ENDED This live page has ended. It covered the biggest gaming news on October 26, 2026. Follow today’s updates on our latest live page.
Table of Contents
Key stories so far
- WoW: Forever retunes racials before launch, and Tauren lose their mounted speed boost
- Pixel Flow Hard Levels: 555, 900, 775, 682 Video Solutions
- Circana's Mat Piscatella: Marvel's Wolverine launch week sparked the main US PS5 sales bump since June
- BambooHR data: time-off requests for GTA 6's November 19 launch day run up to 17% above normal
- Austin Wintory shares his unused Mass Effect drafts on YouTube
- Emberville's early access is delayed to January 7, 2027, a day before launch
Live updates
WoW: Forever retunes racials before launch, and Tauren lose their mounted speed boost
Blizzard posted new World of Warcraft: Forever development notes on October 26, saying it is revising racial traits as the game approaches its November 4 launch. Tauren Plainsrunning now gives 2% movement speed per stack (up to 60%) but no longer speeds up mounts, Human Ruthless drops to 1% crit chance, Dwarves swap Earth Fury for a 1% hit bonus called Artisan's Precision, and Orcs lose Savage while Command returns with 5% more Warlock and Hunter pet damage. Blizzard did not say whether this is the launch-day build or give a launch time in the post.
Pixel Flow Hard Levels: 555, 900, 775, 682 Video Solutions
Beat Pixel Flow levels 555, 900, 775, 682, 139, 693, 316 and 875: what each board hides, two video solutions per level, and how slots and coins work.
Circana's Mat Piscatella: Marvel's Wolverine launch week sparked the main US PS5 sales bump since June
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella posted a chart of weekly US PS5 hardware sales on Bluesky on October 26. It is indexed to the week ending June 27, so it shows no unit totals, only a small bump in the week ending September 5 and a larger one in the week ending September 19, with sales otherwise fairly stable across 15 weeks. Piscatella said upcoming games may have primed some buyers, but it took Marvel's Wolverine's launch week to turn that into purchases, and that he sees no evidence yet of a rise in baseline PS5 demand heading into November.
BambooHR data: time-off requests for GTA 6's November 19 launch day run up to 17% above normal
HR software company BambooHR told Money that paid time-off requests for Thursday, November 19 are running 9% to 17% above a typical third Thursday of November, the figure behind IGN's report. A later BambooHR figure cited by IBTimes, based on anonymised records covering more than 3.4 million US employees, put the rise at nearly 13% against comparable Thursdays in past years. BambooHR says it can't prove GTA 6 is behind every request, since a wider shift toward using time off more freely may also play a part.
Read our full story | Source: Money (BambooHR data)
Austin Wintory shares his unused Mass Effect drafts on YouTube
Composer Austin Wintory has posted a YouTube video, "My Mass Effect 5 early musical drafts," with music he wrote while in talks to score the next Mass Effect. On Bluesky he called the series "my ultimate white whale, my all-time dream project," saying he had been in discussion with BioWare and EA for the last couple of years and wrote "close to 20 minutes of music to explore where the franchise can go next."
Read our full story | Source: Austin Wintory on Bluesky
Emberville's early access is delayed to January 7, 2027, a day before launch
Cygnus Cross has pushed the Diablo-meets-Stardew Valley action RPG out of its October 27 Steam Early Access slot, announcing the change on Steam with launch only a day away. The team says feedback from its Steam Next Fest demo called for system-level fixes that can't be done quickly, citing a bow combat rework as one example, and that releasing now "wouldn't be up to our standards." The Next Fest demo is still on Steam.
Source: Emberville on Steam
Cat Battles Codes (October 2026): 7 Codes, Reaper and Halloween
All 7 working Cat Battles codes for 1,650 free Coins, checked Oct 26, plus Halloween Candy quests, the Reaper's Harvest and the Oct 31 Headless Horseman update.
Pieces of the cancelled Paranormal Activity game are free on Steam as Playable Archive
DarkStone Digital, the Mortuary Assistant studio, and publisher DreadXP released Playable Archive on Steam today, October 26, free for Windows PC. The 30-60 minute horror investigation follows a New England couple whose home renovation turns up a mysterious object, and it has no save system, so it is meant to be played in one sitting. According to IGN and Dread Central, it preserves a small part of the story and gameplay of Paranormal Activity: Threshold, which was cancelled in May; the full game is not coming back.
