Gaming News · Issue #57 · 3 October 2026

TL;DR

• WARDOGS yanks IR rangefinders until Season 2, when they will need batteries.
• Apex scraps solo-only Ranked for Diamond and up after the test pushed social players out of the queue.
• Microsoft says precompiled shaders cut Gears of War: E-Day's first-launch wait by about 95 percent, with Nvidia support due this month.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leaves Game Pass on October 15, so finish that run now.

🔫 FPS

WARDOGS Pulls IR Rangefinders Until Season 2, When They Will Need Batteries

BULKHEAD hotfixed WARDOGS on October 2 and disabled the IR rangefinders at vendors until Season 2 on October 15, saying they were too overpowered. When they return they will run on batteries. The same hotfix sped the CWIS (close-in weapon system) back up so it shreds the Havoc in about 6 seconds again, after a previous patch pushed that to 12. Neither change needs a client download.

Player impact: Night fights and long sightlines just got fairer for anyone who was not running thermals. Spend the last two weeks of Season 1 learning to spot people the old way, because batteries make the rangefinder a resource call in Season 2.

Sources: WARDOGS on Steam: IR Goggles & CWIS Balance Hotfix

Apex Scraps Solo-Only Ranked for Diamond and Up After the Test Made Lobbies Worse

Respawn published its Ranked matchmaking test results on September 30. Locking Diamond, Master, and Predator players into solo queue broke up premade stacks, but it spread top players across more squads, so Diamond players saw them in more matches, and Ranked play fell among high-tier duos and trios. A second test limiting premades to one tier apart barely changed anything. Neither change ships permanently, and Respawn says bigger Ranked changes land in Seasons 31 and 32.

Player impact: Your Masters three-stack survives, and solo grinders keep running into it. Respawn's own data says a full premade trio wins 17 percent more often than three solos, so if you climb solo, the queue is still tilted against you until October's announcement.

Sources: Apex Legends on Steam: Matchmaking Test Results

Deadlock's First Voted-In Hero Is the Rat King, and He Throws Rats

Valve released the Rat King in Deadlock, its hero shooter still in early testing, on October 2. He is the first of six heroes players are voting into the game through the City Never Sleeps update. His kit includes a bouncing Scrap Grenade, a Swarm of Rats that chases enemies, damage reduction from his Royal Pestments, and a banner ultimate that buffs nearby allies. The next voted hero arrives Tuesday, October 6, at 2pm PDT.

Player impact: A new hero shakes up lane matchups for a week before everyone learns him, so early players get free wins. The vote also means your community picks the next five, so the hero you want only shows up if people vote.

Sources: Deadlock on Steam: Listen up, Crumbums! Your King is here. · PC Gamer: The Rat King has arrived

REDSEC Season 5 Moves Supply Bags and Recon Drones Into the Loot Pool

DICE's October 2 Season 5 preview reworks classes in REDSEC, the Battlefield 6 battle royale. Support's Supply Bag and Smoke Launcher and Recon's Drone move out of starting kits and into the loot pool, replaced by Supply Pouches, Deployable Cover, and a Handheld Jammer. Most PDWs, carbines, and assault rifles take one more bullet to kill against armor at set ranges. Rankings get tighter skill bands, and crashed players can reconnect mid-match.

Player impact: Your opening loadout gets weaker and early looting matters more, especially for Support and Recon mains. Armored players survive one extra bullet in most gunfights, so hunt for armor plates before you take that first fight.

Sources: Battlefield 6 on Steam: Looking Ahead To Season 5 And Beyond

Counter-Strike 2 Adds Grenade Crosshairs in Freeze Time for Insta-Smokes

Valve's September 30 Counter-Strike 2 update lets players hold a grenade attack button during freeze time to see the grenade crosshair, so instant smoke lineups can be set before the round starts. It also adds a crosshair outline color, a new Static Quadrant style, negative gaps for classic dynamic crosshairs, and fixes how weapon inaccuracy and spread are shown. A follow-up on October 2 fixed grenade crosshairs at thickness 3 and improved Warehouse lighting.

Player impact: Insta-smoke lineups just got easier to learn, so expect more teams to block your peek at round start. If you share crosshair codes, regenerate them, because the share format changed.

