ENDED This live page has ended. It covered the biggest gaming news on October 22, 2026. Follow today’s updates on our latest live page.
Table of Contents
Key stories so far
- Ken Kutaragi warns that soaring hardware prices and AI could make consoles unnecessary
- Epic's AI MegaJam runs November 12-15, and its FAQ now says AI use is optional
- MW4 Season 1 Release Date and Roadmap: Shipment to Warzone
- NDP leader Avi Lewis says BioWare's developers should get federal help to buy the studio
- Grow a Garden Ghoul Garden Guide: Candy Corn, Pets, Part 2 Date
- Dressmaker Tips for Beginners: Grain, Budget, Switch and Mods
Live updates
Ken Kutaragi warns that soaring hardware prices and AI could make consoles unnecessary
In a new interview with The Game Business, PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi said today's machines are 'super expensive' and that 'it's not a healthy situation', adding that a PC now costs 'the price of [a] car'. He argued that AI is 'melding into the network' and running server side, and warned that 'the age may be coming where we don't need any console.' Kutaragi stressed that these are his personal views, not Sony's, and the full interview runs in a later edition.
Source: The Game Business
Epic's AI MegaJam runs November 12-15, and its FAQ now says AI use is optional
Epic's 2026 AI MegaJam asks teams of up to five to build a game in Unreal Engine or UEFN from November 12 to 15, with a theme reveal livestream on November 11 and an in-person event in San Francisco on November 14-15. First prizes are $7,500 in each main category (Unreal Engine, UEFN and student), with development grants of up to $50,000 for standout entries. PC Gamer reports the jam was first pitched as requiring AI; the official jam page now answers 'Do I have to use AI?' with 'No.'
Source: Epic AI MegaJam (itch.io)
MW4 Season 1 Release Date and Roadmap: Shipment to Warzone
MW4 Season 1 and the new Warzone start November 6 per Activision's roadmap. Shipment lands October 27, with Possession and Infected for Halloween.
NDP leader Avi Lewis says BioWare's developers should get federal help to buy the studio
Avi Lewis, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, used social media to respond to EA's closure of Edmonton-based BioWare. He blamed private equity and argued that BioWare's developers should get the first chance to buy the studio and run it themselves, with federal support. PC Gamer reports the posts.
Read our full story | Source: PC Gamer
Grow a Garden Ghoul Garden Guide: Candy Corn, Pets, Part 2 Date
Ghoul Garden Part 1 ends Oct 24 at 20:00 UTC and Part 2 starts at 20:30. How to farm Candy Corn, Black Cat sets, Haunted Egg odds and every shop price.
Dressmaker Tips for Beginners: Grain, Budget, Switch and Mods
Read the brief, cut on the grain and sew slowly: Dressmaker beginner tips, all 10 clients, Switch and mobile port plans, and the unofficial mod scene.
Rumor: a Valve composer's slip at a Q&A appears to mention 'HLX', the rumored Half-Life 3 codename
During a Q&A clip that Destructoid says comes from a GameSoundCon panel, Valve composer Mike Morasky was discussing HDR and said, as quoted by Insider Gaming: 'Deadlock has their own version of HDR, you HLX has it's own version, so on so forth.' HLX is widely rumored, but never confirmed, to be Valve's internal name for a new Half-Life game. Valve has not commented, so treat this as a rumor.
Source: Insider Gaming
The Wolf Among Us Remastered launches October 29 with 20% off for everyone and 50% off for digital owners of the original
Telltale's launch sale runs from October 29 to November 12 (6 AM PT both ends): new players get 20% off on Steam, Epic, Xbox and PS5 (PS5 requires PlayStation Plus), while owners of a digital copy of the original get 50% off on the same store and account, or 30% off on PS5 without PS Plus. Physical copies don't qualify, Xbox owners need the Xbox One digital version, and Switch discounts will be announced later. Pure Xbox lists the regular price as $24.99, which would put the launch price at about $19.99 and the owner price at about $12.50.
