Gaming News · Issue #73 · 19 October 2026

TL;DR

• Gray Zone Warfare's Rogue Ops opens to Supporter owners today, and its smuggling runs hand you a backpack the whole server can see.
• RESIDUE dropped a Next Fest demo where you raid a city, cook contraband, and sell it before someone robs you at extract.
• Valorant revealed Hush, a Duelist who yanks enemies into walls from October 27, as LOUD became the first team to win Champions twice.
• Mycopunk leaves early access tomorrow and lands on PS Plus Extra the same day, moon region included.
• An insider says PS6 memory alone costs Sony over $680 a console, so start saving now.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Gray Zone Warfare's Rogue Ops Is Live for Supporters, and Smugglers Carry a Backpack Everyone Can See

MADFINGER Games' final 0.5 devlog, posted October 18, confirms Rogue Ops goes live in Supporter Preview today and for everyone on October 22. Smuggling contracts give you one hour to haul a visibly marked backpack across Lamang while other players hunt you in the PvEvP Warfare mode. The update also adds a three-room Hideout with a drug lab and electronics workshop, cuts high-value loot spawns, and claims roughly 10% more FPS after the move to Unreal Engine 5.7.

Player impact: Smuggling turns your squad into a moving bounty, so expect chokepoint camping on day one. Supporter owners get three days to learn the routes before the rest of the server arrives.

Sources: Gray Zone Warfare on Steam: New Features in 0.5 devlog · Gray Zone Warfare on Steam: Rogue Ops Q&A Dev Stream

RESIDUE Is a PvP Extraction FPS About Cooking Contraband, and Its Next Fest Demo Is Out

Lowlife Interactive released a free Steam demo for RESIDUE on October 18, ahead of Steam Next Fest's October 19 to 26 run. It is an urban multiplayer extraction shooter: you raid a city for weapons and materials, produce contraband at a hideout, then carry product into raids to sell to buyers. Other players can kill you before extraction and take the product, the loot, and the payout. The full game has no release date yet.

Player impact: This is a new PvP extraction loop with an economy built around carrying sales into danger. The demo is free for Next Fest week, so squads can judge it before wishlisting.

Sources: RESIDUE on Steam · RESIDUE Demo on Steam

Ex-Marathon Director Joe Ziegler Says There Were 'a Lot of Disagreements' at Bungie

In a PC Gamer interview published October 18, former Marathon and Valorant director Joe Ziegler said "there were a lot of disagreements across the place" during Marathon's development. He did not name who clashed or what it changed. Ziegler took over Marathon in March 2024 and left Bungie in July. In the game itself, the Vault Breaker event returns October 20 with weekly Armory stock cut, including Materials Packs from five to two.

Player impact: Marathon players get no answers here, only confirmation the friction was real. The practical part is Vault Breaker's tighter Armory stock from tomorrow, so plan your weekly buys.

Sources: PC Gamer · Bungie: Marathon Update 1.1.9.2

🔫 FPS

Valorant's Hush Pulls Enemies Into Walls and Concusses Them, and She Arrives October 27

Riot revealed Hush, Valorant's 31st agent and ninth Duelist, at the Champions grand final in Shanghai on October 18. Her signature Displacement grenade drags players to its centre and concusses anyone slammed into a wall or a teammate, and it refreshes every two kills. She also gets a redirectable flash, a grapple called Flow, and an ultimate that levitates everyone caught in it. Her passive picks up guns and the Spike from range.

Player impact: A Duelist with crowd control and kill-based refreshes could warp entry fragging in ranked. Expect her in every lobby from October 27 until Riot tunes her.

Sources: Dexerto · Sheep Esports

LOUD Beat Vitality 3-1 to Become the First Team to Win Valorant Champions Twice

LOUD won Valorant Champions Shanghai on October 18, beating Team Vitality 3-1 in the grand final (Summit 13-11, Lotus 8-13, Sunset 13-5, Haven 13-10). The Brazilian team also knocked out defending champions NRG and took $1 million from the $2.25 million pool. Captain Roberto "erde" Lobos won tournament MVP and dedicated the title to his mother, who died two days before LOUD's first match. LOUD's first title came in 2022.

Player impact: LOUD now has a dynasty argument nobody else in Valorant can make. Expect the Sunset and Haven executes from this final to show up in ranked lobbies this week.

Sources: GosuGamers · Inven Global

Marvel Rivals Jumps From PEGI 12 to PEGI 16, and Its Gacha Systems Look Like the Reason

Marvel Rivals now carries a PEGI 16 rating in the UK and Europe, up from 12, almost two years after its December 2024 launch, as reported on October 16. Outlets including OpenCritic and TheGamer point to the game's growing reliance on gacha and chance-based purchases (paid random rolls for cosmetics). PEGI has not named the systems, and NetEase has not commented. The hero-shooter gameplay itself has not changed.