Source: Steam (Playable Archive)
Nintendo's New York and San Francisco stores will sell Ocarina of Time at 05:00 UTC on November 5
Nintendo New York holds a midnight launch from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 5, and Nintendo San Francisco runs a matching late-night event from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. PT on November 4, so both start at 05:00 UTC. Entry needs a Warp Pipe Pass reservation, which opens today, October 26, at 6 p.m. ET (22:00 UTC); passes are limited, first come first served and one per person. Nintendo says purchases are limited to one copy of the game per customer, with a gift with purchase while supplies last.
Read our full story | Source: Nintendo (Nintendo New York event page)
Diablo 4's Season 16 test realm opens October 27 with a War Plans overhaul
Blizzard says the 3.3.0 PTR for Season 16 runs on PC from October 27 at 10 a.m. PDT (17:00 UTC) to November 3. The headline change is War Plans Tactics, a points tree for both Seasonal and Eternal realms that makes your preferred activities and reward types (armor, weapons, gems, gold, Talisman items) more likely, paid for with a new currency, Marks of Wisdom, instead of gold. Season 16 also adds Tyrael's Boons, a seasonal War Plans tree open to all Seasonal players without the Lord of Hatred expansion; Blizzard has not yet announced the season's start date.
Source: Blizzard (Diablo IV news)
Wendy's turn-based RPG WendyQuest gets a free Steam page
WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones, a 2D pixel-art RPG that its Steam page bills as coming from Wendy's, is listed on Steam as free to play for Windows, with a release date of "Coming soon". Steam names 81monkeys as both developer and publisher. Players control redheaded warrior Wendy in turn-based battles against mech-monsters to save a food-themed kingdom, and the game can be wishlisted now.
Source: Steam
Xbox's Asha Sharma says Call of Duty has passed $40 billion in lifetime revenue
Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma posted on X today that Call of Duty has reached $40 billion in lifetime franchise revenue, calling Modern Warfare 4 one of the most celebrated entries in the series' 24-year history. The figure covers the whole franchise rather than MW4 alone, and it is revenue, not profit. Activision last gave a public total in 2022, when it said the series had passed $30 billion.
Read our full story | Source: Asha Sharma on X
Hello Kitty Party Land Release Date, Time and Editions
Hello Kitty Party Land launches Oct 29 on Switch and Switch 2 for $49.99. Expected unlock times, which version to buy, editions and the pre-order bonus.
AION 2 Best Class Tier List: Solo, PvE and PvP Picks Compared
Which AION 2 class should you pick? Two community tier lists side by side, with the best class for solo, group PvE, PvP, high ping, DPS and new players.
Auroch Digital puts about a quarter of its roles at risk of redundancy
Boltgun 2 developer Auroch Digital has started a redundancy consultation affecting around a quarter of roles at the studio, it said in a statement on X, blaming the market conditions that have hit many developers. The studio says work and post-launch support for Warhammer Survivors and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 will continue. Insider Gaming notes that Roundtable Interactive bought Auroch from Sumo Group in 2025.
Source: Auroch Digital on X
Ubisoft will give an Assassin's Creed franchise update on Thursday, October 29
Assassin's Creed head of content Jean Guesdon will share an update on the series' future on Thursday, October 29, Ubisoft said on the official Assassin's Creed X account, adding that there won't be any major reveals. Ubisoft has not yet given a time or a stream for it. Before that, Black Flag Resynced gets an update on October 27 with New Game+, a Nightmare Mode and new treasure to find.
Source: Assassin's Creed on X
Microsoft Flight Simulator's free World Update 23 brings Poland and the Baltics
World Update 23 is out now and free for all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator, according to the official announcement. It adds photogrammetry cities including Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Kaunas, Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk, 77 points of interest such as Malbork and Trakai Island castles, and five handcrafted airports from Gaya, with new missions for both the 2020 and 2024 sims. Update the sim to the latest version, then download it; Microsoft Flight Simulator is on Xbox Series X|S, PC and PS5.
Source: Microsoft Flight Simulator
Sucker Punch Layoffs: Ghost of Yotei Studio Reportedly Cuts 26
Sony-owned Sucker Punch has laid off 26 staff, Aftermath reports, citing an ex-employee and an email blaming market challenges. Sony has not yet commented.