Source: Telltale
Once Human Isles of Abyss Guide: How to Start, Regions, Ships
Isles of Abyss is live and free on PC, mobile, PS5 and Xbox. How to join a server with friends, the five regions, Sea Fortress cannons and key dates.
Scum studio Gamepires cuts staff eight months after Splash Damage bought it
Gamepires, the developer of open-world survival game Scum, said on X that it is reducing the size of its team to cope with challenging market conditions and secure its long-term sustainability, PC Gamer reports. It did not say how many people are affected. Splash Damage Group, which is backed by Emona Capital, bought Gamepires eight months ago, three months after making layoffs of its own, and said at the time that the deal would help protect roles.
Source: PC Gamer
WoW: Forever adds a Roleplay-PvP ruleset for its November 4 launch
Blizzard has updated its World of Warcraft: Forever ruleset post to say a Roleplay-PvP option will now be available at launch on November 4, alongside Normal, PvP and Roleplaying, after players asked for it. Blizzard says it also plans to offer the new ruleset during Early Name Reservation, which opens Tuesday, October 27. The permadeath Hardcore ruleset is still due at some point after launch, with no date yet.
Source: Blizzard
A modder says they jailbroke the Switch 2 with help from OpenAI's Codex
Security researcher Sammy Hajhamid, known online as pepsipu, has shown a Switch 2 running a modded Mario Kart World with guest characters like Peter Griffin and Minecraft's Steve, using a software-only jailbreak called ns2jb that Hajhamid says OpenAI's Codex helped build, The Verge reports. It is tethered, meaning it has to be rerun from a game (the programming title SmileBASIC 4) after every reboot, and the community is still debating how significant it is. Nintendo has not commented publicly so far, and the company has historically closed exploits like this with system updates.
Source: The Verge
Leak: an unverified 'Mass Effect Universe' trailer surfaces a day after BioWare's closure
A trailer with a 'Mass Effect Universe' title card is circulating online, Kotaku and Polygon report. It is unverified, and EA had not commented when Kotaku published. A disclaimer in the video says it uses in-engine, pre-production assets. Kotaku describes a new N7-coated lead teaming up with Liara T'Soni in a biotic bar fight. Some speculate it was meant for N7 Day on November 7, but that is also unconfirmed. Update (Oct 23): Bloomberg's Jason Schreier says his sources confirm the trailer is real; EA has still not commented.
Read our full story | Source: Kotaku
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition shadow-drops on Switch 2
Aspyr released Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop on October 22, with no advance announcement, Gematsu reports. The port includes the base game, all seven DLC challenge tombs, all downloadable weapons, outfits and skills, and two-player online co-op. A Definitive Survivor Trilogy bundle with Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider is also on sale. Game Rant says both get 10% off at launch until November 4. The US eShop page wasn't showing a price when we checked.
Source: Gematsu
Dispatch turns one: Commentary and Storyboard modes are out now, mobile follows on December 9
AdHoc Studio marked Dispatch's first anniversary by releasing a Commentary Mode, with more than 16 hours of English cast and crew commentary, and a Storyboard Mode that plays the story through the original animatics. Both are free for Digital Deluxe Edition owners on every platform, and standard owners can upgrade for $10.99. Separately, an iOS, Android and Google Play Games on PC version launches December 9, with the first four episodes free and the full game at $19.99. The studio says Dispatch has passed five million players.
Source: AdHoc Studio
12 Best Cozy Co-Op Games on Steam, Switch and PS5 (2026)
12 cozy co-op games with player counts, crossplay and US prices checked Oct 22: Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, Pokopia, Peak, Luma Island and more.
MW4 Prestige Explained: Max Level, Rewards and Prestige Icons
MW4 caps at Level 55, then 10 Prestige levels and 1,000 Prestige Master levels. Classic vs Regular Prestige, every reward, icons, and the camo grind.
Alice in Wonderland roguelite Crymelight gets a free PS5 demo ahead of its November 4 launch
FuRyu's Crymelight, a roguelite set in an Alice in Wonderland world, now has a free demo on PS5 that covers all of Chapter 1, Push Square reports. Progress doesn't carry over to the full game, which launches November 4 for $19.99/£15.99, with a PS Plus discount at launch.
