Wednesday gaming news, part one:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

GOG has provided a new redeem code: 2025Shooters that will last during 72 hours.

Fanatical has two new deals:

• The new Star Deal is Stellar Blade™ Complete Edition, 31% off during 48 hours: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/stellar-blade-complete-edition
• BYO Indie Legends Bundle (Fall 2025) features 16 titles for your 2+, 4+ or 7+ game bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-indie-legends-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

-Empty-

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Fallout: London Gets Rabbit & Pork DLC With New NPCs, Dialogue Lines, Weapons, Quests, and Story Content
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/the-rabbit-pork-dlc-brings-80-fully-voiced-npcs-8000-new-dialogue-lines-30-new-quests-and-minigames-and-30-new-weapons-and-armours-to-fallout-london
The modding team behind Fallout: London, a fan expansion for Fallout 4, has released the Rabbit & Pork DLC for it. This free DLC brings new content to the game. So, let’s take a closer look at what it adds.
The Rabbit & Pork DLC comes with 80 fully-voiced NPCs and 8000+ new dialogue lines. It has 30 new quests and minigames, 30 new weapons and armours, as well as 70 random encounters. Players can also expect a new animal companion and a new player home. There is also new content for early faction introductions, as well as thousands of bug fixes and improvements.
As the team claimed, this release significantly enhances the stability, content, and overall player experience. It also addresses much of the feedback it has received since launch.
For those who did not know, Fallout: London is a big expansion mod for Bethesda’s RPG. It will take players right into the nuclear aftermath and all the way to the Parliament building. This mod changes everything, like the world you explore, the groups you meet, and the stories you follow. Players can also expect to encounter new people and find new cool weapons. And yes, you can also expect to be fighting new enemies. In other words, this is a total conversion that will change everything in the game.
Fallout London is only compatible with the pre-patched version (1.10.163.0) of Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. At least for now. From what we know, Team FOLLON plans to add support for the Next-Gen Update in the future. However, there is no ETA on when this will happen.
>> There is an almost 2 minutes video of the DLC.

Team Fortress 2 Classic, the throwback version of Valve's famed team-based shooter, is having an open beta on Steam in October
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/team-fortress-2-classic-the-throwback-version-of-valves-famed-team-based-shooter-is-having-an-open-beta-on-steam-in-october/
Team Fortress 2 has come a long way in the nearly 20 years it's been around, not entirely in ways that everyone would agree is better. For those who yearn for the days before hats (and bots) dominated the scene, the Team Fortress 2 Classic mod does just that.
Originally released in 2014, developer Eminoma announced plans for a Steam version earlier this year, enabled by the launch of the Team Fortress 2 SDK in February, and work seems to be coming along well: The team announced today that an open beta will get underway on October 13, alongside the start of the upcoming Steam Next Fest.
"We're not sure if mods are normally at Next Fest, but the opportunity presented itself and we took it!" dev team member Nito wrote. "We have been working overtime for the past month to get ready for this, and I could not be more proud of the devs who have been toughing it out."
The open beta will include "every TF2C-exclusive weapon, gamemode, and map" (except Casbah), as well as new additions including damage feedback, balance changes, and "revamped" support for Four-Team, which adds Green and Yellow to the traditional TF2 mix of Red and Blue. The game will be playable on both official servers and "a number of community servers."
TF2 Classic has been available for years, but the shift to Steam is significant. For one thing, it adds new features like Steam achievements, and more importantly it greatly simplifies the process of running it for people like me, who might be interested in some pre-hat TF2 action now and then, but not so much that we're interested in dealing with the headache of setting it up.

GAMING NEWS

Dying Light: The Beast Hotfix 1.2.3 Released – Full Patch Notes
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/dying-light-the-beast-hotfix-1-2-3-released-full-patch-notes
Techland has just released Hotfix 1.2.3 for Dying Light: The Beast and shared its full patch notes. So, let’s see what this new update brings to the table.

First gameplay trailer released for Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/first-gameplay-trailer-released-for-thief-vr-legacy-of-shadow
Vertigo Games has released the first gameplay trailer for the New Thief VR game from Maze Theory, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow. In this video, we get to see a brand-new gameplay trailer and an extended mission walkthrough with Vertigo Games’ Principal Game Designer Nick Witsel.

