Gray Zone Warfare Hideout Rebalance | Gaming News #86
Gray Zone Warfare's next patch makes the hideout grind easier and hideout loot lighter to carry, so the extraction grind fix lands where players complained.
Gaming News · Issue #86 · 1 November 2026
TL;DR
- Gray Zone Warfare's next patch makes the hideout grind easier and hideout loot lighter to carry, so the extraction grind fix lands where players complained.
- Tarkov's zombies are live in Infected Labs and Factory, insurance is off, and Tagilla swapped his hammer for a scythe.
- Battlefield 6's cheater rate climbed to 3.41% in September even after EA blocked 439,945 cheat attempts.
- id Software says about half the Doom studio is gone after Xbox's cuts, and it now leans on MachineGames.
- Silver Palace launches free on December 14, while Final Fantasy 14: Evercold slips to February 23.
🎯 Extraction shooters
Gray Zone Warfare's Next Patch Makes the Hideout Cheaper to Build and Its Loot Lighter to Haul
MADFINGER Games laid out Patch 0.5.1.0 for Gray Zone Warfare in an October 30 dev stream recap on Steam. Hideout progression gets slightly easier and more rewarding, production and disassembly get rebalanced, and hideout resources will weigh less in your bag. The studio is also tuning AI to cut frustrating encounters and is investigating reports that enemies soak too many hits. No release date was given; hotfix 0.5.0.2 already shipped October 29.
Player impact: If the Rogue Ops hideout grind made you log off, this is the patch to wait for. Lighter resources mean fewer runs spent hauling scrap instead of fighting, and solos feel that most.
Sources: Gray Zone Warfare on Steam: Upcoming Patch 0.5.1.0 & Halloween Event
Tarkov's Zombies Are Live in Infected Labs and Factory, and Tagilla Now Swings a Scythe
Battlestate Games' Halloween event went live with patch 1.3.0.0 on October 29, confirming the zombie return Nikita Buyanov teased. Two reworked event maps, Infected Labs and Infected Factory, carry infected crowds and an infected Tagilla who trades his hammer for a scythe. A new questline runs through Therapist and Skier. Extracts are restricted: Factory only opens Gate 0 and Gate 3, and Labs only lets you out through Parking Gate or Sewer Conduit with a specific item.
Player impact: Infected Labs still needs a Labs keycard and the extracts are locked down, so plan your exit before you load in. Bring night vision, because squads report the event Labs is pitch black.
Sources: TarkovHead: Halloween 2026 event · Forbes
ARC Raiders Turns One, and Embark Left a Free Gift in Every Raider's Inbox
Embark Studios marked ARC Raiders' first anniversary on October 30, one year after the extraction shooter launched on October 30, 2025. Every player who logs in finds a free gift in the in-game inbox, though Embark did not name the item or a claim deadline. The studio also ran an anniversary stream and says it has 'lots planned for the future' without naming dates. Steam still showed about 59,500 players online on November 1.
Player impact: Log in and grab the gift before anyone tells you it was timed. The bigger question is what year two brings, since Embark still has not said whether its PvE test returns.
Sources: ARC Raiders: One year anniversary
🔫 FPS
Battlefield 6's Cheater Rate Rose to 3.41% in September, Despite 439,945 Blocked Attempts
EA published its September anti-cheat report for Battlefield 6 on October 30. The match infection rate (the share of matches with a detected cheater) ended August at 3.24%, peaked at 3.64% on September 2, and closed September at 3.41%. EA's Javelin anti-cheat blocked 439,945 cheat or tamper attempts in the month, and 107 of 111 tracked cheat sellers reported failures or went offline. EA promises 'more significant enhancements' in coming updates.
Player impact: Roughly one match in 30 still has a cheater in it, and the number moved the wrong way. If your lobbies feel worse lately, EA's own data says you are not imagining it.
Sources: EA: Battlefield 6 Anticheat Metrics, September
Activision Apologises and Pulls Real Itaewon Crush Footage From Modern Warfare 4's Intro
Activision apologised on October 30 to the bereaved families of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul and confirmed it will remove real news footage of the disaster from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's opening cinematic. The families' association had called using the tragedy in an entertainment product 'highly inappropriate and senseless.' Activision says it never meant to trivialise the event. No patch date for the edit was given.
Player impact: The intro you already watched will change in a future update. It also puts Call of Duty's habit of mixing real news clips into campaigns under a spotlight that Activision clearly did not plan for.
id Software Says About Half the Doom Studio Is Gone After Xbox's Cuts
id Software co-director Marty Stratton told press at a Doom: The Dark Ages event this week that 'about half of our studio' left in Xbox's 'reset' layoffs, as reported by IGN on October 31. He says id stays viable in both game development and its engine tech team, and is 'working more closely with MachineGames than ever,' a partnership that started earlier this year. MachineGames is rumoured to be making a third Wolfenstein, and nothing about a joint project is confirmed.