Source: Push Square
Katana Zero's long-delayed DLC is still coming and has grown to the size of a full sequel
Developer Askiisoft said on X on October 22 that it is still working on the Katana Zero DLC and has "made it bigger," calling it "the size of a full sequel" with a soundtrack of more than 30 new songs, and shared a new teaser. The DLC was originally announced as a free update. Askiisoft didn't say whether it will still be free or when it will release, Gematsu notes. The base game is out now on PC, Switch and Xbox One.
Source: Gematsu
Xbox Free Play Days: Dying Light 2, Tropico 6 and Let's Build a Zoo free this weekend, Monster Hunter Stories open to everyone
Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members can play Dying Light 2: Stay Human Reloaded Edition, Tropico 6 and Let's Build a Zoo free from Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 25 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, with Dying Light 2 at 80% off ($11.99) and Tropico 6 at 75% off ($9.99). No Game Pass is needed for Riders Republic, which any Xbox player can try until October 26, or for Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, which come with three-hour trials. Monster Hunter Stories is also on sale for $9.89 and Stories 2 for $9.99, Xbox Wire says.
Source: Xbox Wire
Co-op adventure Luma Island comes to PS5 and Xbox Series on December 2 for $19.99
Feel Free Games' Luma Island, out on PC via Steam since November 20, 2025, launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on December 2 at $19.99, Gematsu reports. The console versions support full cross-platform co-op for up to four players across PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
Source: Gematsu
Roblox Halloween Updates This Weekend (Oct 23-25): Start Times
Adopt Me Week 4 opens Oct 23 at 15:05 UTC, then Brookhaven and JJS. Steal An Egg Part 2 and DTI's Dark King quest follow Oct 24 at 15:00 UTC. All 28 times.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer's first big update doubles online parties to six players
Star Wars: Galactic Racer's quality-of-life update, dated October 22, raises the online multiplayer party size from 3 to 6 players and increases the credits for joining a Tour mid-way from 4,000 to 6,000. It also tidies the multiplayer spectator camera, improves party stability, fixes a PS5 connection issue and an AMD Frame Interpolation crash, and adds AZERTY and left/right-handed keyboard presets on PC. The developers warn that campaign vehicle customization can reset after updating, so check yours.
Final Fantasy XIV's companion app and forum are still down with no end time as the PHP-flaw outages spread
Square Enix's Lodestone lists several Final Fantasy XIV web services in emergency maintenance since October 21: the Companion App (down from 1:30 a.m. PDT, completion time undetermined, with Lodestone notifications paused) and the official forum (from 8:50 a.m. PDT, end time undetermined). The Support Center came back at 9:40 p.m. PDT on October 21 and Config Data Sharing at 5:16 a.m. PDT on October 22. Square Enix only calls it system maintenance, but Eurogamer counts FFXIV among the games hit by this week's PHP-vulnerability outages; the Lodestone lists no emergency maintenance for the game worlds themselves.
Source: The Lodestone (Square Enix)
Cyberpunk 2077 Console Mods: How to Install Mods on PS5 and Xbox
Update 2.5 is live: open Mods on the main menu, link your CD PROJEKT RED account to mod.io, subscribe and restart. Modded console saves lose trophies.
Atari is shutting the VCS software store on February 1, 2027, but owned games will keep working
Atari VCS owners can keep downloading and buying software from Atari's store until January 31, 2027, after which the store closes, Atari said in a notice to its community Discord reported by Tom's Hardware and The Verge. Games and apps already downloaded will still run, and Atari says it plans an OS update that moves everything onto the console itself, removing any need for Atari's servers. It also plans an Atari Home Brew app so owners can keep adding community-made games to the retro console.
