Gaming News · Issue #43 · 19 September 2026

TL;DR

• Delta Force's Rally & Win update hands clans a co-op reward grind and reshuffles operator balance in Season 11.
• Active Matter's Steam lobbies sit under 3,000 players three days after its 30-dollar launch.
• Escape from Tarkov: Arena drops the new Laboratory map and buffs 9x39 ammo in patch 0.6.0.
• Diablo 4 and Sea of Thieves headline a Steam free weekend running until Sunday.
• An 8-pin power adapter melted on a Radeon RX 7900 XTX, proving the safe connector isn't.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Delta Force's Rally & Win Update Adds Clan Co-op and Reworks Operator Balance

Garena pushed the Rally & Win update live in Delta Force on September 17, 2026, inside Season 11 Reorientation. Delta Force is a free-to-play extraction shooter, where you carry loot out of a raid or lose the gear you brought in. The update adds clan cooperation features with reward chains built around squad play, plus a round of operator balance adjustments. It follows the September 8 season launch that introduced support operator Rover and the Layali Grove 2.0 map.

Player impact: If you run with a clan, the co-op reward track is worth grinding this week before the event window closes. Solo players should read the operator changes before queuing ranked, since the balance pass shifts which operators are worth picking.

Sources: Delta Force Official News · MP1st

Active Matter's Concurrent Players Sit Under 3,000 Three Days After Launch

Gaijin's extraction shooter Active Matter launched September 15 on Steam, PS5, and Xbox for 30 dollars. Three days in, Steam concurrents (players in a game at the same moment) sat near 2,100 on September 18, with a 24-hour peak around 2,780 on public charts. The studio is running Twitch drops from September 18 to 25 to draw viewers in. PlayStation user ratings stayed high, near 78 percent five-star.

Player impact: A paid extraction shooter needs full lobbies to keep queue times short and raids populated. If concurrents stay this low, matchmaking health and long-term support are the real risk before you spend 30 dollars.

Sources: Raijin Steam Stats · Game Rant

🔫 FPS

Escape from Tarkov: Arena 0.6.0 Adds the Laboratory Map and Buffs 9x39 Ammo

Battlestate Games released patch 0.6.0 for Escape from Tarkov: Arena on September 18, 2026. Arena is the standalone player-versus-player mode built on Tarkov's gunplay, without the raid-and-extract loop of the main game. The update adds a three-floor Laboratory map with 56 unlockable rewards and hidden easter eggs. Weapon balance shifts too: 9x39mm SPP penetration rises from 35 to 37, and the AKMN, AKMSN, AK-103, and AK-104 gain access to MAI AP ammunition.

Player impact: A new map plus ammo changes reset the meta. Relearn cover lines on Laboratory, and check whether your AK loadout can now load the harder-hitting MAI AP rounds before you queue ranked.

Sources: Escape from Tarkov: Arena Patch Notes · EFT Arena Changelog

🆓 Free to try

Steam Free Weekend: Diablo 4, Sea of Thieves, and Two More Free Until September 21

Valve is running a Steam Free Weekend with four games playable at no cost until September 21 at 10am PT: Diablo 4, Sea of Thieves, Last Flag, and Jump Space. This is play-for-the-weekend access, not a free-to-keep claim, so your progress only sticks if you buy the game. Diablo 4 is 75 percent off (12.49 dollars) until September 24, and Sea of Thieves is 65 percent off (13.99 dollars) until September 27.

Player impact: Free play window, so download tonight and clear the installs before Sunday's 10am PT cutoff. If Diablo 4 clicks, the 12.49-dollar sale is the cheapest buy-in and your weekend progress carries over.

Sources: Game Rant · GG.deals

🖥️ Hardware

An 8-Pin Power Adapter Melted on a Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and Thermal Grizzly Is Investigating

A Radeon RX 7900 XTX owner found a badly burned Thermal Grizzly WireView power monitor after months of chasing freezes and black screens, VideoCardz and Tom's Hardware reported around September 17, 2026. The WireView routes power through three standard 8-pin PCIe connectors rather than Nvidia's failure-prone 12VHPWR plug, the newer high-wattage connector known for melting. The owner said the plugs were fully seated. Thermal Grizzly asked to inspect the unit, and a second user reported the same damage on the same reversed 3x 8-pin adapter.

Player impact: The lesson is that 8-pin connectors long treated as safe can still cook under load, especially through third-party pass-through adapters. Check your GPU power cables are fully seated, and think twice about reversed adapters on a high-draw card.

Sources: VideoCardz · Tom's Hardware

📦 Other

Dying Light: The Beast Marks One Year With a Three-Week Event and Physical PS5 Discs

Techland released Version 1.7 (Update 2.000) for Dying Light: The Beast on September 17, 2026, ahead of the co-op survival game's first anniversary. A Double XP window runs September 18 to 21, and a three-week Call of the Beast event adds community goals, daily login drops, and an exclusive weapon each Friday. Techland and Super Rare Games also opened preorders for the game's first physical PS5 discs on September 18, with limited editions available until October 16.

Player impact: If you bounced off The Beast at launch, the double XP and free event rewards are a low-cost reason to reinstall this week. Physical collectors have until October 16 to lock in the limited PS5 editions.

Sources: Worthplaying · Hardcore Gamer

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