RIFTSTORM Early Access Launch | Gaming News #92
RIFTSTORM's early access launch drops a co-op extraction shooter with keep-your-loot runs and a rocky 55% score.
Gaming News · Issue #92 · 12 August 2026
TL;DR
- RIFTSTORM's early access launch drops a co-op extraction shooter with keep-your-loot runs and a rocky 55% score.
- Escape from Tarkov just outdrew ARC Raiders and Marathon on Steam, and the genre's pecking order is shifting.
- Epic is giving away Caravan SandWitch free to keep from August 13, so claim it before the 20th.
- RTX 50 prices jumped up to 41% this month, and the RTX 5090 now costs $4,929.
🎯 Extraction shooters
RIFTSTORM Drops Into Early Access With Keep-Your-Loot Runs and a 55% Score
RIFTSTORM, a co-op PvE extraction shooter from Confiction Labs, hit Steam Early Access on August 11. Players squad up as Weavers fighting Mythic threats across rift missions, with five characters at launch, around 30 weapons, and in-run Lythogram power-ups. Its extraction-lite twist lets you keep the loot you gathered instead of losing everything on a failed run. Early reviews sit at 55% positive.
Player impact: If Tarkov-style all-or-nothing runs burn you out, RIFTSTORM's keep-what-you-grab rule is the pitch. The 55% launch score means squads should wait for a patch or two before buying in.
Sources: Steam · Tech Gaming Report
Escape From Tarkov Outdraws ARC Raiders and Marathon on Steam After Its Season Reset
Escape from Tarkov's first-season launch (update 1.1.0, Kord Breach) pushed its daily Steam peak past 44,000 players, its highest in over a year, per tracking flagged by ixbt on August 10. Over the same weekend ARC Raiders peaked near 39,000 and Bungie's Marathon sat around 4,000 to 5,000. Both newer games launched far higher, at 480,000 and 88,000. Tarkov gained ground while its rivals kept bleeding players.
Player impact: The genre's pecking order is flipping: the oldest, jankiest extraction shooter is climbing while two big-budget rivals fade. If you left ARC or Marathon, the population question is real before you queue.
Sources: ixbt.games · GameFragger
🔜 Coming soon
Fortnite Ends Its Season With the Unstable Live Event on August 15, Season 4 Override Follows
Epic set Fortnite's Unstable live event for August 15 at 2 PM ET, the one-time story finale that closes Chapter 7 Season 3. Damage turns off five minutes before it begins. Chapter 7 Season 4, titled Override, starts after downtime on August 20 and leans into a gaming theme, with Sonic the Hedgehog and Persona 5 collaborations already lined up.
Player impact: One-time live events do not repeat, so log in around 2 PM ET on August 15 or watch a stream to catch it. If you want the current battle pass finished, wrap it before the August 20 reset.
🆕 Just released
Agent 64: Spies Never Die Launches as a Splitscreen Throwback to GoldenEye
Agent 64: Spies Never Die, a low-poly FPS from Replicant D6, released in full on August 11 for PC. It leans hard on 1990s console-shooter design: a solo or co-op spy campaign of stealth and objectives, plus local splitscreen and online multiplayer for up to eight players. The look and mission structure openly echo GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, the N64 shooters it is built to imitate.
Player impact: If you miss couch splitscreen shooters, this is a rare new one built for it. At an indie price it is an easy game-night pickup, though eight-player online lobbies will live or die on the population.
🆓 Free to try
Epic's Free Game This Week Is Caravan SandWitch, a Cozy Sci-Fi Road Trip
The Epic Games Store swaps its weekly free game on August 13, giving away Caravan SandWitch, a narrative exploration game set on a Provence-inspired post-apocalyptic planet. It is free to keep once you claim it, with the claim window running August 13 to August 20. The current freebies, Beacon Pines and We Were Here Together, leave the store at the same August 13 changeover.
Player impact: Claim Caravan SandWitch any time before August 20 and it is yours forever. Grab the outgoing Beacon Pines and We Were Here Together before August 13 if you missed them last week.
🖥️ Hardware
RTX 50 Prices Jump Up to 41% in August as the RTX 5090 Hits $4,929
Nvidia's RTX 50 graphics cards climbed again in August, with median prices up as much as 41% month over month, per TechPowerUp's tracking. The RTX 5090 now lists at $4,929 on Nvidia's own store, up from its $1,999 launch price in January 2025. The RTX 5070 and 5060 Ti rose 36% and 39%, pushing both past $800. Memory demand from AI servers is driving the squeeze.
Player impact: If your GPU still runs your games, this is the worst time in years to upgrade. Buyers eyeing a 5070 or 5090 should expect prices to hold high into 2027, so hunt used or wait it out.
Sources: TechPowerUp · Club386
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