Virtua Fighter Crossroads will share new info on October 29
Sega's official Virtua Fighter Crossroads account has teased an update for October 29 at 8 AM PDT / 11 AM EDT / 3 PM GMT, and is pointing fans to the game's YouTube channel. Sega hasn't said what the update covers. Push Square suggests a release date could be part of it, but that is speculation.
Source: Push Square
Forgotten Pokémon card collection sells for £1.56 million at UK auction
A retired decorator's Pokémon collection, left in his Woking attic for about 15 years, took £1.56 million (about $2 million) at Ewbank's single-owner sale "Pokémon: A Decade of Masters (1999-2009)" on October 21, against a pre-sale hope of around £270,000. The top lot, a Legendary Collection complete master set, hammered at £100,000. Ewbank's calls it the UK's most valuable trading card auction ever.
Source: Ewbank's
Microsoft opens a Voluntary Exit Offer, reportedly to about 60,000 staff
Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman announced a time-limited Voluntary Exit Offer today for employees at level 70 and below on participating teams in the US, Canada, India and the UK, with financial support and career planning for those who leave. Microsoft's post gives no headcount, but Business Insider and Bloomberg report that about 60,000 people, roughly a quarter of the workforce, are eligible. Microsoft hasn't said which teams take part, so it isn't yet clear whether Xbox is included.
Source: Official Microsoft Blog
Modern Warfare 4 Review (PS5): Campaign, DMZ and Multiplayer
Our team played Modern Warfare 4 on PS5: a great-looking campaign, a tense DMZ in Hajin and great movement in multiplayer, held back by a small map pool.
Save Mass Effect Petition: How to Sign, Count and What It Asks EA
The #SaveMassEffect petition passed 219,000 signatures on Oct 26 and asks EA to fund new games or license the IP. How to sign, the billboard, EA's silence.
A fan-bought #SaveMassEffect ad is running in Times Square today
Content creator Kala Elizabeth paid about $250 for a 15-second spot that plays at 35 minutes past every hour on October 26 on the 1560 Broadway screen in Times Square, Kotaku reports, and the campaign's X account confirmed the ad runs all day. She told Kotaku that she and other fans plan to crowdfund more displays. The Change.org petition showed 218,790 signatures when we checked at 16:11 UTC on Oct 26.
Read our full story | Source: Kotaku
Marvel Cosmic Invasion's Siege of Castle Doom DLC adds a run-based Doom mode on November 10
Tribute Games detailed the paid DLC on the PlayStation Blog: it adds Invisible Woman and Doctor Doom as playable heroes plus a new run-based mode set in Castle Doomstadt, where you pick themed doors (equipment, events, healing, infinite ammo, progression), build per-hero perks and keep a Siege Gauge from filling. The developer says the mode has more than five times as many encounters as the main game, with new traps and hazards, unlockable gear in Reed's Lab and a multiplayer MVP screen. It launches November 10; a price has not been announced yet, and the base game is on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, Switch 2 and PC.
Source: PlayStation Blog
Tap Simulator REBORN Codes (Oct 2026): HEAVEN, Halloween Pt. 2
Three working Tap Simulator REBORN codes, including new HEAVEN, checked Oct 26 against four dated lists, plus Update 2 and Halloween Pt. 2 timing and tips.
Phantom Blade Zero's PS5 trophy list has 36 trophies, including a Platinum
Push Square reports that Phantom Blade Zero's PS5 trophy list is now up on Exophase, with 36 trophies including a Platinum. Most are for finishing quests and beating bosses. Others ask you to fully upgrade and temper a weapon, collect 10 Memory Flowers and find 30 accessories. None require a specific difficulty, so the Platinum can be earned on the easiest setting before the game launches on October 29.
Read our full story | Source: Push Square
Some Steam users are stuck on a "Loading user data" screen
Some Steam users can't get into the desktop client today because it hangs on a "Loading user data" screen. PC Gamer says Downdetector reports began around 10:00 UTC (6 am ET) and kept rising, while SteamDB's status page showed all services green. Valve had not commented when PC Gamer published. Players report mixed results from restarting Steam as administrator, and some say the client loads if you just wait a few minutes.
