Gaming News · Issue #27 · 3 September 2026

TL;DR

• Exterminauts is a new co-op extraction shooter from Dead by Daylight's studio, with power-tool guns and a 2027 launch.
• The FPS Games Show debuts today with 16 shooters, Rainbow Six Siege and Tarkov included, plus Steam demos and free weekends.
• The Blood of Dawnwalker launches at an 84 Metacritic, but review scores swing from 6 to 10 out of 10.
• Nvidia's 616.56 driver is fast but breaks 8-bit monitors and crashes RTX 50-series overclocking tools.
• Counter-Strike 2's patch lets the bomb blast burn through smoke and molotov fire.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Dead by Daylight's Studio Shows How Exterminauts Plays: Co-Op Bug Hunts With Power-Tool Guns

A September 1 hands-on preview detailed how Exterminauts plays, the co-op extraction shooter from Behaviour Interactive (the Dead by Daylight studio) and publisher Level Infinite. Three players drop onto the mining planet Tian, run 20 to 30 minute missions repairing gear through minigames and fighting alien bugs, then extract before encounters spiral out of control. Combat centers on power-tool weapons: an ice gun, electric gun, anti-gravity gun, and foam gun. It targets PC, PS5, and Xbox Series in 2027.

Player impact: Extraction fans get another big-studio option to watch, and the co-op PvE focus means it punishes squads less than Tarkov, where rival players can take your loot. A 2027 window means radar, not wishlist yet.

Sources: Shacknews · Gematsu

Active Matter's Pre-Launch Patch Adds a Monolith Room and a Faster Scout Drone Before Its September 15 Release

Active Matter, a PvPvE extraction shooter set in a fractured multiverse, pushed update 0.4.0.55 on September 1, two weeks before its September 15 launch on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series. The patch adds a new Monolith room and furniture for your base, moves item fusion into a dedicated crafting slot instead of the main replication queue, and makes the scout drone more maneuverable. A separate September 1 build made Soldier enemies always drop enriched loot.

Player impact: If you plan to jump in at the September 15 launch, the crafting slot change lets you fuse gear without clogging your build queue. Guaranteed enriched drops make farming Soldier enemies worth the risk.

Sources: Active Matter official news

🔫 FPS

Counter-Strike 2's Latest Patch Makes the Bomb Explosion Burn Through Smoke and Molotov Fire

Valve shipped a Counter-Strike 2 update on September 2. The bomb explosion now interacts with smoke grenade clouds and molotov or incendiary fire, and the bomb damage health preview appears once the bomb becomes audible. Valve also stopped grenades clipping through level geometry and updated the Boulder, Poseidon, Shelter, and Cache maps from the Community Workshop. Cologne 2026 tournament stickers are on sale until September 29, with half of royalties going to players, teams, and organizers.

Player impact: Ranked players should relearn post-plant timing: a molotov near the bomb now reacts to the blast, and the audible damage preview changes how you gamble on a defuse. Cache players get a cleaner competitive layout.

Sources: Counter-Strike 2 official updates · Steam News

🆕 Just released

The Blood of Dawnwalker Launches to an 84 Metacritic, but Ex-Witcher Devs Split the Critics

The Blood of Dawnwalker, a 14th-century vampire action RPG from Rebel Wolves (a studio of former Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 developers), launched September 3 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series. It sits around 84 on Metacritic and 86 on OpenCritic. That aggregate hides a split: some reviewers call it one of the best RPGs in years, while others land at 6 or 7 out of 10, mostly over combat and pacing.

Player impact: If you loved The Witcher 3, this is the closest thing to a spiritual follow-up out right now. The polarized reviews mean you should watch gameplay before buying rather than trusting the 84 average.

Sources: OpenCritic · Notebookcheck

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault Leaves Early Access With Dungeon Runs and Shopkeeping

Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault launched September 2 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2 after nearly a year in early access. It keeps the original's loop: dive into procedurally generated dungeons, haul loot back, then price and sell it in your own shop. The sequel reworks combat and adds new biomes. It sits at 76 on Metacritic and 82 on OpenCritic, with 85% of critics recommending it.

Player impact: If you want a lower-stress loot game between extraction runs, this is a clean pick-up-and-play option. The shop-running twist gives it a hook that pure dungeon crawlers lack.

Sources: OpenCritic · Checkpoint Gaming

🆓 Free to try

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Joins Xbox Game Pass on September 8

Microsoft's first September Game Pass wave adds eight games between September 1 and 15, headlined by Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War on September 8. Other additions include Shelldiver, Moonlighter 2, Speedrunners 2, Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage, and RuneScape: Dragonwilds on September 15. Black Ops Cold War lands while the Modern Warfare 4 open beta wraps up and the full game aims for an October 23 launch.

Player impact: Game Pass subscribers get a full Call of Duty campaign and multiplayer at no extra cost from September 8, a decent warm-up before Modern Warfare 4. Check that your tier includes it before planning a squad night.

Sources: Pure Xbox · Windows Report

🕹️ Console specifics

PS Plus Extra and Premium Lose 10 Games on September 15, Including Madden NFL 26

Sony confirmed 10 games leaving the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium catalogs on September 15. The biggest names are Madden NFL 26 and Persona 5 Tactica, alongside Premium classics Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. This is separate from September's Monthly Games (Sniper Elite: Resistance, MLB The Show 26, Wobbly Life, and Chained Echoes), which every subscriber can add to their library through October 5.

Player impact: Finish Persona 5 Tactica or your Madden season before September 15, or you lose access unless you buy the games outright. The four Monthly Games are still worth claiming before October 5.

Sources: Push Square · Insider Gaming

🖥️ Hardware

Nvidia's Fast New 616.56 Driver Breaks 8-Bit Monitors and Crashes RTX 50 Overclocking Tools

GeForce driver 616.56 delivers up to 8.1% more performance in path-traced games, but two regressions surfaced on September 1. Monitors set to 8-bit color depth show desktop and browser flickering, fixable by switching the display to 10-bit output in the Nvidia App or enabling Windows Auto Color Management. Separately, the mVolt+ tool that RTX 50-series owners use to raise their card's power limit now hard-crashes the driver and blacks out its interface. The rival Hydra tool still works.

Player impact: If your display runs at 8-bit and flickers after updating, switch to 10-bit output or roll back the driver. RTX 50-series overclockers should hold off, because raising the power limit will crash the display.

Sources: The FPS Review · OC3D

📦 Other

The FPS Games Show Debuts Today With 16 Shooters, From Rainbow Six Siege to Escape From Tarkov

The first FPS Games Show, presented by developer Bulkhead, streams live today, September 3, at 2 PM EDT on Twitch. It promises news, gameplay, and reveals across 16 first-person shooters, with Rainbow Six Siege and Escape from Tarkov among the confirmed lineup. A tie-in Steam event runs alongside it with discounts, free demos, and free weekends on selected shooters, including a 30% discount on Gray Zone Warfare through September 15.

Player impact: Block out the afternoon if you follow shooters: this is the first showcase built only for the genre, and the Steam event means free demos and weekend trials you can jump into today.

Sources: GamesBeat · Out of Games

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9 stories in this issue. Same digest goes out in the Warhogy Discord — reply to this email if there is a story I missed.