The creators of SOMA & Amnesia have shared the first teaser trailer for their next game
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/the-creators-of-soma-amnesia-have-shared-the-first-teaser-trailer-for-their-next-game
Frictional Games, the creators of SOMA and the Amnesia games, have released the first teaser trailer for their next game. This teaser trailer does not show much. Still, this is something that may interest all the die-hard fans of this studio.

Painkiller Gets New Co-Op Gameplay Trailer & PC Requirements
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/painkiller-gets-new-co-op-gameplay-trailer-pc-requirements
Saber Interactive has released a new gameplay trailer for the upcoming re-imagination of Painkiller. Moreover, the publisher has shared the game’s official PC requirements. So, let’s take a look at them.

The second part of the Wednesday gaming news:

Pax Dei, the fantasy alternative to EVE Online, is leaving early access and introducing a subscription model that sounds a lot like paying a landlord
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/pax-dei-the-fantasy-alternative-to-eve-online-is-leaving-early-access-and-introducing-a-subscription-model-that-sounds-a-lot-like-paying-a-landlord/
When Pax Dei launched in early access last year, I was pretty excited. Developer Mainframe Industries painted a vivid picture of clashing kingdoms, a player-run economy, and even the ability to become, essentially, the Pope. What we got initially was a pretty generic survival crafting game where simply making a pair of trousers took almost as long as it would in real life.
Since then, the team's introduced player-to-player trading, a magic system, an expanded PvP area and a variety of tweaks and changes—including the world itself being transformed, to better facilitate more players and building projects. And now it's gearing up to leave early access, with the 1.0 launch set for October 16.
>> Sadly, as the article explains later, the game is almost dead.

After months of complaining that Monster Hunter Wilds is too easy, Omega Planetes is here to tip every hunter upside down and shake out all their lunch money
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/after-months-of-complaining-that-monster-hunter-wilds-is-too-easy-omega-planetes-is-here-to-tip-every-hunter-upside-down-and-shake-out-all-their-lunch-money/
I was not expecting Monster Hunter Wilds' most challenging fight to date to come from a Final Fantasy 14 collaboration of all places, but as someone who is an absolute sicko for both games it's perhaps the most fun I've had repeatedly carting over and over again.
At first I thought it was the fact I hadn't touched Wilds in a few months and I was rusty as hell—tunnel-visioning in on my Hunting Horn songs and eating just about every damn hit I could—but it turns out Omega Planetes is actually just kinda freaking hard.

Battlefield 6 season 1 roadmap finally tells us how big its Call of Duty-like seasons will be: two maps, five guns, modes, and attachments
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/battlefield-6-season-1-roadmap-finally-tells-us-how-big-its-call-of-duty-like-seasons-will-be-two-maps-five-guns-modes-and-attachments/
It's the nature of big-budget shooters these days that, as soon as they're out, folks start immediately asking what's next. Seasons are still how we experience multiplayer games at the moment, and Battlefield 6 is finally sharing its roadmap details as launch approaches.
Battlefield 6 season 1 is coming October 28, just two weeks and change after its October 10 launch, and it's packing what you'd expect from an FPS challenging Call of Duty for the throne: two new maps, a handful of guns, a couple of modes, and an event.

Cities: Skylines 2 latest region pack heads to the Netherlands, 'the land of windmills, clogs, and stroopwafel,' and includes new hospitals, fire stations, and hyperrealistic cemeteries
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/city-builder/cities-skylines-2-latest-region-pack-heads-to-the-netherlands-the-land-of-windmills-clogs-and-stroopwafel-and-includes-new-hospitals-fire-stations-and-hyperrealistic-cemeteries/
Cities: Skylines 2 just got a free content update in the form of the Netherlands Region Pack. This will provide Netherland-loving players the opportunity to build up a Dutch-inspired city with a bunch of new service buildings and an eerily realistic cemetery.

The Star Trek: Voyager survival game will let you murder Tuvix all over again—so I don't really care that it looks a little rough
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/the-star-trek-voyager-survival-game-will-let-you-murder-tuvix-all-over-again-so-i-dont-really-care-that-it-looks-a-little-rough/
Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, the upcoming survival strategy game, just peeled back the curtain a wee bit more, giving us a new trailer that shows off the sci-fi romp's main pillars, like exploration, combat and 'what if?' scenarios.

