to defeat Spidey’s arch-enemies: Dr. Octopus, Hobgoblin, Shocker, Chameleon, Mysterio, and Vulture! 🕷 Released by _Brooklyn Multimedia_ in 1996, this action-adventure game lets you play as Peter Parker, better known as Spider-Man. There are six different story lines and outcomes based on how you play and four difficulty settings. ScummVM currently supports the English and Spanish releases out of the box. Support for the Hebrew release will be available soon. A German release also exists, but we need help finding a copy before it can be supported. Please [contact us](https://www.scummvm.org/contact/) if you have one. To play any of these supported releases, you will need a [daily development build](https://www.scummvm.org/downloads/#daily). As always, please submit your bug reports to our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/).
It’s been 13 years since *The 7th Guest* was added to ScummVM with the Groovie 1 engine, and now we’ve finally added support for the Groovie 2 engine with all 4 games supported: *The 11th Hour*, *Clandestiny*, *Tender Loving Care* (CD-ROM edition), and *Uncle Henry's Playhouse*. If the minigames vs Stauf are too difficult for you, then there’s also a new option for Easier AI which is available for all games (except *Tender Loving Care*, which doesn’t feature puzzles against an AI). The Easier AI option is also now available in the original Groovie engine for *The 7th Guest*, as well as other improvements such as right-click to fast forward. Grab your thinking caps and a [daily build](https://buildbot.scummvm.org/#/dailybuilds) to try it out. You can also check out [the demos here](https://www.scummvm.org/demos/#other). As always, please submit the bug reports to our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/newticket?component=Engine:%20Groovie).
This year our project once again was accepted to the [Google Summer of Code](https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com) program. In previous years, Google only allowed students to participate. This year, however, both students and non-students are welcome to join us and hack together. There are now two sets of tasks, for 175 hours and for 350 hours. Some of our tasks could be either of the two. ScummVM is looking for applicants! A list of suggested projects can be found on [this page](https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Summer_of_Code/GSoC_Ideas_2022), but we’re open to your own ideas too. Please make sure you provide the [required information in your application](https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=GSoC_Application) before submitting. We have gathered some information to guide you, based on our previous 14 years of experience in the program. You may start your exploration from our [Google Summer of Code miniportal](https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Summer_of_Code). Also, please join our [Discord server](https://discord.gg/4cDsMNtcpG) and follow the #scummvm-gsoc channel where you can engage with our mentors and the rest of the team. We are looking forward to your fine application and participation!
Starting today, the latest development versions of ScummVM support the new trend that gamers can't stop talking about: NFTs (non-fungible tokens)! This exciting new development, created exclusively for players and backed by blockchain technology, uniquely identifies your in-game items, creating an ever-greater connection between you and the game worlds you love. It's not just *a* rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle, it's *your* rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle. But having exclusive ownership to an in-game item is just the beginning! Our developers are exploring how NFTs will let you transfer items between different game inventories. Love your new chainsaw from *Full Throttle*? With the power of NFTs, you can transfer it to *The Secret of Monkey Island* and create some alternate puzzle solutions! Aren’t NFTs energy inefficient? Not for us! NFTs in modern games are less environmentally friendly because they represent in-game items with thousands or millions of pixels. But in the retro games that ScummVM supports, items are only *tens* of pixels, meaning they are less taxing on the environment. And of course, you will be able to buy and sell your valuable NFTs through [ScummVMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion Virtual Machine Marketplace)](https://opensea.io/collection/scummvm). This will allow you trade real-world currency for NFTs and loot boxes containing cosmetic outfits and hats. The profit will help fund “developer retreats” on tropical islands and our plan to launch a *Sam & Max* DeSoto into space. **Update:** We’ve been blown away by the incredible reaction to this post! However, recent legal challenges to NFTs in the Kingdom of Daventry have led us to explore other methods that will be available to our users in that country. We’ve also realized that tropical vacations and space payloads are more expensive than we expected, so we’ve canceled those plans. However, you can help ScummVM with web hosting expenses by donating through PayPal or buying games on GOG.com [through our affiliate link](https://www.gog.com/?pp=22d200f8670dbdb3e253a90eee5098477c95c23d).
