Gaming News · Issue #54 · 30 September 2026

TL;DR

• Hunt: Showdown 1896 drops its Blood Testament Chapter 2 trailer, and extraction loot shakeups hit ARC Raiders and STALZONE too.
• Witcher 3 Remastered smashed its own Steam record and hit 94 on Metacritic, but AMD owners needed a new driver to see the trees.
• Modern Warfare 4 on PC wants TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, and adds Collateral, a pistol-start bomb mode that plays like Counter-Strike.
• Deadlock's first big update in months adds six heroes that players vote into the game.
• Every Xbox can now turn an old disc into a digital licence, and Steam is handing its deals tab to an algorithm.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Hunt: Showdown 1896 Teases Blood Testament Chapter 2 With Compound Changes and New Tarot Cards

Crytek posted the Chapter 2 trailer for Blood Testament on September 29. It promises sweeping Compound changes (Compounds are the building clusters where bounty fights happen), new DLC, a new Story Challenge, a new Community Event, two new Tarot Cards, a new Tool, and Twitch Drops. The studio will show the full chapter in a developer livestream on October 1 at 6 PM CEST on Twitch, YouTube, and Steam.

Player impact: Compound changes rewrite the routes and camping spots your trio has memorised. Watch the October 1 stream before you plan your next bounty run.

Sources: Hunt: Showdown 1896 on Steam (Crytek) · Hunt: Showdown 1896 livestream announcement (Crytek)

STALZONE Adds Jackpot Loot to Its Deadliest Zones While Dark and Darker Wipes October 9

EXBO announced an open-world economy rework for STALZONE on September 28: bigger Faction North cache rewards, lighter and more valuable event loot, and a new jackpot mechanic whose odds rise in more dangerous locations, especially at gold NPC events. Old junk items may be removed and refunded in rubles, with no live date given yet. Separately, Ironmace's Hotfix #127 for Dark and Darker preps the Early Access Season 11 wipe on October 9 and adds a stash Sort button.

Player impact: STALZONE players should sell junk before it gets converted, and Dark and Darker players have nine days to spend a stash that is about to vanish.

Sources: STALZONE on Steam (EXBO) · Dark and Darker on Steam (Ironmace)

🔫 FPS

Modern Warfare 4 on PC Demands TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot and Adds a Counter-Strike Style Bomb Mode

Infinity Ward and Beenox revealed MW4's PC features on September 29. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required alongside RICOCHET anti-cheat, the game needs 115 GB on an SSD, and the recommended tier targets 90fps. The new Collateral mode has two bomb sites, pistol starts, and cash earned between rounds, with no respawns or killstreaks. Shipment returns, PC preload opens October 15, and launch is October 23.

Player impact: Check that Secure Boot is on in your BIOS before launch week, or you will not get in. Collateral is Call of Duty's direct pitch at Counter-Strike and Valorant players.

Sources: GamingTrend · Call of Duty blog

Deadlock's City Never Sleeps Update Lets Players Vote Six New Heroes Into the Game

Valve released the City Never Sleeps update for Deadlock, its hero shooter, on September 29. Six new heroes arrive in an order players vote on (one vote per game, two per win), going live Tuesdays and Fridays from October 2. The map is split into new districts including Chinatown and a Haunted Lot, and a secret shop called The Broker appears around 30 minutes in, selling upgraded items with random drawbacks. New heroes need 15 Standard wins before Ranked.

Player impact: Every match you play now counts as a vote, so your hero picks steer the roster. Ranked players get a grace period before the new kits show up in their games.

Sources: DualShockers · TheGameHaus

Apex Legends Switches On Javelin Anti-Cheat and Hits Party Not Ready Errors

EA's Javelin anti-cheat replaced Easy Anti-Cheat in Apex Legends on PC on September 29. The same day, Respawn's official update post said players were hitting matchmaking errors including Party Not Ready, advised switching the launcher to Steam, and said a fix was being worked on. Secure Boot is not required at launch. Respawn also brought Core Wildcard back next to Apex KO.

Player impact: If your squad cannot queue, try launching through Steam until the fix lands. The bigger test is whether cheater reports actually drop in ranked over the next few weeks.

Sources: Apex Legends on Steam (Respawn) · EA

Fortnitemares 2026 Starts October 1 With Playable Five Nights at Freddy's Animatronics

Epic confirmed Fortnitemares 2026 on September 29, arriving with update v42.30 on October 1 after downtime from 4 AM ET, with servers back around 6 AM ET. It runs until November 1. Players can control Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics, Battlewood becomes the Gravegate point of interest, the Arcade turns into Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, and the Flashlight Assault Rifle and Witch Broom join the returning Pumpkin Launcher. Freddy Krueger, Slender Man, and Beetlejuice also feature.

Player impact: Plan around the downtime on October 1. New weapons and two reworked locations mean the early-season drop spots and loadouts will shift fast.