Ken Levine says Judas might look a bit like Bioshock, but it's 'really radically different'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/ken-levine-says-judas-might-look-a-bit-like-bioshock-but-its-really-radically-different/
It sure feels like Judas isn't all that far away. Three years after the game's announcement, Ghost Story Games' main man Ken Levine is suddenly popping up all over the place to drop tidbits about the upcoming shooter, and last month brought the game's first dev log and a promise to "communicate more frequently." So you're going to be hearing the phrase "narrative legos" an awful lot.
Expectations are high for Judas, but it also has to be said that it looks a hell of a lot like another Bioshock game. In a new interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays, Levine talks a little more about Judas and the similarities to his previous work: but insists it's got a whole lot more going on than plasmids and wrenches.

'Survival-climber' Cairn is delayed into 2026, but the demo on Steam is getting a cool new feature in October
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/adventure/survival-climber-cairn-is-delayed-into-2026-but-the-demo-on-steam-is-getting-a-cool-new-feature-in-october/
Cairn made quite a splash when it debuted at the Summer Game Fest in 2024: PC Gamer's Mollie Taylor said that despite her distaste for "verticality," the reveal trailer left her with an immediate urge to grab a carabiner and go climbing. She's going to have to wait a bit to embark on that particular adventure, though, as developer The Game Bakers announced today that instead of arriving on November 5 as planned, Cairn needs a little more time in the oven and will show up in early 2026 instead.

2 months after halting work on its latest project, Just Cause developer Avalanche is closing its Liverpool studio and laying off employees in Malmö and Stockholm
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/2-months-after-halting-work-on-its-latest-project-just-cause-developer-avalanche-is-closing-its-liverpool-studio-and-laying-off-employees-in-malmo-and-stockholm/
Not quite two months after Avalanche halted work on its 1970s smuggling sim Contraband, seemingly fallout from the massive wave of layoffs and cancellations imposed by Microsoft earlier in the year, Avalanche has announced the upcoming closure of its studio in Liverpool, and layoffs at its remaining operations.

A surprise Steam update for Prototype broke the mods making the 16-year old game playable on modern systems—but could hint at a potential remaster
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/a-surprise-steam-update-for-prototype-broke-the-mods-making-the-16-year-old-game-playable-on-modern-systems-but-could-hint-at-a-potential-remaster/
Prototype was a landmark release in videogame sweatshirts, featuring a permanently hooded, perpetually grumpy man harboring a mutagenic virus and powerful 2009-era angst. Admittedly, I'd be pretty cheesed off if I was left filled to the brim with bioweaponry against my will—until my nasty meat tentacles could fling helicopters around, anyway. All of life's troubles seem small when your meat tentacles can fling helicopters around.
The higher powers at Activision never saw fit to grant Prototype and its sequel any further follow-ups, leaving the series to live on solely in the brief recollections of kicking enemies into low earth orbit. Until this week, that is. 24 hours ago, Prototype and Prototype 2 both received unprompted Steam updates, each around 600 MB.

The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski says one of CD Projekt's big story points is actually based on a mistake, but 'videogame people have clung to the idea with remarkable tenacity'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/the-witcher-author-andrzej-sapkowski-says-one-of-cd-projekts-big-story-points-is-actually-based-on-a-mistake-but-videogame-people-have-clung-to-the-idea-with-remarkable-tenacity/
The first tease for The Witcher 4, back in 2022, was nothing but an image of a snow-covered Witcher medallion—but not a wolf. That led to an immediate question: Which school did it represent? There are several in the world of The Witcher, after all: Geralt's School of the Wolf is the one we know best, but there are also schools dedicated to the Viper, the Bear, the Manticore, and others, each with different attitudes and approaches to their profession.
That's true of the games, anyway, but apparently it's not the case in the books they're based on. In a new AMA on Reddit, Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski said the whole idea of individual Witcher schools is based on a mistake, and it hasn't gone away because "videogame people" won't let it go.

And here is the third part:

CoD: Black Ops 7's wallhack killstreak is receiving a frenzy of criticism, but isn't the point of killstreaks that they're unfair?
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/call-of-duty-black-ops-7s-wallhack-killstreak-is-receiving-a-frenzy-of-criticism-but-isnt-the-point-of-killstreaks-that-theyre-unfair/
A clip from today's Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 event has gone mildly viral, and is attracting the ire of onlookers who seem to feel that Call of Duty has, this time, gone too far with the wacky gadgets and guns.
The clip (embedded above) shows Call of Duty pro Simp using one of Blops 7's new killstreak rewards, The Gravemaker, a sniper rifle whose wielder can see, and snipe, through solid walls. The go-to joke is that Activision has given up on combating cheaters and decided to just put wallhacking into the game.

