Gaming News · Issue #82 · 28 October 2026

TL;DR

• ARC Raiders Update 2.3 pushes the Emperor's best loot deeper inside and gives the Heavy Shield a 90 charge, so the loot balance shifts today.
• ZERO Sievert's veteran NPCs now take 0.33 seconds to react instead of 0.15, and Hunters stop swarming every gunfight.
• Valorant patch 13.09 cuts Clove's Pick-me-up speed boost to 10% on the same day Hush goes live.
• Pokemon Unite shuts down on March 23, 2027, and its Aeos Gems are already off sale.
• GTA 6 reportedly needs 210GB on PS5, with pre-load opening November 12.

🎯 Extraction shooters

ARC Raiders 2.3 Moves the Emperor's Best Loot Deeper Inside and Buffs the Heavy Shield

Embark Studios shipped ARC Raiders Live Update 2.3 on October 27. Containers near the Emperor's entrance now drop lower-tier loot, with better rewards deeper in, and the Heavy Shield's base charge rises from 80 to 90. Flame Spray damage goes from 10 to 13 per second with half the durability drain, and six blueprints, including the Bobcat and Vulcano, can now drop in any major map condition. Embark also says it is still studying its PvE test before deciding the mode's future.

Player impact: Quick in-and-out Emperor runs pay less now, so squads that want top-tier loot have to commit to the deep rooms and fight for them. Heavy Shield users get a little more breathing room against most guns.

Sources: ARC Raiders on Steam: Live Update 2.3.0 · VGC

ZERO Sievert Slows Its Veteran NPCs to Human Reaction Times After Players Called the New AI Unfair

ZERO Sievert, the top-down PvE extraction shooter, released a balance pass on its rebuilt enemy AI on October 27. Veteran and master NPCs now react in about 0.33 seconds instead of 0.15, their first shots tend to miss while their aim settles, and they fire in bursts at range. Hunters respond to gunfire only half the time, no more than two groups join a fight, and shots fired indoors or underground no longer draw them in.

Player impact: Fights against top-tier NPCs should feel winnable again, and a single loud gunfight no longer turns into a map-wide pile-on. Players who shelved the game after the AI rewrite have a reason to try another raid.

Sources: ZERO Sievert on Steam: New Update: Improved Enemy AI

🔫 FPS

Valorant 13.09 Nerfs Clove's Speed Boost and Makes the Warden Easier to Spray

Riot's Valorant patch 13.09 went live on October 27 alongside new Duelist Hush. Clove's Pick-me-up speed boost drops from 15% to 10%, and killing Clove during Not Dead Yet now gives the killer an ultimate point. The Warden gets smoother early recoil, with second-bullet error cut from 0.25 to 0.2 and third-bullet error from 0.6 to 0.5. Your Act's best match also counts for more in Map Rating.

Player impact: Clove players lose some chase speed and pay a price for a failed Not Dead Yet, so aggressive Clove plays get riskier in ranked. Warden buyers get a cheaper rifle that holds tighter on the first few shots.

Sources: VALORANT Patch Notes 13.09

WARDOGS Approves Two Community Server Hosts, and Your Cash and XP Carry Over

BULKHEAD has approved GG Host and 1of1 Servers as official WARDOGS community server partners, PCGamesN reported on October 27. GG Host covers six regions with 60, 80, or 100-player servers, while 1of1 starts at $69.99 a month for 60 players in Ashburn and Dallas, with London, Frankfurt, Singapore, Sydney, and Johannesburg listed as coming. Cash and XP earned on these servers count toward regular accounts, and BULKHEAD says XP farming will not be tolerated.

Player impact: Clans and creators can now rent their own WARDOGS servers with real progression, which could mean admin-run lobbies with fewer cheaters. It also opens the door to farm servers, so watch how BULKHEAD polices them.

Sources: PCGamesN

🔜 Coming soon

GTA 6 Reportedly Needs 210GB on PS5, With Pre-Load Opening November 12

Grand Theft Auto 6 will reportedly take up 210GB on PS5, according to the PlayStation Game Size account, which Push Square reported on October 27. The game launches November 19 at $79.99, and the PlayStation Store lists pre-loading from November 12. Rockstar has not confirmed the final install size.

Player impact: A launch-model PS5 has about 667GB of usable space, so 210GB is almost a third of it. Clear space or buy an SSD before November 12 if you want to play at launch.