Source: The Verge
Marvel's Wolverine tops the US charts for September as Xbox console sales hit a record September low
Marvel's Wolverine was the best-selling game in the US in September, ahead of NBA 2K27, EA Sports FC 27, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave and The Blood of Dawnwalker, according to Circana; analyst Mat Piscatella said it posted the highest launch-month dollar sales for a Sony-published game since Helldivers 2. PS5 led hardware in units and dollars, with dollar sales up 43% and units up 22% year on year, while Switch 2 units fell 14% and Xbox Series units dropped 27%, taking Xbox console sales to an all-time September low. Total US spending slipped 1% to $4.8 billion, and NBA 2K27 is now the best-selling game of 2026 so far.
Read our full story | Source: Circana (Mat Piscatella on Bluesky)
PS Store September 2026 Top Downloads: Wolverine Leads US
Marvel's Wolverine topped US/Canada PS5 downloads in September 2026 and FC 27 led the EU. Here are the full PS5, PS4, PS VR2 and free-to-play charts.
Blizzard's new Diablo for 2027 is a co-op board game, Diablo: Unbound
The new Diablo confirmed for 2027 is not a video game: Diablo: Unbound is a cooperative board game from Glass Cannon Unplugged, made with Blizzard and billed as the first officially licensed Diablo board game. It supports 1-4 players with a solo mode, mixes deck building and dice rolling, and launches with Barbarian, Rogue, Sorceress and Paladin across three acts of three dungeon levels each. Its crowdfunding campaign is set for Gamefound in Q1 2027, and no price or shipping date has been announced.
Source: Glass Cannon Unplugged
Two long-running Japanese browser and mobile games shut down for good over the PHP flaw
World Quest, a social travel game that started on GREE in 2011 and was revived in 2020, ended service on October 21; its official account said a serious vulnerability had been found in the PHP its servers run on, and that its old systems could not be secured well enough to protect players' data. The text RPG Save My Demonic World (Boku no Makai wo Sukutte!) followed on October 22, saying it could not address the serious PHP vulnerability, and thanked players who had been with it for more than ten years. Kotaku, which reported both closures, notes they follow the same PHP flaws that sent Cygames and GOG into emergency maintenance this week.
Source: World Quest on X
Star Wars Battlefront 3 at Respawn and DICE: What EA Confirmed
EA confirms Respawn and DICE are teaming up on a new shooter. Variety's sources say it is Star Wars Battlefront 3, but EA has not named it or given a date.
Pokémon HOME, Sleep and Champions are back online after an extended outage
Pokémon HOME, Pokémon Sleep and Pokémon Champions came back online on October 22 after going offline for maintenance with no end time given. Champions returned first, HOME a few hours later, and Sleep's maintenance ended around 09:00 UTC, per the apps' official accounts. Nintendo Life links the outage to a widely reported PHP security alert. The Pokémon Company hasn't said whether any user data was affected.
Source: Nintendo Life
GTA 6's Burger Shot and Cluckin' Bell turn up as real food stands at the Miami Heat's arena
Fans at Miami's Kaseya Center have found a Burger Shot stand, a rebranded Skinny Louie stall with GTA-style staff uniforms and branded packaging, plus a Cluckin' Bell stand at the same venue, according to posts on X on October 21 and 22. One fan said a burger, fries and drink cost over $37. Rockstar hasn't officially announced the stands. They are the latest real-world Miami promotion ahead of GTA 6's November 19 launch.
Source: Dexerto
Amazon's Mass Effect series is still on despite BioWare's closure, IGN reports
Amazon MGM Studios' live-action Mass Effect show is still moving forward after EA shut down BioWare, IGN reports, citing sources inside Prime Video who say everyone attached to the project remains on board. Neither Amazon nor EA has commented on the record, and the show still has no cast or release window. Daniel Casey (F9) is writing and executive producing the series, which is set after the original trilogy.
Read our full story | Source: IGN
MW4 YOLO Mode: How to Unlock It, Rules and Rewards
YOLO is MW4's one-life campaign difficulty. Beat the campaign once, then on Realism, to unlock it. Rules, the YOLO Completer card and achievement facts.
Capcom ID Data Breach: Over 11.7 Million Records, No Card Data
Capcom says a third party accessed emails and login data on 11,774,247 CAPCOM ID records, changed 196 passwords, and that no credit card data was affected.
