ENDED This live page has ended. It covered the biggest gaming news on October 23, 2026. Follow today’s updates on our latest live page.
Table of Contents
Key stories so far
- Radiant Exodus is free to keep on Steam until November 17
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword's director says player data shows the difficulty landed where Capcom wanted
- Game Boy Nintendo Classics Adds Mole Mania and 2 More on Oct 27
- Chucky leaves Dead by Daylight on November 24
- Persona 4 Revival casts Kirk Thornton as Igor and Marisha Ray as Margaret
- Xbox's first chief operating officer, Helen Chiang, leaves Microsoft just months after taking the job
Live updates
Radiant Exodus is free to keep on Steam until November 17
Horrawr's first-person survival horror shooter Radiant Exodus is free on Steam (Windows) right now, and the developer says anyone who adds it to their library before it goes back to being a paid game will keep it permanently. In a Steam announcement, Horrawr says the switch back to paid is planned for November 17, 2026, pending confirmation from Steam. The short, linear game first launched in May 2025 for $4.99, according to Game Rant.
Source: Steam
Onimusha: Way of the Sword's director says player data shows the difficulty landed where Capcom wanted
Director Satoru Nihei told PC Gamer that Capcom has studied data on where players struggle and how they progress, and the trends are close to what the team aimed for. Players do die and get stuck at points but push through, which Nihei said was the goal, adding that the game was never meant to be as punishing as the hardest action games and that 'we think it's hit the right spot.' The comments follow early debate, starting with the demo, over whether the game is too easy; its harder difficulty option unlocks only after you finish the campaign.
Source: PC Gamer
Game Boy Nintendo Classics Adds Mole Mania and 2 More on Oct 27
Avenging Spirit, Mole Mania and Pinball: Revenge of the 'Gator join Switch Online's Game Boy app on October 27, with no Expansion Pack needed.
Chucky leaves Dead by Daylight on November 24
Behaviour Interactive has confirmed that the Child's Play Chapter, featuring Chucky (The Good Guy), will be removed from in-game and platform stores on November 24 at 11:00 a.m. ET, Game Rant reports. Players who unlock him before then keep him, and his perks will be renamed and moved into the general perk pool (Hex: Two Can Play becomes Hex: Eye For An Eye). Game Rant also reports that the chapter will be 50% off, at $2.49, before it goes.
Source: Game Rant
Persona 4 Revival casts Kirk Thornton as Igor and Marisha Ray as Margaret
Atlus West has named the English voices for the Velvet Room pair in Persona 4 Revival: Kirk Thornton returns as Igor, a role he played in Persona 5 and Persona 3 Reload, and Marisha Ray plays Margaret, whom she voiced in spin-offs such as Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. The remake launches February 18, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Source: Atlus West on X
Xbox's first chief operating officer, Helen Chiang, leaves Microsoft just months after taking the job
Helen Chiang, the former Minecraft head who became Xbox's first COO in July, left Microsoft today after 21 years, according to an internal memo from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reported by The Verge. Sharma said Chiang's duties will be split among other Xbox leaders for now and that more on COO leadership will follow once plans are finalized. Microsoft declined to explain the exit, saying it does not discuss individual personnel matters.
Source: The Verge
MW4's first add-on, the C.O.D.E. Valor Pack, makes Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter playable
Modern Warfare 4's Call of Duty Endowment Valor Pack is out now alongside the game, adding retired Marine Cpl. Kyle Carpenter as a playable Operator with cosmetics, including a combat knife blueprint and an M4 marked with his initials. Carpenter received the Medal of Honor for shielding fellow Marine Nick Eufrazio from a grenade blast in Marjah, Afghanistan, in November 2010, and lost an eye in the blast. Stars and Stripes lists the pack at $20, and Activision says 100% of its net proceeds go to the Call of Duty Endowment, which helps U.S. and U.K. veterans find jobs.
Source: Call of Duty blog
Capcom has Ultimate Frame Data pull its Street Fighter 6 hitbox pages
Ultimate Frame Data, a popular fan site that players use to study character hitboxes, is removing its Street Fighter 6 section after a takedown request from Capcom's legal team, Kotaku reports. According to Kotaku, Capcom's letter says the pages show hitbox and collision data that isn't normally visible in the game, and it asks for removal by October 30. Site operator MetalMusicMan posted on X on October 23: 'Not my choice, sorry everyone.' The site's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate data stays up.