BioWare's just waiting for the axe to fall after EA's $55 billion buyout, say anonymous staff
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/biowares-just-waiting-for-the-axe-to-fall-after-eas-usd55-billion-buyout-say-anonymous-staff/
EA went private in a Saudi-backed $55 billion deal earlier this week, and pretty much no one with a net worth south of $100 million is happy about it. Least happy of all? The staff of EA's myriad studios, who now have to wonder if their jobs are going under the guillotine to make Mohammed bin Salman and Jared Kushner's pocketbooks a little happier. With EA now on the hook for a $20 billion debt to JP Morgan in the wake of its leveraged buyout, frantic cost-cutting (and, joy of joys, AI) seems inevitable.
Especially worried are the staff at BioWare, which hasn't chalked up an unalloyed win since 2021's Mass Effect Legendary Edition and which hasn't chalked one up with an actually new game since 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition. In a chat with Insider Gaming, anonymous staff at the RPG developer sound like they're just waiting for the axe to fall.

Borderlands 4's Thursday patch will buff the game's cast, but UI improvements are coming later
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/borderlands-4s-thursday-patch-will-buff-the-games-cast-but-ui-improvements-are-coming-later/
Borderlands 4's next patch, as described by a dev last week, will be focusing on buffs to the cast's Vault Hunters. This was reconfirmed on the game's X account, which says that "the Vault Hunter buffs in our Thursday update gonna have you like [pinching emoji, starry-eyed emoji, pinching emoji]". If you need a visual guide for what that pose looks like, they animated Vex doing it.

One of last year's best Metroidvanias, Nine Sols, currently has an entirely different first-person horror game tucked inside its Steam betas
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/one-of-last-years-best-metroidvanias-nine-sols-currently-has-an-entirely-different-first-person-horror-game-tucked-inside-its-steam-betas/
Look, I know we're all playing Silksong, but if I could direct your attention to a slightly different Metroidvania for a moment—Nine Sols, Red Candle's first and only action foray, was one of my favourite videogames from 2024, period. Contributor Abbie Stone waxed lyrical about it back in June of that year, but for some baffling reason I didn't get Yi-pilled until May. We all make mistakes.
Something weird is happening with it, though: At the time of writing, if you have Nine Sols installed and enter "shanhaiarchive" into its beta tab (found in Steam's properties) you can download and play an entirely separate game. Unfortunately, I have a frail constitution that makes me deathly allergic to jumpscares (or 'a coward', if you're boring) so I'll be showing you a playthrough shared to YouTube courtesy of Shadowking.

Fallout 76's Burning Springs update draws its 'main influences from Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas' as players venture to a whole new state, Ohio
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fallout/fallout-76s-burning-springs-draws-its-main-influences-from-fallout-3-and-fallout-new-vegas-as-players-venture-to-a-whole-new-state-ohio/
Fallout 76's next update has finally been announced, and boy, do these just keep getting bigger and better. Blood and Rest will release around early December and introduce Burning Springs as a new area of the map, a bounty system, and [Walton Goggins' beloved ghoul] from the Fallout TV show.

Of course just AFTER I bought a new screen...

This one here, btw: https://www.alternate.lu/Philips/27M2C5501-Gaming-Monitor/html/product/100131967

At that price, it's pretty much unbeatable, especially if you want a screen where you can change the height and tilt, and also swivel the screen if needed.

I really hope CAMM2/LPCAMM2 becomes a widespread standard in Laptops, as it's a much better alternative to gluing your memory to the chassis, which is so widespread on thin laptops due to height constrains but not needed with those.

I know what you mean. It doesn't matter how much time you spend looking for the best deals, you always find a better deal after you've bought the damned thing.

Well, it's a contest so the chances to win are quite low, and the monitor you've got looks great plus you won't have to worry about burn-in. Therefore, congratulations for your purchase.

Hardware Unboxed did some testing of FSR4 FP8 vs leaked prototype of FSR4 INT8:

Slightly blurrier at lower resolutions, but it seems to preserve FP8 quality at solving upscaling problems.

Obviously somewhat slower, but worth it, especially on RDNA3 (RX 7000 series) cards.

