Gaming News · Issue #41 · 17 September 2026

TL;DR

• Escape from Tarkov's new Leagues add a weekly seasonal PvP ranked ladder where the bottom 10 of every 50 players get demoted.
• Bungie says the leaked Marathon and Destiny 2 merger is fake, days after delaying Marathon's next update to December.
• Call of Duty's Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 06 The Haunting is live and quietly prepping the ground for Modern Warfare 4.
• EA Sports FC 27 opens early access on September 18 with a 10-hour free trial before its September 25 launch.
• Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter arrives as 2026's highest-rated game at a 92 on Metacritic.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Escape from Tarkov Adds Weekly Leagues That Can Demote Seasonal Players

Battlestate Games installed update 1.1.5.1 on September 15, adding a competitive League system for Escape from Tarkov's seasonal PvP characters. After your first raid you drop into a group of 50 players of your rank, sorted by weekly experience from kills, tasks, and item examines (Arena XP does not count). Each week the top 25 rank up, 15 hold, and the bottom 10 get demoted. The first time you reach a rank, its rewards are yours permanently even after a later demotion.

Player impact: If you run a seasonal character, your weekly grind now has a scoreboard and a relegation zone, so a quiet week can cost you a rank you already earned.

Sources: Yahoo News (Forbes) · Escape from Tarkov (official)

Bungie Calls the Marathon and Destiny 2 Merger Leak Fake

A widely shared leak claimed Bungie planned to fold Marathon and Destiny 2 into one property, along with free-to-play plans and new PvE modes. On September 16, Marathon creative director Julia Nardin said the merger claim is fake, calling the two games siblings that share Bungie DNA but stay independent. The denial follows Bungie's September delay of Marathon's next big update to December 8 and the end of its strict seasonal schedule.

Player impact: Marathon players waiting on the December update get a straight answer on one rumor, but Bungie still has to prove its extraction shooter has a future after a rocky launch and a shrinking team.

Sources: PC Gamer · GamesRadar+

🔫 FPS

Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 06 The Haunting Lands and Preps for Modern Warfare 4

Call of Duty launched Black Ops 7 and Warzone Season 06, The Haunting, on September 17 at 9am PT. It adds the Quantum and Bloodstead multiplayer maps, three Zombies maps, the Haunted Hollow Resurgence event, and new guns including the TR51 Para assault rifle and VMP SMG. Activision also repackaged existing Black Ops 7 and Warzone content packs to prepare for Modern Warfare 4, so this download is larger than usual but cuts total install size once it finishes.

Player impact: Expect a chunky update and a long download before you queue tonight, then a smaller footprint on your drive afterward. The content-pack reshuffle is the first clear sign Modern Warfare 4 is close.

Sources: PlayStation Blog · Call of Duty (Blizzard News)

Marvel Rivals Mid-Season Update Adds Rogue and Gambit MVPs and Free Rewards

NetEase pushed a Marvel Rivals update on September 17 with no server downtime, midway through Season 10. It adds the X-Men '97 Rogue and Gambit MVP animations, a Moon Knight Eternity Knight bundle, and a Jeff the Land Shark Jeff-Pool costume. Players who already owned the matching bundles receive the new MVPs for free. Competitive IGNITE Series Stage 2 also starts, opening with the Oceania and China regional leagues.

Player impact: This drop is mostly cosmetics, but if you already bought the Rogue or Gambit bundles, check your account for the free MVP animations before you spend on anything new.

Sources: Marvel Rivals (official) · MarvelRivals.gg

🔜 Coming soon

EA Sports FC 27 Opens Early Access September 18 With a 10-Hour Free Trial

EA confirmed the launch schedule for EA Sports FC 27, this year's edition of its soccer franchise. Ultimate Edition pre-orders unlock a seven-day early access starting September 18, and everyone else can play a 10-hour EA Play trial from September 18 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The full game releases worldwide on September 25. Progress from early access and the trial carries into the full release.

Player impact: You can test FC 27 free for 10 hours starting September 18 before deciding whether to buy, and any Ultimate Team progress you make carries over. Early buyers get a full week head start on the meta.

Sources: EA Sports (official) · Insider Gaming

🆕 Just released

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter Launches as 2026's Highest-Rated Game

Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, Falcom's remake of its 2006 JRPG (Japanese role-playing game), launched September 17 on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC. It sits at a 92 on Metacritic across twelve reviews, the highest-rated game of 2026 so far. Reviewers praised the updated visuals, full voice acting, and the payoff to Estelle and Joshua's story. It follows this year's well-received First Chapter remake and continues straight from it.

Player impact: If you played this year's First Chapter remake, the sequel is out now and reviewing better than anything else in 2026. Newcomers should start with the first game, since the story runs directly on from it.

Sources: Metacritic · GamesRadar+

🆓 Free to try

Xbox Game Pass Wave 2 Adds Ninja Gaiden 4 and Day-One Kernel Hearts

Microsoft detailed its second wave of September Xbox Game Pass additions on September 15. On September 17, Ninja Gaiden 4 reached Game Pass Premium, while the action-roguelike Kernel Hearts arrived day one on Ultimate and PC Game Pass, joined by the free-to-play fighter Brawlhalla, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Planet of Lana II, Routine, and Ultimate Sheep Raccoon. Availability depends on your tier: Ultimate and PC get the full list, Premium gets the smaller set.

Player impact: If you already pay for Game Pass, Kernel Hearts and Marvel Cosmic Invasion are worth trying this week at no extra cost. Check your tier first, since Premium sees fewer of these than Ultimate and PC.

Sources: Xbox Wire · GameSpot

📦 Other

MindsEye Studio Build A Rocket Boy Hit With Fresh Layoffs and Shutdown Fears

Build A Rocket Boy, the studio behind the 2025 flop MindsEye, laid off more developers, according to affected staff posting on LinkedIn on September 16. Release manager Michaela Emslie said she received a redundancy notice after four years, and a talent acquisition staffer said he would see the studio through to its end, hinting at a shutdown. The studio has not confirmed the cuts or a closure. It has faced repeated layoff rounds since MindsEye's June 2025 launch.

Player impact: Another mid-size studio is circling the drain, so do not count on continued MindsEye support. The bigger signal is that 2026's brutal run of games-industry layoffs is not slowing down.

Sources: Beebom

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