EA's cuts reach Maxis and Battlefield co-developer Ripple Effect, staff say
Beyond BioWare and Skate studio Full Circle, developers at The Sims studio Maxis and Battlefield 6 co-developer Ripple Effect say they lost their jobs in this week's EA layoffs, Rock Paper Shotgun reports. Sims senior creative director Anna Huerta wrote that she was 'impacted by today's restructuring', art director Dylan Palmer said he was caught in the cuts, and Ripple Effect's Corey Thomas, Juan Meza and Turner Spring posted the same. Bloomberg reported EA's memo put the layoffs at about 400 people; nothing suggests those studios or their games are closing.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
Gran Turismo's 30th anniversary DualSense is up for preorder now, shipping December 10
PlayStation's Gran Turismo Limited Edition DualSense went up for preorder today, October 22, at 10 AM local time, priced at $84.99, €84.99 or £74.99. It ships December 10 in limited quantities through PlayStation Direct and other retailers. The design has racing stripes on the touchpad and a carbon-fibre-style front plate, and the UK store page currently limits buyers to one per order because of demand.
Source: PlayStation Direct
Phantom Blade Zero Release Oct 29, PS5 Physical Edition in 2027
Phantom Blade Zero unlocks Oct 29 at 02:00 UTC (Oct 28, 7 pm PT) on PS5 and PC, with pre-load from Oct 26 PT. S-GAME says a PS5 physical edition follows in 2027.
MW4 Release Time: When Modern Warfare 4 Unlocks in Your Region
MW4 unlocks at local midnight on October 23: New Zealand first at 11:00 UTC Oct 22, UK at 23:00 UTC, US at 12 AM ET (9 PM PT). Steam lists 05:00 UTC.
Block Out! Hard Levels Guide: Tips, Boosters, Lives and Ads
How to beat Block Out! Hard and Super Hard levels: move-order tips, every obstacle, booster and life costs, ads, and where to find level walkthroughs.
Fortnite is due back on Australia's App Store after a court orders Apple to open up iOS
The Federal Court of Australia has issued its remedies in Epic v Apple: Justice Jonathan Beach, who found that Apple had substantial market power in iOS app distribution and in-app payments and used it to limit competition, ordered Apple to allow third-party app stores, direct downloads and alternative payments in Australia from March 2027. Epic said on October 22 that Fortnite will return to the App Store in Australia the next day (the listing was not yet live when we checked), with the Epic Games Store to follow later; Tim Sweeney called the ruling "a huge victory for consumers and developers." Apple told Reuters it will request a stay and appeal, so the March 2027 changes could still be delayed.
Source: Epic Games Newsroom on X
Fortnite Season End Date: Override Ends Nov 1 + Chapter 8 Leaks
Epic says Override ends November 1, 2026 ET, with no exact hour yet. Here's what's official, what Chapter 8 leaks say, and what to finish first.
Infinity Ward posts Modern Warfare 4's launch patch notes ahead of the October 23 release
Infinity Ward's official launch patch notes for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, published October 21, ahead of the full release on October 23, list the post-beta changes. SMGs get stronger at close to mid range, one-hit-kill weapons get flinch and damage tuning, and every weapon and attachment has had a balance pass. UAV health rises from 100 to 150, and Battle Hardened now blocks more of the Flash, Concussion and Screamer Mine effects. Tactical Sprint stays tied to the Blood Rush perk, which now triggers it with the sprint key by default. Multiplayer launches with 20 maps, 33 weapons and 17 Killstreaks, and Infected and a new Possession mode arrive next week for Halloween.
Source: Call of Duty (Infinity Ward)
Mass Effect 5 writers speak up: 'We were working on a great game'
After EA closed BioWare and ended early work on the next Mass Effect on October 21, two outside writers on the project have posted about it, IGN reports. Novelist Catherynne M. Valente answered a post about the closure on X with 'We did figure it out. We were working on a great game. Just saying.' Science fiction author Derek Künsken said in a thread that he had worked on the game on and off for five years, pitching story, character and lore with Valente, and that what the team was building was 'really cool'.