Intel Confirms Coyote Cove P-Core & Arctic Wolf E-Core For Nova Lake “Core Ultra 400” CPUs, Panther Cove P-Cores For Diamond Rapids “Xeon 7”

https://wccftech.com/intel-nova-lake-coyote-cove-p-core-arctic-wolf-e-core-diamond-rapids-panther-cove/

Intel Is Pursuing AMD To Secure It As a Foundry Customer, Implying that Team Blue Is ‘Heavily Confident’ With Upcoming 18A & 14A Nodes

https://wccftech.com/intel-is-pursuing-amd-to-secure-it-as-a-foundry-customer/

MSI Confirms “Future CPU” Support On Its AM5 800-Series Motherboards, Pointing Towards Zen 6 Ryzen

https://wccftech.com/msi-confirms-future-amd-ryzen-zen-6-cpu-support-on-am5-800-motherboards/

User Shows How One Can Easily Turn On FSR 4 With Radeon RX 6000 GPUs With A Simple Hack Without Sacrificing Performance

https://wccftech.com/one-can-turn-on-fsr-4-with-radeon-rx-6000-gpus-with-this-hack-without-sacrificing-performance/

Gamers say “Pass” to Game Pass after Ultimate tier price hike to $30

https://videocardz.com/newz/gamers-say-pass-to-game-pass-after-ultimate-tier-price-hike-to-30

Samsung, SK Hynix set to supply chips to OpenAI's Stargate project

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/samsung-sk-hynix-supply-memory-chips-openais-stargate-project-2025-10-01/

The Thursday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

This week, the Epic Store gives away:

• Nightingale: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/nightingale
• A Limited Skin plus other things for Firestone Online Idle RPG: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/firestone-online-idle-rpg-bfd04b

Next week, the free goodies will be Gravity Circuit and ogue Journeyman Bundle.

Humble Bundle presents the WAAAGHtober! A Warhammer Bundle with up to 12 games to get during 27 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/waaaghtober-warhammer-bundle.

Fanatical has the new Platinum Collection - Build your own Bundle (October 2025) is here with 15 games to choose from for your 3+, 5+ or 7+ bundles during 34 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle.

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.8135 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-8135

HIGHLIGHTS
Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc B-series, A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Beta

FIXED ISSUES
Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Topaz Video may exhibit intermittent visual corruption in the export window.

>> Keep in mind that it’s a Beta driver.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Download 9GB GTA 4 Mod That Replaces All City Textures with HD Versions
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/download-9gb-gta-4-mod-that-replaces-all-textures-with-hd-versions
Modder ‘The Wil’ has released a new HD Texture Pack for Grand Theft Auto 4 that upscales all the city textures. This mod is a must-have for everyone who wants to replay this GTA game. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
To upscale the original textures, the modder used AI tools. As such, the new modded textures retain the art style of the original ones. At the same time, they look way better.
The modder explained that he used different AI methods to improve each type of texture. Normal texture upscaling usually takes about 10 seconds per texture, but the new method can take up to 15 minutes for just one texture. This means it requires many hours of GPU power every day.
The extra time and effort make the textures look much better while keeping the same resolution. However, the new AI method doesn’t work well for everything. For example, it makes natural things like soil, rocks, and stones look a bit fake. Because of this, the modder still used the old method for some textures.
It’s also worth noting that the modder made improvements based on the needs of each texture type in the game. Some textures were upscaled to 4X, 2X, and several to 1X.
To showcase how good these new textures look, The Wil released the following comparison screenshots. And, as you will see, the new textures look absolutely insane. This is easily one of the best HD Texture Packs I’ve ever seen.
Furthermore, this pack is compatible with the FusionFix Mod for GTA 4. As such, you can combine them to get the ultimate “remaster” experience on PC.

New Starfield Mod Adds Five Star Wars Classes to the Game
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/new-starfield-mod-adds-five-star-wars-classes-to-the-game
Star Wars and Starfield fans, here is something for you today. Modder ‘themoreyoujoe’ has released a new cool and fun mod that adds five Star Wars classes to Bethesda’s Starfield. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
To create this new Star Wars class system, the modder used backgrounds and traits. As such, we have five classes that players can select. Here are the key features of this system.
*** a llist with the 6 features ***
What’s also cool here is that players will be able to create their own lightsabers and robes. Not only that, but you’ll have at your disposal almost all force powers. For instance, you can use Force Pull, Force Speed, Force Push, Force Lightning, and more.
In short, this is a must-have mod for all Star Wars fans. So, if you are one of them, I highly recommend trying it. You can download it from this link. From what I’ve read, it should also be compatible with the Star Wars Galaxies Mod.
>> The article has an almost 2 minutes video.

