Here are the Friday gaming news:

SALES/PLAYER COUNTS & DEALS

After a record-breaking September, 'it's safe to say Steam's yearly revenue will blow past $20B for the first time'
https://www.pcgamer.com/software/platforms/after-a-record-breaking-september-its-safe-to-say-steams-yearly-revenue-will-blow-past-usd20b-for-the-first-time/
The first six months of the year were Steam's biggest, thanks to continued growth in back-catalogue sales as well as blockbuster new releases like Forza Horizon 6 and Resident Evil Requiem. As industry analysts Alinea Analytics report, September was another record breaker based on their estimated figures.
"Steam generated $1.7 billion in September 2026," Rhys Elliott, Alinea's head of market analysis, wrote, "the platform's best September to date, up 13% on the previous record, September of last year."
Wardogs was the smash hit new release of September, though Elliott noted the "hype cycles and virality" of comparably leftfield surprises Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2 were more sustained. "By this point, Helldivers 2 had made $130M (26.5% more than Wardogs) on Steam, while Arc Raiders had made about $125M (21.2% more)."
Still, Wardogs generated an estimated $86.9M on Steam in September. Elliott highlights Onimusha: Way of the Sword ($30.4M), The Blood of Dawnwalker ($26.9M), Bodycam ($24.2M), and EA Sports FC27 ($20.7M) as the other big new launches on Steam that month.
"Steam also had its best-ever Q3," Elliott wrote, "generating $5.5B (up 12% on last year). That brings the 2026 total to $16.5B so far, a 13% increase from the $14.5B Steam made in the first nine months of 2025. Given the insane release slate for the rest of the year, it's safe to say Steam's yearly revenue will blow past $20B for the first time."

Humble Store has two new sales:

• The Playstation PC Autumn Sale will have games up to 67% off during 6 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/playstation-autumn-sale/
• The Bandai-Namco October Sale features Tekken 8 and DLCs with discounts that range from 25 to 45% discounts during 12 days : https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/date-1-bandai-october-sale/

Fanatical

• The Star Deal is Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - Digital Deluxe Edition, 41% off. It started earlier today and will last until tomorrow: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/marvels-spider-man-2-digital-deluxe-edition
• CoppaFeel! Charity Bundle features 10 games. It will end in 28 days: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/coppafeel-charity-bundle

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc Graphics 32.0.101.9034 driver
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-graphics-32-0-101-9034
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:

• ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE
• Gears of War: E-Day

>> It’s a Beta driver, like the other five before this one.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Play Diablo 2 Resurrected in First-Person & Third-Person Modes
https://www.dsogaming.com/mods/play-diablo-2-resurrected-in-first-person-third-person-modes/
Diablo fans, here is something really cool for you today. A new mod, called D2R-3D, just came out that lets you play Diablo 2: Resurrected from a much closer camera. The mod changes how you view the game and lets you explore its world from new angles.
The project adds free camera control to Diablo 2: Resurrected. You can press F12 to turn it on. Then, with the mouse wheel, you can zoom in and out. You can also hold the middle mouse button and drag the camera to move the view. This makes it possible to look at the game from much lower and closer angles.
This new view gives players a better look at the game’s world. Areas that are hard to notice from the normal top-down view become much easier to see. Walls, rooms, monsters, lighting, and other small details can stand out more when the camera is close to the action.
By adjusting the camera, you can play the entire game in third-person. Or you can place it a bit higher to get a camera similar to that of World of Warcraft. Or you can zoom all the way in and experience it in first-person mode.
The project has two versions. The standalone version comes with an EXE and DLL file. These files can be placed in the Diablo 2: Resurrected folder next to the game’s EXE file. The mod can then be enabled with F12. There is also a plugin version with separate camera and render-distance plugins.
Do note, though, that the project is still experimental. The standalone version can trigger the game’s integrity check, which may cause the game to crash after about a minute. Because of this, players should treat it as a work in progress.
Overall, D2R-3D offers a fresh way to experience Diablo 2: Resurrected. It does not change the core game in any way. Instead, it gives players much more control over the camera.
Those interested can download the mod from here (Github). Below, you can also find a video of it. This will give you a pretty good idea of what you can expect from it, so be sure to watch it.

