ARC Raiders PvE Beta | Gaming News #68
ARC Raiders' PvE beta is one day old and players already camp keyrooms and use it as a no-risk PvP aim range.
Gaming News · Issue #68 · 14 October 2026
TL;DR
- ARC Raiders' PvE beta is one day old and players already camp keyrooms and use it as a no-risk PvP aim range.
- Battlefield 6 now sells every gun at full mastery for $30, the same week Season 5 shipped AI-looking skins.
- Overwatch nerfs Doctrine and halves Sombra's Cyberspace blast a week after the Season 5 shake-up.
- GTA 6 on PC by March 2027, per a new report, while Xbox opens a lab for browser ports.
- Total War: Shogun 2's remaster sits at 19% positive on Steam after the original got delisted.
🎯 Extraction shooters
ARC Raiders' PvE Beta Is a Day Old and Players Are Already Camping Keyrooms
Embark Studios' PvE matchmaking toggle went live with Store Update 2.1 on October 13 and runs until October 20. Within a day, PCGamesN spotted players using the no-damage servers to practise PvP movement, and YouTuber itsDkal posted clips of raiders waiting outside locked loot rooms for key carriers. Update 2.1 also lowered loud outdoor footsteps and made Frigate hatches burn on opening.
Player impact: Loot is lower in PvE lobbies, so camping a keyroom only pays if you get in first. If you care about the toggle staying, play it this week: Embark says in-game data and a survey decide its future.
Sources: PCGamesN · ARC Raiders Store Update 2.1.0 (Steam)
A 2D Tarkov Called Project S.U.N.D.I.A.L. Opens Its Beta as Marathon Unsticks Night Marsh Contracts
Ice Quake Studios opened the closed beta for Project S.U.N.D.I.A.L. on October 13, a pixel-art extraction shooter inspired by S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Tarkov with gear loss on death; this phase is single-player only, with online PvPvE testing later. The same day, Bungie's Marathon update 1.1.9.4 fixed players getting stuck repeating Night Marsh CyAc Guidance contracts. STALZONE's delayed Coliseum ranked season starts October 14 and ends October 28.
Player impact: Marathon players stuck on a looping contract can progress again after this patch. S.U.N.D.I.A.L. is one to wishlist only if you want Tarkov stakes without the 3D aim duels, and its PvP hasn't been tested yet.
Sources: COGconnected · Marathon Update 1.1.9.4 (Steam) · STALZONE Coliseum ranked postponement (Steam)
🔫 FPS
Battlefield 6 Now Sells Every Gun at Full Mastery for $30
EA added the Ultimate Shortcut Kit to Battlefield 6 on October 13, a $30 purchase that unlocks every weapon for all four classes at 100% mastery, attachments included, per GameSpot. The new Game of the Year Edition bundles the same instant unlocks with a Battle Pass token and 25 tier skips. The same day, MP1st flagged Season 5 Battle Pass skins that look AI-made, including an operator wearing five identical pistols and a sleeve patch reading 'Secuty'.
Player impact: New players arriving through Game Pass can now skip the gun grind with cash, so expect fully kitted attachments in every lobby. Whether that is fair or just catching up depends on how long you spent unlocking yours.
Sources: GameSpot · MP1st · MP1st
Overwatch Nerfs Doctrine and Halves Sombra's Cyberspace Blast
Blizzard's October 13 hotfix cuts new support Doctrine's Eternal Scepter from 60 to 55 damage and healing and trims Invigorating Drones from 6 to 5 seconds. Sombra, a support since Season 5, loses half her Cyberspace explosion (40 to 20) and gains a second on its cooldown (13 seconds). Roadhog's Scrap Gun center pellet rises from 34 to 40, Kiriko goes to 250 health, and D.Mon drops to 250 armor.
Player impact: Doctrine and support Sombra were the Season 5 picks everyone complained about, so ranked lobbies should feel less oppressive this week. Roadhog mains get a real window: a stronger one-shot pellet and a faster, tankier breather.