Voxel Duke Nukem 3D is a thing of beauty in its latest trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/voxel-duke-nukem-3d-is-a-thing-of-beauty-in-its-latest-trailer
One of the best mods for the classic Doom games was the Voxel Mod. This mod replaced all of the game’s 2D sprites with 3D voxels. And, I’m happy to report that a similar mod will be available soon for Duke Nukem 3D.
Created by modder Cheello, Voxel Duke 3D offers one of the most faithful remastered experiences. The new 3D models retain the art style of the original sprites. They look so good that you might have trouble distinguishing them. The only way to fully admire them is by circle-strafing your opponents. When you do that, you won’t see rotating 2D sprites. Instead, you’ll enjoy the enemies in all their 3D voxel glory.
I cannot stress enough how amazing this mod is. Sadly, we don’t have an ETA on when the mod will come out. However, at the end of the article, you can find its latest trailer. So, make sure to watch it.

Blizzard will break WoW's most popular combat mods sooner than expected, kickstarting a new era for the MMO's boss design in the next major patch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/blizzard-will-break-wows-most-popular-combat-mods-sooner-than-expected-kickstarting-a-new-era-for-the-mmos-boss-design-in-the-next-major-patch/
The great purge of World of Warcraft's most popular combat mods, or addons, is almost here: Blizzard is planning to disable them as early as the patch leading up to the Midnight expansion's release.
It's a surprise for everyone who had assumed the rollout would happen more slowly to let players adjust to life without third-party tools telling them when a boss is going to do a dangerous attack. Professional raiders and casual players alike have relied on combat addons to assist them with the MMO's endgame dungeons for decades. But starting in Midnight, they'll have to rely on the default UI and their knowledge of the fights.
Wowhead attended a group interview with game director Ion Hazzikostas and UX designer Crash Reed where they were asked about addon support going forward. Hazzikostas didn't explicitly say when addons will go away, but his answers imply it will happen in the final patch before Midnight launches.

Skyrim Unreal Engine 5.6 Demo Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/skyrim-unreal-engine-5-6-demo-available-for-download
Skyrim fans, here is something for you today. A new demo for the unofficial port of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in Unreal Engine 5.6 has been released. This demo will let you explore the world of Skyrim in Unreal Engine 5. So, if you are a fan of this TES game, you should definitely try it. Created by Greg Coulthard, this project simply ports the entire map of Skyrim to UE5. All the assets used here are from the original game. As Coulthard has noted, his goal wasn’t to upgrade the game’s graphics. Instead, he wanted to see whether or not it was possible to port Skyrim’s map to UE5 and how it would look in it. As with the previous demo, this new one does not have any gameplay, combat or RPG mechanics. It doesn’t even have any quests. It simply lets you explore Skyrim’s world. And yes, there are some minor graphical enhancements. However, you should not expect much from it. So, consider this a cool demo concept (and not a remake).
>> There is a 10 minutes video of the demo.

GAMING NEWS

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion PC Demo Available for Download
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/marvel-cosmic-invasion-pc-demo-available-for-download
DotEmu has just released a PC demo for its new 2D Marvel beat ’em up, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion. The demo features nine playable characters and two levels. Players will explore New York City and Helicarrier while facing the hordes under Annihilus’ command.

The second part of the Thursday gaming news:

Ubisoft's new Tencent-backed company is called Vantage Studios, a 'creative house' that will take over development of Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/ubisofts-new-tencent-backed-company-is-called-vantage-studios-a-creative-house-that-will-take-over-development-of-assassins-creed-far-cry-and-rainbow-six/
The new thing being launched by Ubisoft and Tencent to take control of Ubi's biggest games now has a name: It's called Vantage Studios, and it's a "creative house" that will take responsibility for the future of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six properties.

'We want to keep experimenting': Silent Hill f won't become the new norm as Konami wants each new Silent Hill game to stand out and have 'its own distinct flavour'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/we-want-to-keep-experimenting-silent-hill-f-wont-become-the-new-norm-as-konami-wants-each-new-silent-hill-game-to-stand-out-and-have-its-own-distinct-flavour/
Silent Hill f may seem like a huge outlier when compared to other games in Konami's psychological horror game series: it's not set in the town of Silent Hill, it takes place during the 1960s, and there's a distinct lack of sexy nurses. But in reality, it has more in common with other Silent Hill games than it's been given credit for.
"The spiritual journey of the protagonist, as she faces her trauma and inner turmoil, is what ultimately makes it Silent Hill-like," series producer Motoi Okamoto says in an interview with IGN Japan at TGS 2025 (via Automaton).