Source: Kotaku
Total War VP Roger Collum says Shogun 2: Complete Edition 'was not a Creative Assembly developed game'
Roger Collum, Creative Assembly's vice president of Total War, wrote on the Total War subreddit that the remaster, which Sega pulled from sale days after launch, came from an external developer he did not name and skipped CA's usual internal reviews and QA because the studio's teams were focused on other projects, while adding that 'Total War is our franchise and our name is on it.' He said CA does not use generative AI for in-game assets, demands the same of outside partners, and that the Shogun 2 situation 'is being investigated', with a small team of senior CA developers now working with Sega and the external studio on next steps. PC Gamer reports many fans are not satisfied with the explanation.
Read our full story | Source: PC Gamer
Square Enix blames Final Fantasy XIV account break-ins on passwords leaked from other services
In a Lodestone notice reported on October 19, Square Enix says third parties logged into some Square Enix accounts with email or ID and password combinations that appear to come from other companies' services; it does not say how many accounts were hit or what data was viewed, and it has not announced a breach of its own systems. It has locked accounts it thinks are compromised (owners get a password-reset email), urges anyone who reuses passwords to change them immediately and turn on One-Time Passwords, and warns it may reset every account's password if attempts keep rising. Separately, Square Enix is giving subscribers one day of free game time from October 28 for the October 21-22 login suspension it ordered over a critical PHP vulnerability. Kotaku reported both alongside Capcom's confirmed CAPCOM ID breach.
Read our full story | Source: Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone (Square Enix)
Colony Flow Levels Guide: Hard Level Tips, Boosters and Videos
How to beat hard Colony Flow levels: the five-slot rule, hidden ? boxes, boosters, ads and prices, plus which videos match levels 214, 224, 547 and 740.
Does MW4 Have Zombies? Modes, Possession and Infected Explained
MW4 launched with Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ, and no Zombies or MWZ. Halloween's Possession and Infected are PvP party modes, not undead PvE.
DOORS Halloween 2026: The Estate, Candy Vault and Hollow Quest
DOORS' Candy Vault went live Oct 22: explore Sir Abe's Estate, clear 50 doors in 20 minutes, earn Sweet Deceit for The Hollow, plus revives and codes.
Future? No Thanks! drops its text-to-speech voices, and its developer offers refunds
Molleindustria, the developer of the satirical game Future? No Thanks!, released an update on October 23 that replaces the text-to-speech voices of the toilet and the hair salon's automatic translator with a human performing a robot voice. Developer Paolo says the newer text-to-speech counts as user-facing AI-generated content, which caused 'annoyances and bad optics', even though he thinks the game is slightly worse without it. Anyone who bought the game and still feels betrayed can contact him with a PayPal or Venmo address for a refund. The same update also raises gig payouts so players are less likely to get stuck before finishing all the quests.
Source: Molleindustria
Larian's Swen Vincke on BioWare's closure: 'What a loss for all of us'
Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke posted on X on October 21 about EA closing BioWare and cancelling the next Mass Effect, in cuts of about 400 jobs. He wrote that it was 'not something I ever expected to see', that Larian and BioWare started out in the industry at the same time, and that 'Bioware led the way in making RPGs big'. He closed with 'Thank you for all the games' and told the team they 'can be damned proud' of what they achieved. BioWare made the first two Baldur's Gate games, the series Larian later continued with Baldur's Gate 3.
Read our full story | Source: Push Square
Factorio 2.1 is now stable, and Wube calls it the game's last major update
Wube Software marked Factorio 2.1 as stable on October 23, after a summer in experimental testing that began on June 26. The update has no new planets, enemies or research trees. It focuses on quality-of-life changes and polish: mixed rockets and platform-to-platform transfers in Space Age, a landing pad unloading bay, an input/output split for circuit wires, Space Age playable without Quality, new assembler and refinery art, and native ARM64 Linux support. Wube says 2.0 saves will load but some circuit designs may break, and updated saves and blueprints can't be moved back to 2.0, so back them up first. The studio has said it sees 2.1 as its last major update before switching to long-term support.