Sources: Overwatch patch notes (Blizzard)
Bungie's Product Head Shares a Fan-Made Destiny 1 Running on PC in 4K
A preservation project posted footage of Destiny 1, a game that never came to PC, running at 4K, 105 field of view, and over 60fps with mostly correct behaviour. On October 13 Bungie head of product and Marathon general manager Josh Deane reposted it with 'Seems like a pretty game, wonder if it will do well', per GamesRadar. Bungie has not announced any Destiny 1 remaster, and the fan project aims to keep a game tied to retired servers playable.
Player impact: Treat any 'Destiny 1 remaster' talk as fan hope until Bungie says otherwise. The real tell is that a Bungie exec shared it without a takedown, which matters if you want the project to survive.
Sources: GamesRadar+
🔜 Coming soon
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Reviews Compare It to Symphony of the Night Ahead of October 15
Reviews for Konami's Castlevania: Belmont's Curse went live on October 13, two days before it launches on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on October 15, with Switch later. Game Informer scored it 9.25, and one review quoted by Pure Xbox says it 'feels destined to be regarded alongside Symphony of the Night'. Rock Paper Shotgun called it a fantastic action game but a weaker Metroidvania, the genre of interconnected maps the series helped invent.
Player impact: This is the first new 2D Castlevania in over a decade, and the scores say it lands. If you want map exploration first, read RPS's take before paying full price; if you want combat, it sounds like a day-one buy.
Sources: Pure Xbox · Rock Paper Shotgun
🆓 Free to try
Free to Keep: Vampire Swansong and Caravan SandWitch Join Prime Gaming on October 15, Plus a $5 Gears Credit
Prime Gaming's October list adds two free-to-keep PC games on October 15: Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong (redeemed on Epic Games Store) and Caravan SandWitch (Amazon Games app), per VidaExtra's breakdown of the schedule; claim deadlines are not listed yet. On Xbox, players who joined the Gears of War: E-Day pre-order promotion are now getting a $5 Microsoft Store credit under Profile, Offers and credits, usable until January 11, 2027, per Pure Xbox.
Player impact: Both Prime games stay in your library once claimed, so grab them Thursday. Gears pre-orderers should check Offers and credits now, because the $5 does not show up on its own.
Sources: VidaExtra · Pure Xbox
🕹️ Console specifics
Xbox Opens a Lab for Browser Ports the Day Sharma Says It Won't Survive on Old Games
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Xbox Labs in a staff note on October 13, a small team under CTO Scott Van Vliet that will experiment with ideas like running Xbox and Xbox 360 games in web browsers, after a wave of AI-assisted decompiles and ports. Separately, a town hall transcript reported by Windows Central has Sharma saying Xbox will not survive if it only relies on the past and needs new IP. Eurogamer confirmed the meeting took place.
Player impact: Browser play for old Xbox games is an experiment with no date, so keep your discs and backward-compatible library. The new-IP talk lands after studio cuts and spin-offs, so judge it by what Xbox greenlights next.
Sony's Midnight Black PS5 Lands on GTA 6 Day for $350, but Only in Japan
Sony Japan announced a Midnight Black PS5 Digital Edition on October 13, launching November 19 alongside a matching disc drive. It is the cheaper region-locked Japan model at 55,000 yen (about $350), and it only works with a PSN account set to Japan with the system language in Japanese. Pre-orders open October 20. Sony has not announced it for any other region.
Player impact: Importing one means a Japanese account and payment card, so it is not a cheap workaround. If you just want the look, Sony already sells Midnight Black console covers for $54.
Sources: VGC · GamesRadar+
🖥️ Hardware
Valve Ends the Index and Drops the Headset to $399.20 While Stock Lasts
Valve said in a Steam news post on October 13 that the Index is no longer being produced and cut prices on remaining stock, with the Steam Frame now its main headset. The Index headset falls from $499 to $399.20, a left controller is $119.20, and a replacement tether is $103.20. Right controllers, base stations, and the $999 full kit are no longer listed.
Player impact: A headset alone is no use without controllers and base stations, so only buy if you already own them or need a spare. Anyone fixing a broken Index setup should grab parts now, since Valve isn't making more.
