Gaming News · Issue #9 · 16 August 2026

TL;DR

• Rainbow Six Siege's Operation Split Fire adds Noor, a new defender who torches ballistic shields, plus a Champion-only Legend Division from September 1.
• FaZe Clan just won the Rainbow Six Esports World Cup, beating FURIA 3-1 for another trophy.
• Active Matter reopens an anomalous Dogorsk raid to loot WWII gear and fight time-displaced soldiers.
• Hell Let Loose: Vietnam rushes a launch-weekend hotfix at AMD crashes and a PS5 audio bug.
• Steam's Choices Matter Festival has 40-plus free demos and giveaway points until August 17.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Active Matter Reopens Its Anomalous Dogorsk Raid to Loot WWII Guns and Fight Time-Displaced Soldiers

Active Matter, a PvPvE extraction shooter set in a fractured multiverse, brought back its Dogorsk: Timeline Collision raid on August 14. Players drop into an altered version of the Dogorsk map to scavenge World War II hardware and fight Turned Soldiers, enemies pulled in from another timeline. It follows the game's recent healing rework, so runs now mix the limited-time event loot with the tuned medical system. The event is a timed return, not a permanent map addition.

Player impact: If you bounced off Active Matter, the Timeline Collision window is a low-commitment reason to jump back in for themed WWII loot. Watch the in-game event timer, because that gear and the Turned Soldiers leave when the raid rotates out.

Sources: Active Matter

🔫 FPS

Rainbow Six Siege's Operation Split Fire Adds Noor, a Defender Who Sets Shields on Fire

Ubisoft revealed Rainbow Six Siege's next season, Operation Split Fire (Year 11 Season 3), on August 15. It adds Noor, an Egyptian two-speed defender whose Horus Lance launcher fires a projectile that burrows into a ballistic shield and ignites, punishing shield attackers. The season also brings a Champion-only Legend Division ranked tier, a 3v3 arcade mode, a Villa map rework that moves a bomb site to the basement, and nerfs to DMRs (marksman rifles), the SMG-12, and Dokkaebi. It goes live around September 1.

Player impact: Shield mains and DMR abusers both lose ground on September 1, so bank your ranked games now if you lean on either. The Champion-only Legend Division means the very top of the ladder is about to play out differently.

Sources: Ubisoft News · SiegeGG

FaZe Clan Win the Rainbow Six Esports World Cup, Beating FURIA 3-1

FaZe Clan won the Rainbow Six Siege event at the Esports World Cup 2026, closing out FURIA 3-1 in the grand final with a 7-5 win on Lair. Jaime 'Cyber' Ramos took best-player honors with a 1.40 series rating. The result adds another major trophy for FaZe after their Six Invitational win, Siege's world championship, earlier this year. The final capped Siege's stop at the Esports World Cup.

Player impact: If you follow competitive Siege, FaZe just cemented themselves as the team to beat heading into the rest of the season. Expect their comps and operator picks to shape what you run into on ranked.

Sources: SiegeGG · Esports.gg

🔜 Coming soon

Silver Palace Wraps Its Second Closed Beta as the Anime Open-World RPG Eyes a Global Launch

Silver Palace, an Unreal Engine 5 anime open-world action RPG from publisher Elementa, closed its second beta, the Dichotomy Test, on August 13. The free PC test ran from July 23 and offered an expanded map, new open-world content, and around 40 hours of gameplay for a limited group. The studio says it is now planning offline events in Korea. There is still no confirmed global release date.

Player impact: If you are watching for the next big free-to-play open-world RPG, Silver Palace just cleared another test, but the missing release date means it is still a wishlist-and-wait, not a play-now.

Sources: Inven Global · Game8

🆕 Just released

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam's First Hotfix Chases Launch-Weekend AMD Crashes and a PS5 Audio Bug

Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, the 50v50 tactical shooter that launched August 13, is pushing its first hotfix over the opening weekend. The studio says Hotfix 1 goes after the worst launch problems: AMD graphics card crashes, server disconnects, and a PS5 bug that dropped game audio for long stretches. The team also clarified aim assist, which is on for all gamepad players across PC and console, defaulting to High with Medium, Low, and Off options.

Player impact: If you skipped Vietnam's rocky launch, the weekend hotfix is the cue to check back, especially on an AMD rig or PS5 where crashes and audio dropouts hit hardest. Controller players who felt aim assist was too strong can now dial it down.

Sources: Hell Let Loose · Hell Let Loose (Facebook)

🆓 Free to try

Steam's Choices Matter Festival Loads Up 40-Plus Free Demos Until August 17

Telltale is hosting Steam's first Choices Matter Festival, a narrative-games event running August 10 to August 17. It bundles more than 40 free playable demos, discounts on 90-plus story games, developer interviews, two world premieres, and a set of free Steam Points Shop items you can grab while the event is live. Everything runs on PC through Steam. The demos and the free Points items go away when the festival closes on August 17.

Player impact: This is a low-risk way to try a stack of story-driven games for free before the weekend ends, and the free Points Shop items are worth claiming even if you skip the demos. Grab both before August 17.

Sources: Steam · gg.deals

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