Source: Factorio Friday Facts #449
Mobile Halloween Events 2026: MONOPOLY GO, Pokémon GO and More
13 Halloween events across MONOPOLY GO!, Pokémon GO, Royal Match, Township, Word Cookies and Gossip Harbor, with official start and end times and rewards.
Cyberpunk 2's associate director says about half of CD Projekt Red's quest team are former modders
Paweł Sasko, associate director on the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, said during a REDstreams presentation on the 2.5 update that "half of the quest team is all former modders," including people who modded The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3, VGC reports. He called modding a possible foot in the door to game development, as update 2.5 brings selected community mods into the game on PC and consoles.
Source: VGC
Devolver's pixel-art horror RPG Look Outside reaches PS5, PS4, Switch 2 and Switch on October 30
Look Outside, Francis Coulombe's survival horror RPG set inside a single apartment building where anyone who looks out the window turns into a monster, launches on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch 2 and Switch on October 30, publisher Devolver Digital announced, per Gematsu. Console prices have not been announced yet; the game has been on PC via Steam since March 2025, where it lists at $9.99.
Source: Gematsu
Overwatch teases a Stellar Blade collab, and part of the community is unhappy
Stellar Blade's official X account and Overwatch's Korean account have both teased an 'Overwatch x EVE Protocol' collaboration. No date, skin list or price has been announced yet. Some players have criticized the tie-up because Stellar Blade developer Shift Up released an AI-generated music video for its Eve character this summer, which CEO Kim Hyung Tae stood by; others welcome the crossover, Destructoid reports. Blizzard has not responded to the criticism.
Source: Destructoid
SmileBASIC 4 disappears from the eShop after being used to jailbreak the Switch 2
SmileBASIC 4, the Switch programming app that security researcher Sammy Hajhamid (pepsipu) used as the entry point for his tethered ns2jb Switch 2 jailbreak, appears to have been pulled from the eShop, Nintendo Life reports. Neither Nintendo nor publisher SmileBoom has commented, and reports differ on which regions still list it, with some saying the Japanese store still has it. The original SmileBASIC was pulled from the North American 3DS eShop over an exploit in 2016 and came back about a month later after a patch.
Source: Nintendo Life
Genshin 7.2 Release Date Nov 4: Mitya, Banners and Codes
Genshin Impact 7.2 Hour of Ruin arrives Nov 4 with 5-star Mitya, 4-star Valeriy, a Furina rerun and Novokitezhgrad. Three livestream codes end Oct 26.
Roblox The Hollow Event: Quests, Free Items, Stream Times
Roblox's Hollow runs until Nov 2 (20:00 UTC). How the nine-night maze works, all 9 free items, every participating game and the creator livestream times.
Arkane Lyon Reportedly Has Until Nov 13 to Find a Buyer
Le Monde reports Arkane Lyon's closure consultation ends Nov 13, with about 217 jobs at risk as Microsoft seeks a partner for Marvel's Blade.
GameMaker's new GMRT runtime will be free for commercial games from January 1, 2027
GameMaker says developers will be able to sell games built on its next-generation GMRT runtime without a Professional licence starting January 1, 2027, covering desktop, mobile, web and GX Games exports. Console exports still require an Enterprise licence and approved-developer status, and existing tier prices are not changing. GMRT is still rolling out in beta.
Source: GameMaker
Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced gets New Game+ next week
Ubisoft's official Assassin's Creed account said on October 22 that New Game+ is coming to Black Flag Resynced next week. Ubisoft has not yet given an exact day or said what carries over into a new run. The remake is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch 2.
Source: Assassin's Creed on X
Report: Xbox and Netflix discussed a big TV and film rights deal before talks collapsed
Netflix offered $500 million over seven years for exclusive film and TV rights to Xbox franchises, and Xbox countered with $800 million, according to Puck's Matthew Belloni as relayed by Insider Gaming. The report says nothing was agreed before Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria left and the deal is now off the table, with Xbox seeking smaller deals with more partners. In a statement, Xbox called Netflix a valued partner and pointed to the Minecraft and Diablo animated series the two are making together.
Source: Insider Gaming
Battlefield 6's planned Mass Effect cosmetics disappear from its store after BioWare's closure
A set of Mass Effect-themed Battlefield 6 items, including N7 patches and weapon decals and a Normandy charm that players spotted as locked store items around October 13, has been removed from the in-game store without explanation, Kotaku reports. The items appeared to be planned for N7 Day, BioWare's yearly Mass Effect celebration, and vanished after EA announced it is shutting down BioWare. EA has not commented; Kotaku says it asked the publisher for a statement.