Player impact: Younger players in Europe could lose access through parental controls or store age gates. It also puts loot-box-style spending in Rivals under a brighter spotlight.

Sources: Explosion

Bungie Is Hiring for Destiny 2 Again as the Bungie Store Shuts Down Today

Bungie listed two contract Senior UX designer roles for Destiny 2 on October 16, its first Destiny hiring in months, Destructoid reports. The game was declared end-of-development after its final major update in June, though Bungie has said it will restore vaulted campaigns, locations, and raids. Separately, the Bungie Store retires its merchandise storefront on October 19, with digital downloads and emblem codes accessible until December 31.

Player impact: Two UX hires do not mean new expansions, but they suggest the vault-return plan has real staff behind it. Redeem any emblem codes or downloads before December 31.

Sources: Destructoid · PC Gamer

🔜 Coming soon

The Hundredth Floor: Extraction Sets a December Launch and Grows Its Demo to 25 Floors

Solo developer JohnHang and publisher Infini Fun announced on October 16 that The Hundredth Floor: Extraction leaves for a full Steam release in December 2026, with the exact date and price to come. An updated Next Fest demo is live with 25 floors, three bosses, and improved visuals. It is a single-player dungeon crawler with ARPG combat, where pushing deeper raises both the loot and the risk of losing the run.

Player impact: Players who want extraction tension without PvP have a free demo to test this week. December is crowded, so the demo is its best shot at wishlists.

Sources: Games Press

🆕 Just released

Tales of Eternia Remastered Lands at 77 on OpenCritic, With Upscaling Drawing the Complaints

Bandai Namco's Tales of Eternia Remastered launched October 16 and sits at 77 on OpenCritic, with 71% of critics recommending it. Most scores land between 7 and 8, including Push Square at 7/10 and DualShockers at 8/10. The 2D combat gets praise, while Shacknews and others criticise the video upscaling and call the remaster conservative.

Player impact: JRPG fans get a solid way to play a missing Tales entry, but expect dated visuals and cutscenes. Wait for a sale if upscaling quality matters to you.

Sources: OpenCritic · Final Boss

🆓 Free to try

Mycopunk Hits 1.0 on October 20 With a New Moon Region, Free for PS Plus Extra Members

Devolver Digital's co-op looter shooter Mycopunk leaves Steam early access on Tuesday, October 20, and launches on PS5 the same day straight into the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for Extra and Premium members. Developer Pigeons at Play's October 18 post adds X11-B, a moonlet region tuned as a harder challenge for veteran players, plus upgrade tuning and new weapon upgrades. On PC it stays a paid game at $14.99.

Player impact: PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play the full 1.0 release at no extra cost from launch day. PC squads who bounced off early access get a reason to return.

Sources: Mycopunk on Steam: 1.0 and the Moon · Push Square

🕹️ Console specifics

Xbox Is Hiring a 'Physical Games Supply Strategist' as Fans Wonder if Helix Keeps a Disc Drive

Windows Central spotted an Xbox job listing for a Physical Games Supply Strategist on October 18. The role suggests Microsoft still plans to manage disc supply, at a time when PlayStation is moving toward discless hardware. Microsoft has said nothing official about physical games on Project Helix, its next console, which has no release date or price. A job post is a signal, not a confirmed plan.

Player impact: Disc collectors and anyone who trades in used games should watch this. If Helix ships with a drive, it could win buyers PlayStation is losing.

Sources: Windows Central

🖥️ Hardware

An Insider Says PS6 Memory and Storage Alone Cost Sony Over $680 a Console

Hardware leaker KeplerL2, who has reported accurately on AMD hardware before, claimed on NeoGAF that the PS6's RAM and NAND storage would currently cost Sony over $680 per console, VGC reported on October 18. Memory prices are climbing on AI data-centre demand. Analysts quoted alongside it disagree on retail: one calls $1,000 "the floor", another expects a base model under $999. Sony has not commented, and the PS6 has no price or date.

Player impact: If the claim holds, next-gen consoles get pricier or later. Anyone hoping to skip a PS5 Pro for a cheap PS6 should temper that plan.

Sources: VGC

📦 Other

Konami's President Says AI Can't Replace the Chemistry Between People Who Make Games

Konami Digital Entertainment president Hideki Hayakawa said in the company's new business report, covered by VGC on October 18, that "people and creators" matter most and that a team's "chemical reaction" cannot easily be replaced. He disputed that generative AI will reshape the market, arguing engines and user-made content already lowered the barrier. He still called new tech an opportunity Konami helps creators use safely. Konami is back in triple-A with Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Castlevania.

Player impact: Fans of Konami's revived series get a stated commitment to human-led development. Watch whether that holds as Capcom and others push AI into their engines.

Sources: VGC

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