Sources: Game Rant

🔜 Coming soon

Gears of War: E-Day Pre-Install Is Live at 120 GB, and You Can Skip Modes to Save Space

Pre-install for Gears of War: E-Day opened September 29 on Xbox Series and the Xbox PC app, with a download of roughly 120 GB. An install manager lets players leave out Campaign, Horde Siege, or Versus. Early access begins October 1 for Premium and Collector's Edition owners, and the standard edition and Game Pass Ultimate follow on October 6.

Player impact: Clear drive space now. Versus-only players can skip the campaign install, and Game Pass players wait five extra days behind early access buyers.

Sources: Pure Xbox

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Hits PS5 and Switch on October 7, Plus a Brawler Expansion

Ghost Ship Publishing announced on September 29 that Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, the auto-shooter spin-off already on PC and Xbox, launches on PS5, Switch 2, and Switch on October 7. It also revealed the Knockout Expansion, adding a Brawler class, the Sandblasted Corridors biome, and a new boss mission, with no date or price yet.

Player impact: PlayStation and Nintendo players get a proven one-more-run shooter in a week. PC and Xbox players get a new class to grind once the expansion dates.

Sources: Gematsu

🆕 Just released

Witcher 3 Remastered Beats Its Own Steam Record and Hits 94 on Metacritic, but Broke on AMD Cards

The Witcher 3 Remastered, a free upgrade for owners, launched September 29 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Switch 2. It peaked near 120,000 concurrent Steam players, above the 103,329 record set in January 2020, and VGC reports it is now 2026's highest-rated game on Metacritic at 94. On AMD's Adrenalin 26.9.1 driver, RX 9000 cards showed missing models and black artifacts; CD Projekt Red pointed to driver 26.9.2 for the fix.

Player impact: Owners get the upgrade free, so there is no reason not to reinstall. AMD players should update their driver before launching or they will see forests vanish.

Sources: Shacknews · VGC

🆓 Free to try

High on Life Is Free to Keep With Prime Until October 28

Amazon added High on Life, Squanch Games' comedy shooter, to Prime Gaming as an Epic Games Store copy alongside Hue (also Epic) and Da Vinci Cryptex (Legacy Games), closing out its September lineup. Prime members can claim all three free to keep until October 28, 2026.

Player impact: If you have Prime, claim High on Life before October 28 even if you never play it. It is a full shooter you keep forever.

Sources: Notebookcheck

🕹️ Console specifics

Xbox Disc to Digital Is Live for Everyone, Turning About 1,500 Discs Into Digital Licences

Microsoft rolled Disc to Digital out to all Xbox owners on September 29. Insert an eligible Xbox One or Series disc, pick Claim digital licence, and the game works without the disc. Trackers count about 1,400 to 1,568 supported games. Xbox 360 and original Xbox discs are excluded, SEGA and Ubisoft have joined, and Square Enix has not. If the option is missing, a full restart via Power Options forces it through.

Player impact: Dig out your old discs and claim them before you sell them. Kotaku warns the licence follows the disc, so a sold or lost disc can cost you the digital copy.

Sources: Kotaku · Pure Xbox

🖥️ Hardware

AMD Adrenalin 26.9.2 Brings Day-One Support for Witcher 3 Remastered, Gears E-Day, and MW4

AMD released optional driver Adrenalin 26.9.2 on September 29 with support for The Witcher 3 Remastered, Gears of War: E-Day, Modern Warfare 4's campaign early access, Minecraft Dungeons II, and Control Resonant. It fixes timeouts in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on RX 7000 and occasional HITMAN crashes on RX 9000. Known issues include Smart Access Memory switching off on Windows 10, and AMD says RX 5000 War Thunder players should stay on 26.9.1.

Player impact: Radeon owners playing this week's big launches should update now. Windows 10 users should check Smart Access Memory is still on after installing.

Sources: AMD release notes · Deskmodder

Minecraft Dungeons II Won't Run on Steam Deck and Ace Combat 8 Kicks Linux Players From Online

GamingOnLinux reported on September 29 that Minecraft Dungeons II needs Microsoft Game Services, which fails under Proton and leaves a black screen, so it is rated Unsupported on Steam Deck with no workaround. Ace Combat 8, in advanced access before its October 1 launch, lets SteamOS players join lobbies but kicks them when matches start, because Easy Anti-Cheat's Linux support is not switched on. Bandai Namco has not commented.

Player impact: Steam Deck owners should hold off buying Minecraft Dungeons II. Ace Combat 8 works for single-player on Deck, but online is out until Bandai Namco flips the switch.

Sources: GamingOnLinux · GamingOnLinux

📦 Other

Valve Hands Steam's Discounts and Events Tab to a Personalised Algorithm

Valve announced on September 29 that Steam's curated, calendar-based Discounts and Events tab will become a personalised feed for each customer. It has paused scheduling new curated placements, and the old calendar fully ends in early 2027. Valve says months of testing showed 10 times more games to customers per day, with more store visits, wishlists, and cart adds, and it promised new discount tools for developers.

Player impact: Your deals page will start looking different from your friends'. Small games get more shots at your screen, and big sales may get easier to miss.

Sources: Game Developer · GamesRadar

Read the full issue on the site →

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