Gaming News · Issue #71 · 17 October 2026

TL;DR

• Tarkov's Scourge Labs boss is a limited-time extraction shooter boss event, and it ends October 20.
• ZERO Sievert threw out its old enemy AI, so bandits now flank you and rush your reloads.
• Gray Zone Warfare banned 1,239 more cheaters and says permanent bans will now come earlier.
• Battlefield 6 rolled back a Season 5 XP slowdown that EA calls unintended.
• Nvidia's Windows 10 driver support ends in November, so RTX 40 owners there miss DLSS 5.

🎯 Extraction shooters

Tarkov Drops a New Boss Squad Into Labs, and It Leaves on October 20

Battlestate Games started Escape from Tarkov's Scourge Incursion event on October 16. A boss called Scourge and a heavily armed guard squad, rumoured in the event text to be led by one of the Arena champions, now hold parts of The Lab. A linked quest asks players to find the Scourge Smartphone, extract, and hand it in, with Labs keycards among the rewards. The event ends October 20 at 08:00 BST.

Player impact: Labs just became a scheduled boss fight for four days. Bring a full kit and a squad, or expect the guards to turn your keycard run into their loot.

Sources: Escape from Tarkov on X · Timesaver.gg event guide

ZERO Sievert's Rebuilt AI Is Live, and Bandits Now Rush You Mid-Reload

Developer CABO Studio shipped a ground-up rewrite of ZERO Sievert's enemy AI on October 16. Enemies now take cover, flank, share sightings, cover each other's reloads, and push when you heal or reload. Each faction fights differently, bosses like Kibba and The Devil got their own profiles, and enemies lose track of you once you break line of sight. Squads also roam the whole raid and come back for a fallen ally's loot.

Player impact: Old routes and corner-camping habits will get you killed this week. Quiet, suppressed play now pays off, and looting a dead NPC with friends nearby can start a second fight.

Sources: ZERO Sievert Steam news

Gray Zone Warfare Bans 1,239 More Cheaters and Says Permanent Bans Come Sooner Now

MADFINGER Games posted a Gray Zone Warfare security report on October 16 covering the Update 0.4 cycle. A ban wave this week permanently removed 1,239 more accounts. The studio says it is putting more staff on anti-cheat, adding in-house tools alongside Easy Anti-Cheat and Anybrain for Rogue Ops on October 22, and issuing permanent bans earlier. Players will also get in-game notices when someone they reported is punished.

Player impact: Rogue Ops launches into a stricter ban policy, which is good news for raid fairness. Report suspicious kills, because those reports now come back with an answer.

Sources: Gray Zone Warfare Steam news

ARC Raiders Hotfix 2.1.1 Shuts Locked-Room Exploits and Item Duping

Embark Studios pushed ARC Raiders Hotfix 2.1.1 on October 16. It closes several methods that let players get into locked rooms without a key and duplicate items. Embark thanked players who reported the methods privately through its Discord support inbox instead of posting them publicly. The fix lands while the PvE matchmaking toggle test runs until October 20.

Player impact: Duped gear and keyless loot rooms were inflating the economy. Expect trader prices and keyroom traffic to settle, and keep exploits to private reports or risk a ban.

Sources: ARC Raiders Steam news

🔫 FPS

Battlefield 6 Rolls Back Its Season 5 XP Slowdown and Calls It an Accident

Battlefield 6 reverted backend configuration changes that slowed XP earnings after Season 5 launched on October 13, GameRiv reported on October 16. Players had claimed weapon progression was capped around 300 XP per minute. Battlefield Comms said the slowdown across modes and weapon progression was unintended and that it is watching data to confirm the normal pace is back. Players now report double XP running alongside the free trial, which ends October 19.

Player impact: If you skipped grinding Season 5 camos, the rates are back. Many players doubt the 'unintended' label because Battlefield 6 also sells $30 full-mastery weapon packs.