Read our full story | Source: Kotaku
Genshin Impact Version 7.2 'Hour of Ruin' arrives November 4
HoYoverse has confirmed that Genshin Impact Version 7.2, 'Hour of Ruin', launches on November 4, 2026, following today's special program and trailer. According to Gematsu's rundown of the announcement, the update adds 5-star Electro catalyst user Mitya and 4-star Electro swordsman Valeriy, opens a new area in eastern Snezhnaya that includes the underground city of Novokitezhgrad, and runs a Furina rerun in the first banner phase. It arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (including the Epic Games Store), iOS and Android.
Source: HoYoLAB (Genshin Impact)
Xbox Free Play Days: Dying Light 2 and Riders Republic Free Now
Game Pass members play Dying Light 2, Tropico 6 and Let's Build a Zoo free to Oct 25; Riders Republic is free for all to Oct 26. Sale prices and end times.
Shigeru Miyamoto Gets Japan's Order of Culture, a Gaming First
Japan named Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, 73, for the Order of Culture on Oct 23, the first from games. The Emperor presents it Nov 3 at the Imperial Palace.
MW4 Perks List: All 18 Perks, Unlock Levels and Best Picks
All 18 Modern Warfare 4 perks by slot with unlock levels and official effects, why there are no Wildcards, and suggested Pick 3 perk sets for each playstyle.
Analyst estimates Phantom Blade Zero has sold 500,000 Steam pre-orders before launch
Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliott estimates S-GAME's wuxia action RPG has sold around 500,000 copies on Steam through pre-orders, worth roughly $24 million, with 2.5 million wishlists and China as its biggest market. These are analyst estimates, not official S-GAME figures; Elliott says it is outpacing Gears of War: E-Day and Control Resonant on Steam and could be one of the year's breakout single-player hits. The game launches October 29 (evening of October 28 in the Americas) on PS5 and PC.
Read our full story | Source: Eurogamer
MW4 multiplayer director says matchmaking may never be perfect, as players ask where open queues went
Infinity Ward multiplayer creative director Joe Cecot told IGN, "I don't know if there's perfecting it," when asked about Modern Warfare 4's matchmaking, adding that "our end goal is that every match is a good match." He didn't give specifics on how skill-based matchmaking works in the game. Black Ops 7 offered open matchmaking playlists alongside skill-based queues, but MW4 launched without a clearly labeled open option, and IGN notes players are unsure whether its persistent lobby setting changes that.
Read our full story | Source: IGN
MW4 Notes Locations: All 64 Notes for the Noteworthy Trophy
MW4 has 64 notes in three missions: 4 in Following Orders, 58 in Stranded, 2 in Escape. Full checklist with Stranded coordinates and every code you need.
Players find unlisted Witcher 3 extras hidden in Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.5
Players have found Witcher 3-themed cosmetics that Cyberpunk 2077's 2.5 update added without listing them in the official patch notes, IGN reports, citing finds shared on X. They include Geralt's professor spectacles and a knife like the one he uses to collect trophies. According to those players, the items show up in V's apartment after a text from Arianne about a gift. CD Projekt Red has not commented on them.
Read our full story | Source: IGN
Shigeru Miyamoto becomes the first game creator to receive Japan's Order of Culture
Japan's education and culture ministry named Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, 73, among this year's recipients of the Order of Culture (Bunka Kunsho) on October 23. Japanese outlets including ABC News and Denfaminicogamer report he is the first person from the game industry to get it, and the investiture is set for November 3 at the Imperial Palace. Speaking at Nintendo's Kyoto headquarters, Miyamoto said he accepts it on behalf of the many people he made games with, and, as translated by VGC, that 'even if AI were to eventually handle everything, there will always be a role left for us to play.'
Source: Denfaminicogamer
MW4 Best Settings for PC, PS5 and Xbox: FPS and Visibility
Starting-point MW4 settings for PC and console: display, quality, FOV, controller and DMZ, plus the DLSS ray tracing bug and the VRR rule for 120 Hz.
