Gaming News Digest — September 16, 2026
Published:
Top news
- PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass — New data shows subscribers cancelling en masse as price hikes spark backlash and threaten even higher churn.
- Kingmakers — Ten minutes of gameplay show a modern soldier fighting medieval knights with AK-47s, grenade launchers and armored vehicles.
- Diablo 5 — Revealed at BlizzCon 2026 for a 2029 launch, with procedural world generation returning and Diablo 4's lifecycle cut short.
- Shade of the Marionette: The Story of Piyorita — WitchSpring's creators announced a story-driven 3D action RPG for 2027 on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo and PC.
- DOOM in Hearts of Iron IV — Modder Yard1 released a Steam Workshop mod that runs the classic shooter inside the grand strategy game.
- Rayman Legends Retold — Delayed from October 1 to December 3; a Game Overview trailer arrives September 22.
- Graveyard Keeper 2 — A demo is out on PC and consoles, with progress carrying into the September 22 full launch.
- 007 First Light — The Switch 2 version slipped again to March 2027, while the game is already out on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series.
- Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve — Bandai Namco's PROJECT ACES dropped a story trailer and announced the series' first online multiplayer hub.
- Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic Forge — The 1995 Super Famicom version comes to Steam in 2027 with improved graphics and auto-mapping, but no English translation.
- PUBG: DED.NET — The creator says the game targets players the classic PUBG never hooked, with faster gameplay.
- Marvel Rivals — Rivals Data's ranking of best-selling store skins puts Invisible Woman's "Azure Shadow" swimsuit first.
- Marvel's Wolverine — Insomniac's PS5 exclusive launched, and the studio thanked fans while promising continued support.
- Marathon — Bungie delayed the Symbiosis update from September 22 to December 8 and dropped its rigid seasonal schedule.
- ARC Raiders — Devs are open to scrapping Expeditions entirely, with a final decision after the Frozen Trail update.
- Active Matter — The sci-fi extraction shooter launched on Steam with a new Harmonization Cycle, refreshed rewards and raid upgrades.
- Steam group RPG festival — A festival for party-based RPGs is running, spotlighting squad building, battles, magic and leveling.
- Mistfall Hunter — A patch fixed netcode issues, nerfed the Devastated Knight and made seasonal quests easier.
- Active Matter early version — Gaijin Store owners can transfer their purchase to Steam free until November 23, 2026.
- 007 First Light — A new update added path tracing and DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction support.
- Apex Legends — Season Marked's second half began with new anti-cheat detection for banned controller hardware and software.
- Sea of Thieves — Season 21 starts September 17 with Custom Seas layouts, outpost cosmetics and a new outfit-loadout slot system.
- Hunt: Showdown 1896 — New merch includes a bloody relic necklace and a special literary edition.
- Borderlands 4 — Gearbox's first scripted podcast, Dead ECHOs, sends Junie and Watts to the Jacobs estate on Eden-6.
- Civilization 7 — The 35th anniversary 1.5.0 update adds True Start Location Earth alongside the paid Hall of History Collection.
- Once Human — After backlash, the Beast Master's three-animal summon returns by September 28, plus a 70% weight discount on animals.
- RuneScape: Dragonwilds — In a year the early access survival game grew to include magic, ranged combat, 50+ world sliders and the Fellhollow update.
- Warframe — Devstream #197 showed the 66th warframe Narin, arriving September 23, and a six-player mode.
- Dead by Daylight — PTB 10.2.0 touches 58 perks and tests the Survivor Intent System for preset mid-match messages.
- Total War: Warhammer 3 — A new video breaks down the campaigns of Boris Todbringer and Tankqol from the Lords of the End Times DLC.
- Battlefield 6 — Update 1.4.3.0 launched Season 4: Tidal Strike with Proximity Chat and the Deep Six Collection event.
- SAND — A new Threat mechanic marks aggressive crews visible to everyone on the map.
- Lost Odyssey — A fan port brings the JRPG to PC via static recompilation with 4K and 30-60 FPS support.
- Dune: Awakening — Console server details revealed ahead of September 17 early access and the 1.5 update.
- WARDOGS — BULKHEAD's shooter sold 2 million copies in five days.
- Silent Hill 2 Remake — It and seven other games leave the PS Plus library on October 18.
- WARDOGS — The shooter topped the Steam sales chart and passed three million copies sold.
- Crazy Taxi — Netflix and SEGA signed a deal for Crazy Taxi and Stranger Than Heaven films plus a new Sonic animated series.
- Game Pass — A rumor claims day-one releases end in 2027, Cloud Gaming splits off and an ad tier arrives at $12.99 monthly.
- Total War: SHOGUN 2 — A Complete Edition with all DLC, 50+ minor factions and mod.io support launches October 13.
- Ace Combat — A live-action series premiered on IGN's YouTube channel ahead of Ace Combat 8's October 2 launch.
- Discord — The chat platform suffered another major outage with no explanation.
- PowerWash Simulator 2 — A Barbie DLC with five themed levels and cosmetics arrives by the end of the year.
- Jujutsu Kaisen Rumble: Survivaton — The autobattler was pushed to 2027 to avoid the crowded fall season.
- Honkai: Star Rail — Aha, the Aeon of Joy, joins as a Quantum-type character on the Path of Joy.
- Focus Entertainment — The company is taking legal action against players over violent, sexist comments.
- SEGA — Total War: SHOGUN 2 Complete Edition was announced for October 13 on PC storefronts.
- Marvel's Wolverine — Within 24 hours of launch, the game began addressing major fan complaints.
- Game Pass — September's second wave adds Dune: Awakening and Minecraft Dungeons II while some titles leave.
- Of Ash and Steel — The Shattered Faith DLC was announced at tinyBuild Connect, returning Tristan to Greyshaft.
- GTA VI — Musicians including Travis Scott and Future posted GTA-styled teasers, hinting at involvement in the November 19 release.
- Hell Let Loose: Vietnam — Update 1.5 arrives September 16 with new weapons, rebalances and bug fixes.
- WARDOGS — Players racked up 122.2M kills between September 10-14 as sales passed 2 million.
- Diablo 4 — Errors derailed the Season of Hell's Legacy anniversary celebration after the BlizzCon 2026 reveal.
- Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 — The Switch 2 version slipped to early 2027.
Steam deals
- DJMAX RESPECT V — 80% off in today's Steam discounts.
- Diablo IV — 75% off in today's Steam discounts.
- Wartales — 72% off in today's Steam discounts.
- Half-Life: Alyx, Death Stranding Director's Cut and Call of Duty: Black Ops III — Also discounted in today's Steam sale.
Epic Games deals
- LoDR — 85% off in today's Epic Games Store discounts.
- WORD SEARCH BY JGABRIB — 84% off in today's Epic Games Store discounts.
- Trine Enchanted Edition — 80% off in today's Epic Games Store discounts.
- The Pedestrian — 75% off in today's Epic Games Store discounts.
- sqwrk — 71% off in today's Epic Games Store discounts.
- Loot Stack - Relics Hunter — 66% off in today's Epic Games Store discounts.
Spotlight
- Cibele — A true-story game about love, sex and the internet, following 19-year-old Nina across three acts. Details
- Vector Strike Anti Aimlabs Ball — A mod swaps the Aimlabs ball texture to the old Vector Strike logo. Details
- Threezero DLX — A video discusses scale as one of the biggest challenges for the Threezero DLX figure line. Details
- Chronon — A first-person puzzle game with ambient music, unique brain teasers and keys unlocking each next level. Details
- Point Perfect — A retro-arcade cursor shooter where you dodge, duck and click through a gnarly death trap. Details