Player impact: The studio behind Doom's idTech engine is half its old size. Expect slower Doom support and more shared tech with Wolfenstein's makers, so do not bank on a quick next Doom.
WARDOGS Holds Back Its Season 3 Preview to 'Get the Information Right'
BULKHEAD pushed back the WARDOGS Season 3 preview devlog planned for this week, PCGamesN reported on October 30. Community manager Brian 'L0ssy' McCrann said the team is 'making some big moves and want to get the information right before committing to camera.' Season 3 is still dated for November 12, and no new date was given for the video.
Player impact: After a Season 2 that BULKHEAD itself called a mistake, players want the Season 3 progression details before November 12. The quiet week raises the odds of a rework, or a slip.
Sources: PCGamesN
🔜 Coming soon
Silver Palace Launches Free on December 14 for PS5, PC, and Mobile
Elementa Games' Silver Palace, a free-to-play anime detective open-world action RPG, launches worldwide on December 14, announced October 31. It arrives on PS5, PC through its own client and the Epic Games Store, iOS, and Android, with no Xbox or Switch version mentioned. Global pre-registration is open, with milestone rewards including a free 4-star character.
Player impact: Another free open-world gacha-style RPG lands mid-December, right against a packed holiday release slate. Pre-register now if you want the free 4-star character on day one.
Sources: Gematsu · Insider Gaming
Ex-Blizzard Boss Rob Pardo's Arkheron Hits Early Access November 27, With 15 Trios Fighting Up a Tower
Bonfire Studios, founded by former Blizzard chief creative officer Rob Pardo, dated Arkheron's early access for November 27 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, per an October 30 report. It is an isometric PvP game where 15 teams of three climb a tower, picking up relics that change abilities each run while the arena shrinks floor by floor until one team is left. There are no fixed heroes, and aiming is free on both controller and mouse.
Player impact: This is a Diablo-style loot climb with battle royale pressure, built for trios. Line up your squad now, because early access will decide fast whether it has a crowd.
Sources: 80 Level · Arkheron on Steam
Final Fantasy 14: Evercold Slips Four Weeks to February 23, With Preorders Opening November 4
Square Enix delayed Final Fantasy 14's Evercold expansion from January to February 23, 2027, announcing it at the Tokyo Fan Fest on October 31. Early access opens February 19 for preorders, which start November 4. Producer Naoki Yoshida also revealed Zephyr, a crossbow ranged DPS job with a bird companion, alongside the already-announced Bastion tank.
Player impact: Your January plans just moved to late February, right into a crowded release month. Preorder on November 4 if you want the four days of early access.
🆕 Just released
Phantom Blade Zero Peaks at 775,647 on Steam, the Biggest Single-Player Launch of 2026
S-Game's Phantom Blade Zero reached 775,647 concurrent Steam players over its first weekend, MP1st reported on October 31, the highest peak for a single-player game on Steam this year. Steam reviews sit at 88% positive, and the game is in the PlayStation Store top 10 in most regions. For scale, Modern Warfare 4 peaked at 186,417 on Steam by the same report's figures. Steam still showed about 195,600 players online on November 1.
Player impact: A Chinese-made single-player action game outdrew Call of Duty's Steam peak. If you skipped it at launch, the patches and verdicts are in, so this is the week to decide.
Sources: MP1st
🕹️ Console specifics
Nintendo's Surprise Pikmin Day Direct Dates Pikmin 4's $69.99 Switch 2 Edition for November 12
Nintendo shadow-dropped a nine-minute Pikmin Day Direct on October 31, declaring November 1 Pikmin Day. Pikmin 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition with the new Dandori Academy content launches November 12 at $69.99 (£58.99), and Nintendo says a free demo is coming. Shigeru Miyamoto also introduced Hello! Pikmin, a monthly series of animated shorts starting November 1. There was no Pikmin 5.
Player impact: Switch 2 owners get a new Pikmin 4 edition in under two weeks, at full price. Try the demo before paying $69.99 for a game many already own on Switch 1.
Sources: Nintendo Life · Insider Gaming
🖥️ Hardware
Intel Moves Wafers Meant for Panther Lake Laptop Chips Over to AI Server CPUs
Intel said on its third-quarter earnings call, reported October 31, that it will convert some Oregon manufacturing from Intel 18A to Intel 3 to make more Xeon server chips. CFO Dave Zinsner said the 18A wafers being taken offline were 'generally going to build Panther Lake products,' Intel's new laptop CPUs. Intel's data center business made $7.3 billion in the quarter, up nearly 80% year on year, and CEO Lip-Bu Tan called it 'one of the most significant supply shortages in history.'
Player impact: Fewer Panther Lake chips means tighter supply for gaming laptops and handhelds built on them. If you were waiting for a new Intel gaming laptop, expect higher prices and thinner stock into 2027.
Sources: Tom's Hardware
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