Gaming News · Issue #21 · 28 August 2026

TL;DR

• Gamescom 2026 flooded the extraction shooter lane and the free beta weekend is stacked: Active Matter locked in a September 15 launch.
• Tencent revealed a free horror extraction shooter and Gravhounds turned extraction into four-player co-op.
• ARC Raiders warns your account can be banned if someone else cheats on it.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Active Matter Locks In a September 15 Launch and Hands Old Gaijin Buyers a Free Steam Copy

Gaijin Entertainment and Matter Team confirmed at Gamescom on August 25 that Active Matter, their PvPvE extraction shooter (you raid unstable zones for loot while fighting AI monsters and rival squads), launches September 15 on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. The standard edition costs 29.99 USD. Anyone who bought the earlier Gaijin Store version gets an equivalent Steam copy for free, with progress carried across. The pitch leans on SCP-style contained-anomaly horror and gravity-bending arenas.

Player impact: If you already own the Gaijin build, do nothing and your copy moves to Steam free on the 15th. Everyone else is deciding whether a 30 dollar extraction shooter can hold squads in a lane already crowded with Tarkov, ARC Raiders, and Marathon.

Sources: GamingOnLinux · Saving Content

Tencent Reveals Rules of Engagement: The Grey State, a Free PvPvE Horror Extraction Shooter

At Gamescom on August 25, Tencent and Grey State Studio revealed Rules of Engagement: The Grey State, a free-to-play PvPvE extraction shooter for up to three players. You play a Strider raiding a nightmare dimension for a priceless artifact while creatures and rival squads hunt you. Tencent says monetisation is cosmetic only, weapon skins and battle passes, with no pay-to-win. It targets a 2026 PC release on Steam and Epic globally, plus WeGame in China. No exact date yet.

Player impact: A free three-player cosmetic-only extraction shooter with Tencent's budget behind it is a direct shot at squads who bounced off Tarkov's price and grind. The thing to watch is whether cosmetic-only survives contact with a live service.

Sources: GamingBolt · Hardcore Gamer

ARC Raiders Warns Your Account Can Be Banned If Someone Else Cheats On It

Alongside Store Update 1.43.0 on August 25, Embark told ARC Raiders players that if anyone else accesses your account and gets caught cheating, the account can be banned even though you did not cheat. The studio pushed players to turn on 2FA or passkeys on every account linked to their Embark ID and never share logins. The same update added the Roamer cosmetic set and kept the Phantom Targets event running until September 6.

Player impact: Account sharing, boosting, and sketchy unlock services now carry a permanent ban risk on your main. Lock down 2FA before someone else's cheating costs you your ARC progress.

Sources: GameRiv · ARC Raiders

🔫 FPS

Apex Legends Patch Fixes Octane's Heal and a Bug That Locked Players Out of the Match

Respawn shipped an Apex Legends patch (3.19 on console) on August 26. It restores Octane's passive to full-health regeneration as intended, fixes a rare bug that locked players out of nearly all actions in battle royale, stops Gibraltar sprinting faster than intended when the Fast Shotties perk meets the Corrupted Stock, and cleans up rubber-banding and jitter after reconnecting to a match.

Player impact: If you main Octane, your passive heals to full again. And the fix for the full action-lockout bug means fewer matches where you drop in unable to shoot, loot, or ping.

Sources: MP1st

🔜 Coming soon

Silver Palace Debuts a New Trailer and Teases Multiplayer at Gamescom Opening Night Live

Elementa Games showed a new Silver Palace trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live on August 25, capped by a 15-second post-credits teaser hinting at multiplayer for the Unreal Engine 5 anime open-world action RPG. The game was also shortlisted for Gamescom's Best Mobile Game award and is playable at a Cologne booth this week. It recently wrapped its Dichotomy beta and passed 10 million pre-registrations. No launch date has been given yet.

Player impact: A game that has looked single-player teasing multiplayer changes what it could become. Nothing is playable outside the show floor yet, so this is a wishlist-and-watch, not an action item.

Sources: PR Newswire · VideoGamer

🆓 Free to try

Xbox Free Play Days: Control and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Free for Everyone Until August 30

Xbox's Free Play Days runs from August 27 to August 30. Control Ultimate Edition and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves are free to try for all Xbox players with no Game Pass required. ARK: Survival Ascended and Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker are also playable this weekend, but those two need a Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, or Essential membership. Any progress and the trial discount carry over if you decide to buy.

Player impact: Control Ultimate Edition free for everyone is the pick here: a full third-person action game with all its DLC, playable through Sunday with your save intact if it hooks you.

Sources: Xbox Wire · Pure Xbox

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