Sources: GameRiv · iXBT Games

🆕 Just released

Boltgun 2 Is Out for $24.99 and Sits at 81 on Metacritic

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 launched October 14 on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch for $24.99. Critics put it at 81 on Metacritic, and early Steam user reviews are Very Positive. Reviewers praise the new Sister of Battle, Nyra Veyrath, her sword dash, and branching level paths. The common complaints are a repetitive arsenal (three similar bolters) and basic enemy AI.

Player impact: A cheap, fast boomer shooter (a modern take on 90s Doom-style FPS) just landed on every platform. Buy it if you liked the first game, but expect its guns to feel samey.

Sources: GameDaily review roundup · Steam store

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Scores 85 With Critics but Mixed on Steam Over PC Crashes

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse launched October 14 and holds an 85 on OpenCritic, the series' best critical reception since 2005. Steam user reviews opened at Mixed, TheGamer reported on October 15. Players report freezes, crashes, black screens on boot, ghost inputs, and a cursor that never hides. Some say it only runs with frame rates capped at 60fps, and Steam Deck performance is described as very bad.

Player impact: Console players can jump in. PC and Steam Deck players should wait for a patch or try the 60fps cap before buying.

Sources: OpenCritic / TheGamer

🆓 Free to try

Steam Next Fest Opens October 19 With a Week of Free Demos

Steam Next Fest, Valve's free demo festival, runs October 19 to 26, the third and last edition of 2026. Hundreds of unreleased games put out free demos on Steam for the week, and the June edition carried over 8,000. Demos are free to play during the festival window, and each developer decides whether its demo stays up afterwards.

Player impact: Free test drives for next year's games start Monday. Try the shooters and extraction games you are curious about before wishlisting, because some demos vanish on October 26.

Sources: Game Rant · GameGrin

🕹️ Console specifics

PEAK Climbs Onto PS5, Xbox, and Switch 2 on October 22 With Crossplay

The co-op climbing hit PEAK launches on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 on October 22, per a PlayStation Blog post from October 15. Crossplay works from day one, so up to four friends can climb together across PC and consoles. Console versions include every biome, item, and update released since the June 2025 PC launch. A physical PS5 edition with a buddy code is up for pre-order.

Player impact: Console friends who missed the PC craze can finally join your climbs. The buddy code in the physical edition makes it a cheap two-player pickup.

Sources: GosuGamers

🖥️ Hardware

Nvidia's Windows 10 Game Ready Drivers End in November, So RTX 40 Owners There Miss DLSS 5

From November, every new Nvidia Game Ready and Studio driver will require Windows 11, TechTimes reported on October 15. Version 617.42 from October 6 is the latest Windows 10 Game Ready driver. Windows 10 RTX owners keep quarterly security patches through October 2029, with no new game profiles or DLSS updates. Nvidia confirmed DLSS 5 is coming to RTX 40 cards without a date, but only in Windows 11 driver branches.

Player impact: Still on Windows 10? You lose day-one game fixes and DLSS 5 on RTX 40 cards. Plan the Windows 11 move before the next big release needs a new driver.

Sources: TechTimes

📦 Other

A US Congressman Wants Bought Games to Stay Yours, With Offline Modes When Servers Die

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) announced the Power To The Players Act on October 15, Kotaku reported. It would direct the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to write rules so buying a digital game means owning it instead of renting a revocable license. Games with online features would need offline modes that keep working after servers shut down. Torres cited NBA 2K25's shutdown, and the bill has not been formally introduced yet.

Player impact: If it passed, server shutdowns could stop killing games you paid for. It is an early proposal, so treat it as a signal, and expect publishers to fight it.

Sources: Kotaku · Tom's Hardware

SCUM Studio Gamepires Cuts Staff but Says Updates Will Continue

Gamepires, the Croatian developer of the survival game SCUM, announced layoffs on October 14, citing market conditions. It did not say how many people were let go, and its website listed more than 65 developers. Splash Damage bought Gamepires from Jagex in February 2026. The studio says SCUM updates and content drops will continue, though it did not say whether their size or pace will change.

Player impact: SCUM players should watch the next roadmap closely. A smaller team often means slower patches, even when a studio promises business as usual.

Sources: DualShockers

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