Unpatched Linux kernel flaws were accidentally posted to a public mailing list
Phoronix reports that on October 21-22, security reports from Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative were sent to the public Linux kernel mailing list instead of the private security channel. That exposed six kernel flaws that are not yet fixed in mainline; two are rated CVSS 9.0, and patches for some are being tested or queued. Valve hasn't commented on SteamOS. Steam Deck and Linux gaming PC owners should install system updates as soon as Valve or their distro releases them; PC Gamer suggests checking whether a beta branch already carries the fixes.
Source: Phoronix
Hitman: Absolution's Switch 2 upgrade is free until November 4
Feral Interactive's Hitman: Absolution – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition launched on October 22. Owners of the Switch 1 version can download the Upgrade Pack from the eShop for free until November 4, after which it costs $9.99 / £4.99 / €4.99. Feral lists higher resolution in both modes, up to 60fps in handheld and Joy-Con 2 mouse controls. New players can buy the Switch 2 Edition for $29.99 until November 4, rising to $39.99 from November 5.
Source: Feral Interactive
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven passes 1 million units sold worldwide
Square Enix's official SaGa account said today that the remake has topped one million units across shipments and digital sales worldwide, and called it the first SaGa game to reach that mark since SaGa Frontier in 1997. Revenge of the Seven launched on PS5, PS4, Switch and Steam in October 2024, then came to Switch 2 in July 2025 and Xbox Series in September 2025. The next remake, Romancing SaGa 3: Destinies United, is set for February 16, 2027.
Source: Square Enix (SaGa official on X)
13 Best Cat Games on Steam, Switch, PS5 and Mobile (2026)
Stray, Little Kitty Big City, Cat Quest, Cattails and Warrior Cats lead our cat game picks, with US prices and sales on every store checked Oct 23.
MW4 Killstreaks List: All 17, Kill Costs and Best Picks
Every Modern Warfare 4 killstreak at launch: 17 streaks from the 4-kill UAV to the 12-kill Gunship, unlock levels, Hardline costs and suggested setups.
Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest Release Time, Prices and Tips
Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest unlocks Oct 23 at 04:00 UTC on PS5 and Xbox, 16:00 UTC on Steam. Editions, Switch vs Switch 2 and first Clan tips.
MW4 Server Status at Launch: Known Issues and Error Fixes
MW4 servers are up with no Activision alerts at 02:24 UTC Oct 23. Known launch bugs, the PC TPM 2.0 check and PS5 CE-34878-0, with Activision's official fixes.
Magic Sort! Hard Levels Guide: Tips, Boosters and Walkthroughs
How to beat Magic Sort Hard and Super Hard levels: empty-bottle tips, hidden layers, boosters, the 900-coin extra bottle, ads, and level 99-394 videos.
Wo Long 2 will get easier Insight Skills and wider Deflect windows after alpha demo feedback
Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo have posted the results of the Wings of Ember alpha demo survey; the demo ran September 16 to 30. The studio says it will simplify the inputs and timing for Insight Skills, widen the windows for Deflects, rebalance Spirit, and work on unstable frame rates, crashes and long load times. The game launches March 4, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2 and PC, and it will also be on Game Pass.
Source: Team Ninja
Avenging Spirit, Mole Mania and a pinball game join Switch Online's Game Boy library on October 27
Nintendo of America says three more titles land in Game Boy – Nintendo Classics on October 27: Avenging Spirit, Mole Mania and Pinball: Revenge of the 'Gator. Nintendo says they are for Nintendo Switch Online members.
Source: Nintendo of America
Leaked Mass Effect Universe Trailer: What It Shows and Means
A leaked trailer for BioWare's cancelled Mass Effect Universe shows a new lead and Liara. Bloomberg's Schreier says it's real; EA hasn't commented.
Sell Fries Codes and Chapter 2 Time: Beginner Guide (Roblox)
No Sell Fries codes are verified yet. Chapter 2 starts Oct 24 at 18:00 UTC. Upgrade order, every anomaly counter and how to find the key in the Roblox game.
Half-Life 3 Rumor: Valve Dev Mentions 'HLX' at GameSoundCon
Valve composer Mike Morasky named 'HLX' next to Deadlock at an Oct 21 panel. Fans think it is Half-Life 3, but Valve has announced nothing and stays silent.