Sources: Push Square

🆓 Free to try

Sorry We're Closed Goes Free on Epic October 29, and Project Motor Racing Is Free on PS5 Until November 1

Survival horror game Sorry We're Closed, from UK studio a la mode games, is Epic Games Store's free-to-keep game from October 29, claimable until November 5 at 8am PT. On PS5, sim racer Project Motor Racing ($49.99) is free to play from October 26 to November 1, online included, with no PS Plus needed and saves carrying over if you buy.

Player impact: Claim Sorry We're Closed on PC before November 5 and it stays in your library. Racing fans on PS5 get the full Project Motor Racing for the week, but it locks again after November 1.

Sources: OpenCritic / Game Rant · Push Square

🕹️ Console specifics

Xbox Tells Developers to Stop Selling the Same Game Three Times for Extra Achievements

Microsoft emailed developers saying identical games that do not provide distinct experiences will break Microsoft Store policy 10.1, TrueAchievements reported and Pure Xbox relayed on October 27. The target is triple-stack releases, where one game ships as separate Xbox One, Series X|S, and PC versions, each with its own achievement list. Developers are pointed toward Xbox Play Anywhere or game binding, which share progress and achievements across versions. No enforcement date was given.

Player impact: Cheap gamerscore from buying the same tiny game three times should start drying up. Achievement hunters lose easy points, and everyone else gets a store with less copy-paste clutter.

Sources: Pure Xbox

🖥️ Hardware

Acer's Predator Atlas 8 Handheld Hits Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299, About $500 Under MSI's Claw

Acer's Predator Atlas 8 gaming handheld launches November 1 at Best Buy for $1,299.99, HotHardware reported on October 27. It runs Intel's Arc G3 Extreme chip with 24GB of memory, a 512GB SSD, and an 8-inch 1920x1200 120Hz screen, plus Hall Effect triggers and TMR sticks. Acer says pre-orders sold out last week. MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+ with the same chip sells for $1,799.99 with 32GB and 1TB.

Player impact: This is the cheapest Arc G3 Extreme handheld so far, but $1,299 is still triple a Steam Deck. Buyers should weigh the 512GB drive before paying for top-tier Intel graphics.

Sources: HotHardware

📦 Other

Pokemon Unite Shuts Down on March 23, 2027, and Aeos Gems Are Already Off Sale

The Pokemon Company confirmed on October 27 that Pokemon Unite, the free-to-play MOBA on Switch and mobile, ends service on March 23, 2027 at 00:00 UTC. Aeos Gem sales and new Unite Club sign-ups stopped the same day, and there are no refunds for gems players already hold. A November 12 update adds a final event and a Library feature that keeps some records viewable after shutdown.

Player impact: Unspent Aeos Gems are worth nothing after March 23, so spend them before the servers go dark. Download the November 12 update if you want to keep your match history.

Sources: VGC

Capcom Pulls Street Fighter 5 From Sale and Turns Off Its Online Over a PHP Security Flaw

Capcom temporarily delisted Street Fighter 5 on Steam and the PlayStation Store on October 27 and shut down its online features for emergency maintenance. Capcom tied the outage to security work on the PHP programming language, after two major PHP vulnerabilities knocked services offline across the industry last week. Owners can still play offline, and Capcom has given no date for online play or sales to return.

Player impact: Street Fighter 5 ranked and lobbies are down with no return date, so fighting game players should move to Street Fighter 6 for now. Anyone hoping to buy SF5 on sale has to wait.

Sources: VGC

Kingdom Come Studio Warhorse Confirms a Cyberattack, and the Damage Is Still Unknown

Warhorse Studios, the Czech developer of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, confirmed on October 27 that attackers gained unauthorized access to company systems and data. CEO Martin Fryvaldsky called it a serious incident and said the studio is working with cybersecurity specialists. Warhorse has not said what data was taken, and nothing appears to have leaked so far.

Player impact: No player data is confirmed affected, but leaks of unannounced projects often follow attacks like this. Fans should treat any 'leaked' Warhorse material with suspicion until the studio speaks.

Sources: Push Square

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced Adds New Game+ and a Nightmare Mode in Its Last Content Update

Ubisoft released Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced update 1.0.8 on October 27 across all formats. It adds New Game+ up to five extra runs, with Edward's gear, Jackdaw upgrades, money, and fleet ships carrying over, plus a Nightmare difficulty where enemies deal 1.8 times damage and one-hit deaths are possible. Ubisoft calls it the final major content update, with bug-fix patches to follow.

Player impact: Completionists now have a reason to start a second voyage with their full kit. This is the last big content drop, so expect no more new features after this one.

Sources: VGC · Pure Xbox

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