Gaming News · Issue #83 · 29 October 2026

TL;DR

• DMZ's X01 Black Site opens with Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 on November 6, a sealed bunker with a Deep Vault and a Juggernaut boss.
• Arena Breakout: Infinite puts an 880,000 Koen pumpkin in your bag, and whoever kills you can carry it out.
• Modern Warfare 4's first weapon tune trims the Oden's chest damage and cuts sprint-jump dive speed by 23%.
• SULFUR hits 1.0 on every console today, and Phantom Blade Zero launches with a 5GB PC day-one patch.
• PS Plus Essential adds Dead Island 2 and Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered from November 3.

🎯 Extraction shooters

DMZ's X01 Black Site Opens November 6, and One Squadmate's Exfil Pays the Whole Team

Infinity Ward's Season 1 blog confirms X01, a new DMZ map, arrives with Modern Warfare 4 Season 1 on November 6 at midnight ET. X01 is an enclosed former GRANIT Arms weapons site on Hajin's border: cargo bays, underground labs, production lines, and a sealed Deep Vault at the bottom. New Lieutenants (Knuckle and The Wrench) and Commanders (The Captain, a Juggernaut with an elite guard, plus a patrolling Wheelson) join the Boss Board, and Ghost guides a new page of DMZ Orders.

Player impact: Tunnel fights reward tight squads over solo rats. Commander parts now credit everyone if one player exfils with them, so a carry squad can finish a whole team's grind in one run.

Sources: Call of Duty blog · PCGamesN

Arena Breakout: Infinite's Halloween Pumpkin Is Worth 880,000 Koen, and Anyone Can Steal It

Arena Breakout: Infinite's Halloween event runs from October 29 at 5:00 UTC to November 26. Pumpkin Evolution II sells Unripe Pumpkins for 100 Koen (the in-game currency), two per day; each takes a 2x2 slot and can't go in the Secure Case. Extracting from Forbidden Zone or Lockdown Zone raids levels the pumpkin by loot value (2 EXP per 10,000 Koen). A fully evolved pumpkin is worth 880,000 Koen, and enemy pumpkins count if you extract with them.

Player impact: Every Forbidden Zone raid now has a walking 880,000 Koen bounty in somebody's bag. Expect more third-party pushes on loaded players, and don't run a nearly ripe pumpkin without a squad.

Sources: Arena Breakout: Infinite on Steam

Dark and Darker Splits Arena Into Solo and Trio Queues on October 30, and Losses Keep Your Gear

Ironmace's Early Access Hotfix #130 says Arena Season 4 starts October 30 with two queues: Individual Arena for solos and Party Arena for premade trios. Items found or crafted by any character on your account are now retained after an Arena loss, whichever character you bring. The hotfix also tightens matchmaking penalties for intentional team killers and cuts how often bosses swap targets in party fights.

Player impact: Solo players stop getting farmed by premade trios in Arena, and gear retention lowers the cost of testing builds. Team killers will sit in slower queues.

Sources: Dark and Darker on Steam

🔫 FPS

Modern Warfare 4's First Weapon Tune Nerfs the Oden and Cuts Dive Speed by 23%

Infinity Ward's October 28 update is Modern Warfare 4's first multiplayer weapon tuning pass. The Oden loses chest damage (neck and upper torso multiplier 1.2 to 1.1), the Han 86 and Kastov 762 gain 7% and 11% max damage range, and every listed SMG gets arm and hand damage bumped to 1.0. Dive velocity drops 23% as a temporary fix for a sprint-jump exploit, and Free For All goes back to a 30-kill limit with parties capped at two.

Player impact: If you're running Oden, its chest-shot kills just got less reliable, so test the Kastov before Season 1. Dive-spamming players lose their escape hatch until the proper fix lands.

Sources: MP1st

Marvel Rivals Adds a Five-Room Puzzle Event Today, and It Runs Until December 31

NetEase's Marvel Rivals Version 20261029 patch goes live October 29 at 09:00 UTC with no server downtime. It launches Night of Illusions, a puzzle event where players explore five rooms for Gallery Cards, Units, and Sprays, running until December 31. The patch has no balance changes; it fixes Gorr flying out of the map after Shadow Harvest and Invisible Woman's stealth not breaking on some abilities. A Winter Soldier Celestial Soldier bundle hits the store October 30.

Player impact: No meta shift this week, so ranked stays as it is. The event is free Units for anyone saving for a bundle, with two months to clear it.

Sources: Marvel Rivals patch notes

🔜 Coming soon

Nintendo's Indie World Dates Witchbrook and Slime Rancher 2, With Free Demos Out Today

Nintendo's October 28 Indie World showed 23 games, VGC reports. Witchbrook lands on Switch and Switch 2 on January 28, Slime Rancher 2 comes to Switch 2 in January 2027, and Super Battle Golf follows on March 25, 2027. Sword of the Sea hits Switch 2 on October 29, and Bao Bao's Cozy Cleaning Services shadow-dropped on Switch. Free demos for Haunted Paws and Petal Runner are out now, and R.E.P.O. is listed for Switch 2 in 2027.

Player impact: Switch 2 owners have two free demos to try tonight. Co-op horror fans can circle R.E.P.O. on Switch 2 for 2027.

Sources: VGC · Pure Xbox

🆕 Just released

SULFUR Leaves Early Access on PC and Every Console, and the Price Goes Up to $29.99

Perfect Random's SULFUR, a first-person roguelite shooter where you raid procedurally built levels and bring loot back to base, hit 1.0 on October 28 after two years in Early Access. It launched the same day on Steam, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Version 1.0 adds the full enchantment system, a quest log, and new oils that counter bullet drop. The base price rose from $24.99 to $29.99, and multiplayer is planned as a later update.