Dune Awakening was 'the biggest release' in Funcom's 32-year history, so you can probably guess what comes next in this rotten world: layoffs
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/dune-awakening-was-the-biggest-release-in-funcoms-32-year-history-so-you-can-probably-guess-what-comes-next-in-this-rotten-world-layoffs/
In the latest proof that 'job security' is simply not a thing in the videogame industry, Funcom says the survival MMO Dune: Awakening, which launched to great success earlier this year, is "the biggest release we’ve had in our 32-year long history of making great games." And so now it's laying off employees.

Swery/Suda51 collab Hotel Barcelona sheepishly apologises for AI content, promises 'We are opposed to any professional GenAI use' that kills the planet, steals jobs, or is otherwise 'Unethical'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/roguelike/swery-suda51-collab-hotel-barcelona-sheepishly-apologises-for-ai-content-promises-we-are-opposed-to-any-professional-genai-use-that-kills-the-planet-steals-jobs-or-is-otherwise-unethical/
(...)
So I was pretty interested in Hotel Barcelona, a 2.5D action roguelite that emerged—like Athena from Zeus' skull—from a hot collabo between the two creators. And then I stopped being quite so interested: reviews weren't great—the game currently stands at a 56% Mixed user rating on Steam, and critics weren't in love with it either.
Now, in another blow to my interest Hotel Barcelona has updated its Steam page to feature an AI disclaimer. The disclaimer bashfully admits that "VHS tapes can be found in the late stages of the game that use voice overs from an AI text to speech service" and that "A logo is featured on these tapes that has utilised generative fill AI to complete the image."

Teenager pleads guilty to sending Epic staff death threats: 'I intended for the messages to be viewed as a threat'
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/teenager-pleads-guilty-to-sending-epic-staff-death-threats-i-intended-for-the-messages-to-be-viewed-as-a-threat/
A teenager from South Dakota has changed his plea to guilty over threatening messages sent to developers at Epic Games in relation to Fortnite (thanks, Gamespot). Jayden Griffin, who is 19 years of age, was indicted by a grand jury in December 2024 over electronic communications sent to Epic Games staff between October 24, 2024, and November 9, 2024.
Griffin pleaded guilty to "threatening interstate commerce", a charge brought because Epic Games is headquartered in North Carolina, and could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in federal prison, fined up to $250,000, or a combination of the two. Even should he avoid jail or get a minimal sentence, he faces up to three years of supervised release. Those are some potentially life-changing penalties, and should certainly give a certain breed of keyboard warrior pause for thought.

Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles director is a big PC gamer, and says he was 'very particular' about making sure they got the new UI just right
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/final-fantasy-tactics-the-ivalice-chronicles-director-is-a-big-pc-gamer-and-says-he-was-very-particular-about-making-sure-they-got-the-new-ui-just-right/
"They've actually done it: Not only can I finally play Final Fantasy Tactics on my PC, but this timeless classic has been done justice," begins our 91% review of The Ivalice Chronicles, the long, long-awaited remaster of one of the all-time great strategy games. As the developers at Square Enix have recently attested, pulling off the revival for PC and modern consoles has been no easy task, in part because the original source code no longer exists.
In a new interview with PC Gamer at the Tokyo Game Show last week, director Kazutoyo Maehiro went into more detail about the specific challenges of adding a new PC-friendly interface to a game designed for the original PlayStation.

World of Warcraft: Midnight deep dive reveals a continent-hopping questline as part of its main campaign, a cosy 'Arcantina' hub, and the release date of player housing's early access
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/world-of-warcraft-midnight-deep-dive-reveals-a-continent-hopping-questline-as-part-of-its-main-campaign-a-cosy-arcantina-hub-and-the-release-date-of-player-housings-early-access/
World of Warcraft: Midnight just received a massive deep dive on its official channels. It's mostly an assemblage of information already out there, such as the new Demon Hunter Spec, the game's new zones, the transmog updates, and the upcoming Prey feature—which as a difficulty sicko with precious few mates that have raid-accessible schedules? I'm very excited about.
>> The collector's edition includes the Dark Heart (link).