Read our full story | Source: IGN
Horror RPG Pocket Mirror: GoldenerTraum is out now on PS5, PS4 and Switch for $19.99
Pocket Mirror: GoldenerTraum, the horror RPG from developers AstralShift and VisuStella, launched on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on October 22, published by KOMODO, Gematsu reports. It costs $19.99, £15.99 or €19.99. The game first came out on PC through Steam in May 2023 and follows a girl who wakes up in an eerie mansion with only a pocket mirror, solving puzzles to recover her memories, with multiple paths and endings based on your choices.
Source: Gematsu
Minecraft's Dragon Ball Z DLC gets its 1.1 Legends Update with Bardock, Vegito and an eight-player tournament
The Minecraft x Dragon Ball Z add-on on the Minecraft Marketplace has received its 1.1 Legends Update, shown off in a new trailer on Minecraft's official YouTube channel. According to Nintendo Life, it adds fighters including Bardock, Teen Gohan, Gotenks and Vegito, new battle arenas, four new story mode fights, alternate versions of the original characters, and a custom tournament for up to eight players. The DLC first launched last November and costs 1,510 Minecoins.
Source: Nintendo Life
Switch Sports Resort Update 1.1.0: Patch Notes and Online Modes
Switch Sports Resort is out Oct 22 on Switch 2, and day-one update Ver. 1.1.0 unlocks ranked, Casual Online and 8-player Friend Lobbies, plus a Mii setting.
12 Best Mahjong Games on iPhone and Android, Led by Vita Mahjong
Vita Mahjong, Mahjong Blast, Mahjong Soul and 9 more, with store ratings and ad-free prices checked Oct 22, plus why to skip the Win Real Cash mahjong apps.
Phantom Blade Zero gets its launch trailer a week before release, PS5 physical editions follow in 2027
S-GAME has released the launch trailer for its wuxia action RPG Phantom Blade Zero, which has not launched yet: it arrives digitally on PS5 and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store) on October 29, the evening of October 28 in the Americas. Steam lists the Standard Edition at $59.99 and the Digital Deluxe Edition at $69.99, with pre-purchase open now. S-GAME also says Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate physical editions for PS5 are coming in 2027, with no date or price announced yet, Gematsu reports.
Source: Gematsu
Nintendo eShop Sale: Screaming Deals End Date and Best Picks
Nintendo's Screaming Deals eShop sale ends Oct 31, 11:59 p.m. PT. Little Nightmares is $7.49, Cult of the Lamb $9.99 and Skyrim on Switch 2 $29.99.
Hatsune Miku TAMAGOTORI Deluxe heads to PS5, PS4 and PC on October 29
Hatsune Miku Connecting Puzzle TAMAGOTORI Deluxe, the egg-matching puzzle game that first came out on Switch in 2022, launches on PS5, PS4 and Steam on October 29. Publisher KOMODO says the Deluxe edition bundles the base game with its two paid DLC packs and is priced at 1,980 yen. It supports English, Japanese, Korean and both forms of Chinese.
Source: KOMODO via PR Times
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 now aimed at the second half of 2027
Producer Masayuki Hirano told fans that Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 is now targeting the latter half of 2027, narrowing the plain 2027 window Bandai Namco gave before. He said player feedback and survey results are shaping the game, and warned that big updates will slow down until early 2027. It is still due on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, with no exact date yet.
Source: Noisy Pixel
Pokémon TCG Pocket Dual Fusion: Release Time, Cards and Events
Dual Fusion lands Oct 28 at 6 p.m. PDT (Oct 29 01:00 UTC) with dual-type Mega Mewtwo X ex and Mega Greninja ex. Every revealed card, free decks and events.
Xbox Cloud Gaming Without Game Pass: Prices Start at $3.99
Xbox Insiders without Game Pass can now buy cloud playtime packs: $3.99 for 10 hours, $7.99 for 25, $11.99 for 50. Hours never expire; wider rollout in Nov.