_Wetlands_, the newest supported game of the [Hypno engine](https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Hypno), is ready for public testing! This sci-fi rail shooter was created by Hypnotix and published by New World Computing in 1995. The game includes 20 action-packed levels, cinematic cutscenes, attractive hand-drawn characters, and stunning 3D backgrounds. Set in 2495, humanity is now forced to live in underwater cities after a nuclear test gone wrong caused uninterrupted worldwide rain. A war is unleashed between The Federation (Earth’s remaining governments) and the Volarins, a group of terrorists led by the mad scientist and _Wetlands_’ main villain, Phillip Nahj. You’ll play as John Cole, a ruthless mercenary hired to catch Nahj alive. ScummVM currently supports the English, Spanish, French, German, and Korean releases of the game and features improved controls as well. You can support ScummVM by buying _Wetlands_ from GOG.com via our [referral link](https://www.gog.com/en/game/wetlands?pp=22d200f8670dbdb3e253a90eee5098477c95c23d). Please [contact us](https://www.scummvm.org/contact/) if you have some other release. To play any of these supported releases, you will need a [daily development build](https://www.scummvm.org/downloads/#daily). As always, please submit your bug reports to our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/).
 A few days ago, Google announced the list of students accepted for this year's [Google Summer of Code](https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/). We are very proud to welcome 4 students this year who will be working on various parts of the project during the upcoming months. * Pragyansh Chaturvedi (aka [Raikou](https://blogs.scummvm.org/raikou/)) will work on improving our DIRECTOR engine. His effort will help us to allow support for many 90s-era adventure games made with the Macromedia Director authoring tools. By implementing more internal functions used by DIRECTOR, Pragyansh's main objective is to extend support for _Meet Mediaband_ and _The Journeyman Project_ (Win and Mac), making them fully playable without any glitches. * Michael Hayman (aka [Quote58](https://blogs.scummvm.org/quote58/)) is about to implement support for _The Immortal_. The game (released in 1990) can be described as a mix of genres involving RPG elements with action and puzzles. Many changes across different game variants (written in pure assembly code!) will make this an interesting challenge. This project is a continuation of a GSoC task initially started by a former student back in 2018. * Emanuele Grisenti (aka [grisenti](https://blogs.scummvm.org/grisenti/)) will be working on a new engine, _HPL1_. The original sources for this engine got recently released by the original developer _Frictional Games_ under GPLv3. The purpose of this project is to achieve a full port of this engine to ScummVM, with the goal of supporting the 2007 survival game _Penumbra: Overture_. * Avijeet Maurya (aka [StableSteady](https://blogs.scummvm.org/stablesteady/)) will pick up several incomplete engines: MacVenture, Avalanche, Glk-Scott, Pink and WAGE. Some of these engines are very close to completion, but not quite there yet. The main objective of Avijeet's task is to identify all missing features and fix existing bugs. The goal for his project is to bring the above engines to a stable state. The team is very excited about the upcoming weeks – and we hope you are as well. Please give a warm welcome to our new students! Let's make GSoC 2022 a huge success – together!
After an extended period of time, we're finally ready to announce that the game *[Chewy: ESC From F5](https://www.mobygames.com/game/chewy-esc-from-f5)* is ready for testing. This quirky game features the protagonist Chewy as he tries to outwit the evil Borks. Escaping from their high security zone, F5, will just be the start of his adventure. If any of you have the game and are willing to test it out, we'll welcome any feedback. You will need a [daily development build](https://buildbot.scummvm.org/#/snapshots). As always, please submit the bug reports to our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/). Please note that the ScummVM version does have one major outstanding issue: the music used by the game is in a custom format we've been unable to properly support yet. So only sound effects and speech currently work at this time.
A few months have passed since we released ScummVM 2.5.1. No matter if you expect the scorching heat of the upcoming summer or freezing blizzards in winter (depending on your favorite hemisphere): it’s release time again! Our lovely developers added support, yet again, for a bunch of new ancient games that require testing: * *Sanitarium* * *Hades Challenge* * *Marvel Comics Spider-Man: The Sinister Six* * *The 11th Hour* * *Clandestiny* * *Tender Loving Care (CD-ROM Editions)* * *Uncle Henry's Playhouse* * *Wetlands* * *Chewy: Esc from F5* Besides these games, we’d appreciate it if you could check our [release testing list](https://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php?title=Release_Testing/2.6.0) - maybe you’ll even find your favorite game on there that has been sitting on that shelf for way too long. And since ScummVM is about playing games in general, we’ve seen quite a bunch of changes across many, many engines - so this is the perfect time for giving your favorites another go. The AGOS, SCI and SCUMM engine received some really extensive modifications which make all games using those engines very good testing targets as well. All testing must be done with [stable builds](https://buildbot.scummvm.org/#/dailybuilds), not development ones. Please report any bugs or oddities on our [issue tracker](https://bugs.scummvm.org/). A detailed list of all exciting new features and fixes is available in our [NEWS file](https://github.com/scummvm/scummvm/blob/branch-2-6/NEWS.md). Thank you very much for your support!