Sources: Counter-Strike 2 on Steam: Counter-Strike 2 Update (September 30) · Counter-Strike 2 on Steam: Counter-Strike 2 Update (October 2)

Team Fortress 2's Scream Fortress XVIII Adds Five Community Maps Through November 7

Valve's October 1 patch started Scream Fortress XVIII, Team Fortress 2's Halloween event, which runs until November 7. It adds five community maps (HolyHell, Scarypass, Trainsawlaser, Medi-Evil, and Scaredy-Cat), the Haunted Hoard Case with 23 community cosmetics, five taunts, and 21 new unusual effects. Zombie Survival mode also gets new zombie abilities, a spawn picker, and map rebalancing.

Player impact: TF2's Halloween event is the one time each year community maps get real player counts, so queue the new ones now while servers are full. Unusual hunters get five weeks to chase the new effects.

Sources: Official TF2 Wiki: October 1, 2026 Patch

🆕 Just released

Control Resonant Update 1.4 Makes New Game Plus Endless and Softens the Unknown Zone

Remedy released Control Resonant update 1.4.0 on October 1, a week after the game launched on September 24. New Game++ now lets players replay the campaign as many times as they want instead of once. Combat in the Unknown Zone drops by 10 to 15 percent, Build Power shows on the Loadout screen, and a mute option covers the licensed intro song. Hotfix 1.4.1 followed on October 2 to fix the Park quest and dash cancels.

Player impact: If the Unknown Zone stalled your run, it is easier now, and finished players have a reason to keep building. Streamers can mute the licensed intro song to dodge copyright claims.

Sources: CONTROL Resonant on Steam: Game Update 1.4.0 · Push Square

🆓 Free to try

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Pacific Drive Leave Game Pass on October 15

Nine games leave Xbox Game Pass on October 15, according to Insider Gaming on October 2. The list includes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Pacific Drive, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Evil West on Windows, The Casting of Frank Stone, Crime Scene Cleaner, Donut County, Superball, and the Game Preview build of Nova Roma. Subscribers can play them on Game Pass until that date, and Xbox usually discounts departing games for members before removal.

Player impact: If you are mid-run in Expedition 33 or Pacific Drive, you have 12 days to finish or buy. Check the member discount before the 15th instead of paying full price later.

Sources: Insider Gaming

Free to Keep: Out of Sight and TerraScape on Epic From October 8, Rotwood DLC on Steam Now

Epic confirmed on October 1 that Out of Sight, a 2025 horror puzzle game played from a teddy bear's point of view, and TerraScape, a card-based medieval city builder, are free to keep from October 8 at 8 a.m. PT until October 15 at 8 a.m. PT, worth $31.98 together. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster and Buried Stars stay free until October 8. On Steam, the Rotwood Drakin Armoury Pack DLC is free to keep until October 15 at 10 a.m. PT, base game required.

Player impact: Claim System Shock 2 before October 8 if you missed it, then grab the next two on Epic the same day. Rotwood owners get a playable race and greatsword for free, so claim it even if you will not play this week.

Sources: Game Rant · GamingHQ

🖥️ Hardware

Microsoft's Precompiled Shaders Cut Gears of War: E-Day's First Launch Wait by 95 Percent

Microsoft said on October 1 that Advanced Shader Delivery, which downloads shaders prebuilt for your GPU instead of compiling them on first launch, is live for Gears of War: E-Day in the Xbox PC app. Microsoft says it cuts first-launch shader compilation by about 95 percent, from several minutes to seconds. AMD RDNA cards and Snapdragon X2 work now. Nvidia RTX and Intel Arc support arrives later in October, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is named as a future title.

Player impact: Fewer stutters and no long shader wait on day one, but only in the Xbox PC app and only on Windows 11 24H2 or newer. Nvidia owners should watch for this month's driver before judging E-Day's PC performance.

Sources: DirectX Developer Blog

📦 Other

Bungie Closes Its Destiny Merch Store on October 19, Weeks After Reviving Destiny 2

Bungie announced on October 2 that it is retiring the Bungie Store for Bungie and Destiny merchandise on October 19 and building a new storefront that fits its current goals. Digital downloads and emblem codes stay redeemable until December 31. PC Gamer reports the separate Marathon store stays open. The move lands shortly after Bungie reversed course and promised to bring vaulted Destiny 2 content back.

Player impact: If you bought merch with an emblem or digital code attached, redeem it before December 31 or lose it. Collectors who want current Destiny gear have until October 19.

Sources: PC Gamer via Yahoo: Destiny 2 might be back, but the Bungie Store is going away · Bungie Store on X

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