As World of Warcraft winds down its combat AddOn support, director Ion Hazzikostas is all composure about rule-breakers because 'Frankly, this is far from the first time'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/as-world-of-warcraft-winds-down-its-combat-addon-support-director-ion-hazzikostas-is-all-composure-about-rule-breakers-because-frankly-this-is-far-from-the-first-time/
World of Warcraft: Midnight will be doing something very dramatic—slowly, steadily, but dramatic nonetheless. After 20 years of working in complete concert, Blizzard will be removing most of its AddOn creator's access to its combat API, meaning AddOns like WeakAuras will no longer function.
In place of that, it'll be adding its own increasingly-comprehensive suite of tools, such as a cooldown manager, buff tracker, and a more customisable personal resource bar. But one lingering thought has been rattling around in the back of my head: is Blizzard just swapping out one arms race for another?

The first hotfix for Hades 2 nerfs one jerk miniboss in particular
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/the-first-hotfix-for-hades-2-nerfs-one-jerk-miniboss-in-particular/
Hades 2 has been out of early access for a week and I can't stop playing it. I haven't rolled credits yet, but so far it's exactly as enthralling and habit-forming as the first one was. Death to Chronos.
Supergiant's first hotfix for version 1.0 is out now, and it's mostly a lot of minor fixes for issues like "Olympian Keepsake effects not activating again after their Boon is skipped" and "Fated List Prophecies related to Hidden Aspects not clearing in specific circumstances". I suspect some rebalancing will follow these patches, but right now one miniboss has been hit with a super specific nerf and I'm glad of it: "Fixed Phantom (Fields) being able to drain Life from your raised servants".

'We will be looking at everything': Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 devs will be paying close attention to community feedback during the upcoming beta
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/call-of-duty/we-will-be-looking-at-everything-call-of-duty-black-ops-7-devs-will-be-paying-close-attention-to-community-feedback-during-the-upcoming-beta/
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's beta starts today for those lucky few with early access, while the open beta will begin in a few days on October 5. Expectations may be pretty low—thanks in no small part to Battlefield 6—but even still, the devs over at Treyarch are determined to put their best foot forward.
>> I mean, that’s one of the reasons to make these tests, right?

Fortnite's collaboration with K-Pop Demon Hunters is the most excited I've been since Epic gave Hatsune Miku an AK-47
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/fortnites-collaboration-with-k-pop-demon-hunters-is-the-most-excited-ive-been-since-epic-gave-hatsune-miku-an-ak-47/
I'm nothing if not a total sucker. Pandering? Totally works on me, as evidenced by Fortnite's newest collaboration with K-Pop Demon Hunters. Which is perhaps the most excited I've been for silly videogame skins since Epic let me gun people down as Hatsune Miku.

Fortnite insists it wasn't stitched up by Warner Bros. and the Peacemaker emote, but is modifying it anyway 'to avoid any confusion'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/battle-royale/fortnite-insists-it-wasnt-stitched-up-by-warner-bros-and-the-peacemaker-emote-but-is-modifying-it-anyway-to-avoid-any-confusion/
Last week, Fortnite pulled the Peaceful Hips emote—which recreated a portion of the opening dance in James Gunn's DC show Peacemaker—after the latest episode's bombshell completely changed the context around the movement.
After Epic said it would "inquire into our partner's creative intentions in this collab emote," it's now determined that Warner Bros. most definitely was not trying to stitch the developer up. But, you know, it's changing the emote anyway. Just to be safe.
Warning: spoilers for Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 6 ahead!

World of Warcraft: Midnight's design director wasn't sure players would enjoy Delve bosses jumping you, but 'it turns out people really like that', so now we're getting Prey
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/world-of-warcraft/world-of-warcraft-midnights-design-director-wasnt-sure-players-would-enjoy-delve-bosses-jumping-you-but-it-turns-out-people-really-like-that-so-now-were-getting-prey/
One of the features I'm most excited for in World of Warcraft: Midnight by far is the 'Prey' system. In case you're unfamiliar, Prey is an opt-in PvE system with three difficulty tiers where you'll claim a target, and get targeted in turn—with said enemy being able to ambush you while you're out in the open world and bully you into 1v1 brawls. Eventually, you'll get to hunt them down instead.
It's a really elegant way to add difficulty to world content: Entirely optional, keeps you on your toes, and packed with fun gameplay flavour. I got to speak with associate game director Paul Kubit and design director Maria Hamilton about the upcoming feature.