More than 450 Witcher 3 mods have already been updated to support the Remastered version
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/the-witcher/more-than-450-witcher-3-mods-have-already-been-updated-to-support-the-remastered-version/
In the mere two days since The Witcher 3: Remastered released on PC, its Nexus Mods page has been a hive of activity, featuring updates for all sorts of customization packages for the game—including ones you'll only install if you're a coward.
By my count, more than 450 Witcher 3 mods are either newly released or updated since September 29, an overwhelming number if you thought you'd just poke your head in and see what's been going on. One thing that's going on is that a lot of mods are now using AI image generation to create thumbnails that immediately give me the ick. Why create a fake, AI-glazed screenshot for your HUD mod when we all know what The Witcher 3 actually looks like? Baffling!
Another thing that's going on, thankfully, is that some modders with names like GrimReaper2121 are still putting in good work with creations such as De-mastered Geralt. And loads of mods that date back to the 2010s, making them mainstays of The Witcher 3's mod scene, have been updated to play nice with the latest patch.
>> The article lists a total of 17 of those mods, not including the coward one.

GAMING NEWS

Here Are the PC Requirements for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/here-are-the-pc-requirements-for-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-4/
Activision and Beenox have revealed the official PC system requirements for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. So, let’s see what PC system you’ll need to run this new COD game.

The second part of the Friday gaming news:

That's some fiiiiine lookin' milk, but Rust devs warn that 'cream is a more powerful consumable'
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/thats-some-fiiiiine-lookin-milk-but-rust-devs-warn-that-cream-is-a-more-powerful-consumable/
On the heels of Facepunch Studios adding necks to s&box it has now also added milk to Rust.
October's Rust update is here and it's bringing livestock—cows and sheep—and their various secretions, offal, and dander for all your crafting needs. The new animals produce the following:
>> You’ll have to read the article to discover the new products (or click the other link)

At last: I can build a home out of raw Windows Vista-era nostalgia
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/at-last-i-can-build-a-home-out-of-raw-windows-vista-era-nostalgia/
Imagine for a moment: It's the year 2007. All software looks like glossy, rounded plastic, dewy glass, and photographs of verdant fields. Every electronic device makes ethereal chimes when it starts up. You've never heard the phrases 'live-service,' 'large language model,' or 'prediction market.' It's safer here, amidst the dreamy lime greens and ocean blues. It's better.
And now, thanks to a new house-builder that launched on Steam this week, we can live the definitely-healthy fantasy of retreating into the security of yesterday's software aesthetics. Frutiger Home is a home decorating sim where you can build an impregnable psychic cocoon out of the finest design elements of an era where technology could still feel optimistic, and not like perpetual cognitive radiation poisoning. Hooray!

'We needed a potentially infinite resource of party members so that we could then kill them:' Entropy dev James Wragg explains how you fit permadeath in a party RPG
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/we-needed-a-potentially-infinite-resource-of-party-members-so-that-we-could-then-kill-them-entropy-dev-james-wragg-explains-how-you-fit-permadeath-in-a-party-rpg/
Entropy is a very cool, very funky RPG you can play in early access right now. It's a turn-based ode to the likes of Final Fantasy 10 or Lost Odyssey, but it's also got some PC flair—lead developer James Wragg cites Fallout 1 and Games Workshop's tabletop Mordheim as major inspirations as well. I asked Wragg about the game's mercenary hiring and ambitious permadeath system in a conversation this past summer.
>> There’s another article about why they’re borrowing from PS1 and PS2 era gams to avoid “open world fatigue” (link).

If Ace Combat's too pricey, this excellent indie alternative is on sale for just $12.50
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/if-ace-combats-too-pricey-this-excellent-indie-alternative-is-on-sale-for-just-usd12-50/
If there's an Ace Combat fan in your life, you're likely already aware that it's a very good time for fighter jets dogfighting with arcade intensity. But if you're not already certain that exchanging near-infinite missiles is for you—you should be, but I acknowledge we all find truth at our own pace—Ace Combat 8's $70 price tag might seem a bit too high for a trial run.
Luckily, there's a phenomenal alternative that you can pick up for a fraction of the price: Project Wingman, a celebrated Ace Combat-inspired passion project that's currently available for $12.50 in the Steam Autumn Sale.
>> I still have to play it.