Player impact: Console players get their first shot at a well-reviewed PC roguelite shooter. If you want co-op, wait, because multiplayer isn't in 1.0.

Sources: SULFUR on Steam · Pure Xbox

Phantom Blade Zero Launches With a 5GB Day-One Patch, and S-Game Says Skip Nvidia's 621.01 Driver

S-Game's action RPG Phantom Blade Zero launches October 29 at 10:00 Beijing time on PS5 and PC. MP1st reports its day-one patch (2GB on PS5, 5GB on PC) improves ray tracing and path tracing performance and touches up visuals with ray tracing off. The studio recommends PC players use Nvidia driver 617.42 because 621.01 shows unstable performance. The full game needs about 145GB, with 300GB free during install.

Player impact: On an RTX card, check your driver before your first boss fight. Clear the disk space now, because a 300GB install window will catch people out.

Sources: MP1st · Gematsu

🆓 Free to try

PS Plus Essential Gets Dead Island 2, Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered, and Monster Train 2 on November 3

Sony confirmed November's PS Plus Essential monthly games: Dead Island 2 (PS5 and PS4), Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered (PS5 and PS4), and Monster Train 2 (PS5). They are claimable from November 3 to November 30, and claimed games stay playable while you keep any PS Plus tier. October's lineup, including Hunt: Showdown 1896, leaves on November 2.

Player impact: Claim Hunt: Showdown 1896 before November 2 if you haven't. Dead Island 2 is the pick for co-op squads looking for a break from PvP.

Sources: VGC

DayZ Creator Dean Hall's Gruntz Prototype Is Free on PC Now, One Life Per Match

Dean Hall, the DayZ creator who runs RocketWerkz, released a free prototype of Gruntz, a top-down multiplayer survival game inspired by Space Station 13, MP1st reported on October 27. Players hold off enemy waves, build defenses, and manage a colony's resources. Each character gets one life, matches run about an hour, and you can join servers mid-match. It is free on Windows and Linux through the Ahwoo launcher only, with no end date or full release date announced.

Player impact: Free and quick to try if you like permadeath co-op chaos. Grab it now, because a prototype can vanish or go paid once the real build is ready.

Sources: MP1st

🕹️ Console specifics

Xbox's October Update Adds Mythic Achievements and Lets You Delete Old Local Saves

Microsoft's October 28 Xbox console update adds 10 features. Mythic Achievements mark a game as complete once you unlock every original achievement, with later DLC lists not required, and the badge is permanent. Owners can now view and delete unused local saves to free storage, stream Remote Play at up to 1440p, pick a startup animation from any Xbox generation, and keep downloads running while playing in the cloud.

Player impact: Achievement hunters get a permanent completion badge that DLC can't break. Anyone short on storage before GTA 6 can now clear old saves from the console.

Sources: Pure Xbox

🖥️ Hardware

Nvidia's 621.12 Hotfix Fixes the RTX 50 Black Screens Its Last Driver Caused

Nvidia released GeForce Hotfix 621.12 on October 27 to fix video playback freezes and black screens on some RTX 50 cards after Game Ready Driver 621.01 (October 21). Reports involved Chrome, Edge, and VLC. The hotfix also fixes an Unreal Engine 5.8 crash with Hit Lighting. It is an optional beta with shorter validation than a certified driver, and its fixes will roll into the next official release.

Player impact: If your screen blanks during YouTube or stream playback on an RTX 50 card, install 621.12. If your black screens happen in games or at idle, this may not fix them, and rolling back is still the safe call.

Sources: Guru3D · VideoCardz

Sony's See-Through Prism DualSense Costs $84.99, and You'll Wait Until February

Sony announced the Prism Collection on October 28: transparent DualSense controllers and PS5 console covers in Flare Orange, Emerald Green, and Graphite Gray. Controllers cost $84.99 (£74.99) and covers $74.99 (£64.99). Pre-orders open November 10, and both release on February 4, 2027. The controllers are the same DualSense hardware in a clear shell, with no new features announced.

Player impact: A standard DualSense still does the same job for less, so this is pure looks. If you want one, pre-order on November 10, since limited colors sell out fast.

Sources: VGC

📦 Other

Buy a Windows 11 PC in the US Before New Year and Xbox Throws In 25 Games

Microsoft's 25 Years of Xbox Bundle gives 25 games, including Gears of War: Reloaded, Skyrim Special Edition, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, to buyers of eligible Windows 11 PCs, Pure Xbox reported on October 28. Purchases must come from participating US retailers between November 2 and December 31, including the ROG Xbox Ally X20 handheld. Buyers claim through the Microsoft Store by February 12, 2027, and select games work on Xbox Series X|S through Play Anywhere.

Player impact: If you're buying a gaming laptop or Xbox Ally for the holidays in the US, wait until November 2 so the bundle counts. Full terms arrive that day.

Sources: Pure Xbox

Valve Says It Won't Gatekeep AI Games on Steam, but Admits Next Fest Exposes Low-Quality Ones

At a Steam Indie Connect event in South Korea, Valve's Tom Giardino said the company doesn't want to be a gatekeeper telling developers which tools to use, AI included, VGC reported on October 28 via Inven. Marc Wilkinson said Next Fest shows games randomly for its first two days before personalized picks kick in, admitting some low-quality games get exposed, and that a significant number of people at Valve are working on it.

Player impact: Expect more AI-made games in Next Fest and the new releases list, with no Valve filter coming. Your own wishlist and Steam's AI disclosure tag are still the best defense.

Sources: VGC

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