Sources: PC Gamer
The ESA Wants Retro Handhelds Loaded With ROMs on the US Piracy Watchlist
The Entertainment Software Association, the US games industry trade group, asked the US Trade Representative on October 13 to name plug-and-play retro handhelds sold with pre-installed games on its annual Notorious Markets List, per VGC. The ESA calls devices carrying hundreds or thousands of unlicensed games the industry's 'superfakes', because they look like legitimate electronics on mainstream shops. The list names markets accused of enabling piracy and counterfeiting.
Player impact: The cheap 10,000-games handhelds on big marketplaces are the target, and blank emulation devices are not named in the quotes. A listing could mean fewer of these on Amazon-style storefronts, so buy legit hardware if you want it to last.
Sources: VGC · GamesRadar+
📦 Other
GTA 6 Is Reportedly Coming to PC Before the End of March 2027
GamesBeat reported on October 13, citing four unnamed industry sources, that Rockstar plans to release GTA 6 on PC in the first quarter of 2027. Rockstar did not comment, and Take-Two has not announced a PC version. The console launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S stays set for November 19, so the reported gap would be months, against GTA 5's 18-month wait on PC.
Player impact: This is a report, not a date. PC players deciding whether to buy a console for November now have a reason to wait a few months, and anyone planning to double-dip should hold off on the console copy until Rockstar confirms.
Total War: Shogun 2's Remaster Sits at 19% Positive After the Original Gets Delisted
Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition launched on Steam on October 13 as a $10 upgrade, and the original version was delisted from sale. By that evening it was rated Overwhelmingly Negative, with 19% of 677 reviews positive, per GamesRadar. Players report worse performance than the original, old bugs left in, and unit card art that appears to be AI-upscaled, including a mustached rider whose face turned into something like a helmet.
Player impact: If you own the original, it stays in your library, so there is no reason to pay $10 until the art and performance get fixed. New buyers no longer have the choice of the old version.
Sources: GamesRadar+
RimWorld Ditches Unity for Its Own Engine and Runs Up to Four Times Faster
Ludeon Studios announced on October 13 that RimWorld update 1.7 moves the game from Unity to its in-house Waylith Engine, live now on the unstable beta branch. Ludeon says performance improves 2 to 4 times in its tests, a late-game colony ran 2.2 times faster, and a 1,500-mod pack loaded in 6 minutes instead of 14. Saves work in both directions between 1.6 and 1.7, and most mods still run.
Player impact: Big modded colonies that crawl at max speed are the ones to test on the beta. Early players report much higher frame rates but 12 to 13 GB of RAM used at startup, so check your memory before switching.
Sources: PC Gamer · Rock Paper Shotgun
Legacy Games Said 'Yours to Keep Forever,' and Downloads Stop February 28, 2027
Casual publisher Legacy Games announced on October 13 that its online store, which sells over 1,000 hidden-object, match-3, and puzzle games, closes on December 31, 2026, per VGC. Download codes from physical boxes must be redeemed by then. Already-bought games can still be downloaded through the Legacy Games Launcher until February 28, 2027, after which purchases can no longer be downloaded or installed, despite the store's 'yours to keep forever' slogan.
Player impact: If you own anything there, download and back up the installers before February 28. Prime Gaming's October 22 drop includes a Legacy Games code, so redeem and download that one fast too.
Sources: VGC
Duke Nukem 3D Level Designer Richard 'Levelord' Gray Has Died
Apogee Entertainment announced on October 13 that Richard 'Levelord' Gray has died. Gray designed levels for Duke Nukem 3D in 1996, including the cheat-only 'You're not supposed to be here' Easter egg, then co-founded Hipnotic Interactive, later Ritual Entertainment. There he worked on Quake: Scourge of Armagon, SiN, Star Trek: Elite Force 2, and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. He started making Doom levels at 35, per PC Gamer.
Player impact: If you play boomer shooters or make maps for them, a lot of the secret-room and set-piece design you enjoy traces back to him. Fire up a Duke level tonight and find his room.
Sources: PC Gamer
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