Masters of Albion, Peter Molyneux's final game, just got a huge update and, [vigorous, lips-pursed nodding of approval], suddenly the old god game magic is back
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/masters-of-albion-peter-molyneuxs-final-game-just-got-a-huge-update-and-vigorous-lips-pursed-nodding-of-approval-suddenly-the-old-god-game-magic-is-back/
Masters of Albion's 'New Beginnings' update launches today, and it overhauls and upgrades many of the original early access release's systems. The above video gives an overview of what's new.
I bought Masters of Albion when it launched in April. But after scoping out what's new in this update, I feel the moment that I and, no doubt, many other PC gamers have been waiting for has arrived: it's the moment when Peter Molyneux's final title has properly started to take form and genuinely recapture the god game magic of old.
>> The video mentioned is no longer available.

There's something even scarier than Huggy Wuggy in the Playtime toy factory this weekend
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/theres-something-even-scarier-than-huggy-wuggy-in-the-playtime-toy-factory-this-weekend/
It's been a while since I set foot nervously inside the Playtime Co. factory, but last time I was there I was hounded through the halls and air vents by a towering blue plush toy that wanted nothing more than to hug me to death.
I played a bit of the multiplayer prequel to Poppy Playtime this week, and I can now report that there's something even scarier than that giant Huggy Wuggy doll roaming the factory. Her name is Miss Delight. You can meet her yourself because the Escape from Playtime open beta is now live on Steam and you can try out the game all weekend long.

And here’s the third part:

Resident Evil's executive producer explains the deeper meaning behind Requiem, and I just can't get on board
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/resident-evil/resident-evils-executive-producer-explains-the-deeper-meaning-behind-requiem-and-i-just-cant-get-on-board/

Kingdom Come: Deliverance studio co-founder hopes Grand Theft Auto 6 will 'blaze a trail' to higher game prices
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/grand-theft-auto/kingdom-come-deliverance-studio-co-founder-hopes-grand-theft-auto-6-will-blaze-a-trail-to-higher-game-prices/
>> And I hope this thumb ends between the door of his car and the frame. Often.

Riot needed absurd player counts 'in the high hundreds of thousands, if not millions' for 2XKO, dooming it from launch
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fighting/riots-absurd-expectations-of-player-counts-in-the-high-hundreds-of-thousands-if-not-millions-doomed-2xko-from-the-start/

The weekend deals at GOG and Steam are very easy this week:

+GOG

• This is the last weekend of the Autumn Sale, with up to 95% discounts during another 4 days: https://www.gog.com/en/autumn-sale
• There is a GIVEAWAY: Bounty Train will be free during 70 hours: https://www.gog.com/en/game/bounty_train

+Steam

• The Autumn Sale will be the main event, and will last until next Thursday: https://store.steampowered.com
• There are other deals, tho, like
  • 28 Games Later: A Horror Showcase, full of upcoming titles and one game on sale, OZARK, 26% off until October 8: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46062138/sale/28GamesLater
  • OSAKA Indie Games Summit 2026, with many upcoming releases and games with up to 50% discounts until the 8th: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45729672/sale/OSAKAINDIEGAMESSUMMIT2026

Nothing more to add. Until the next time, I wish you a happy and gaming weekend.

It's impressive, no doubt about it, but it also feels a bit bland. That's the problem of photorealism, that there's no "style" in it, unlike what we're used to see in videogames. 

AMD does some weird things with their drivers from time to time, and it's not uncommon for them to launch not WHQL drivers. Unlike Nvidia, that usually only launches fully certified ones or hotfixes.

Who told them they could use me as a model? It's outrageous!

You are very pretty

Thanks! I had a good night's rest.

I have to say that Steam's "Featured Deep Discounts" section that they came up with in its last big sales may be my doom.

I may end up finally getting Skyrim, just 15 years after it launched .

I wouldn't trust this month's survey data.

31.5 % share growth of the Chinese language within only one month.
63 % share growth of the RTX 5070 GPU within only one month.
59 % share growth of the RTX 5060 Ti GPU within only one month:

Doesn't seem plausible to me.

Did they have some holiday last month that would explain the rise via cybercafés?

For 4 euros it's more than worth it, if anything else as a game which Enderal: Forgotten Stories total conversion mod requires - alongside The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos for Gothic 2, arguably best total conversion mod you can find out there for any RPG.