Source: PC Gamer
MW4 Camo Challenges: Full Camo Ladder and All Mastery Camos
Every MW4 camo tier from Military to Mastery: Platinum and Harmonic Break challenges by class, all 9 Mastery camos, and why the counts differ.
Undead Labs boss on going independent: 'It was a pretty harrowing three months'
State of Decay studio Undead Labs is now employee-owned after Xbox announced in July that it would divest the studio. CEO Philip Holt told GamesIndustry.biz the team turned down investors who wanted majority control and signed a still-unnamed publisher instead, which lets it finish State of Decay 3 (due in 2027) with no outside investors. He confirmed a 'significant number' of layoffs in September but again declined to give a figure.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
Golden Joystick Awards open Ultimate Game of the Year voting until October 30
Fan voting for the Golden Joysticks' top prize opened today at goldenjoysticks.com and runs until 8pm ET on October 30, PC Gamer reports. The 12 nominees include 007 First Light, Crimson Desert, Dispatch, Forza Horizon 6, Resident Evil Requiem, Phantom Blade: Zero and Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Winners are revealed on Wednesday, November 11, in a show streamed on YouTube, Twitch and X and hosted by Alix Wilton Regan.
Source: PC Gamer
Xbox Shocktober Sale 2026: Games List, Best Deals, End Date
Outlast Trials Deluxe is $4.99, Back 4 Blood $5.99 and Tomb Raider $1.99 on Xbox until Nov 5 at 09:59 UTC. Full horror list with checked US prices.
Xbox Game Pass With T-Mobile: Who Gets It and How to Claim
From November, U.S. T-Mix plans let you trade Picks for Game Pass Premium (2) or Ultimate (3). Plans, prices, start date and what's still unconfirmed.
STALKER 2's free 2.1 update, The Zone Lookout, is out with squad-leader fast travel
GSC Game World posted the patch notes for The Zone Lookout on Steam today, calling it the first major update since the 2.0 release. The highlights are a new option to raise the distance at which A-Life NPCs appear, binoculars that work with those longer distances, fast travel through squad leaders and reworked anomalies, plus a long list of AI, combat and mission fixes that includes several missing-NPC bugs on PS5. MP1st reports that the patch is listed as update 1.025 on consoles. GSC did not give a download size, and it advises players to turn off mods if the game becomes unstable after updating.
Source: GSC Game World (Steam)
Steal a Brainrot Halloween Update: Grave Hunt, Fuse, Skull Block
Steal a Brainrot's Halloween 2026 came in four Saturday updates. Grave Hunt parts, Skull Lucky Block odds, Haunted Fuse recipes and the next update date.
Original Xbox games start appearing in Achievements lists ahead of Xbox's rollout
Players report that original Xbox titles such as Psychonauts, Destroy All Humans and Star Wars Republic Commando now appear on their console Achievements pages, Pure Xbox reports. Each one shows 0/0 achievements, so the lists don't have any achievements in them yet. Officially, Xbox said in July that Achievements would come to select original Xbox games on console and PC later this year, but it has not announced a date or a game list.
Source: Pure Xbox
Nintendo maintenance this week: 3DS, Switch data transfers and Save Data Cloud go offline in turn
Nintendo's network status page lists several maintenance windows this week. 3DS network services may be unavailable on October 26 from 22:00 to 00:00 UTC, and the Nintendo Store app for iOS and Android goes down on October 27 from 01:00 to 06:00 UTC. Switch user and save data transfers are affected on October 28 from 04:00 to 06:00 UTC, and Nintendo Switch Online Save Data Cloud on Switch and Switch 2 is unavailable on October 29 from 05:30 to 08:30 UTC, so back up or transfer saves before then.
Source: Nintendo Network Status
Cyanide, the youngest League of Legends world champion, has died at 31
Lauri "Cyanide" Happonen, the Finnish jungler who won the Season 1 World Championship with Fnatic in 2011 at 16, has died at 31, as first reported by Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. Fnatic said it was "deeply saddened to learn of the passing" of its former player "earlier this year" and called him the youngest player ever to win Worlds. No cause of death has been made public.
Source: Fnatic
Modern Warfare 4 debuts at No. 1 on the UK physical chart, Switch Sports Resort enters at No. 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the UK's best-selling boxed game this week, with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort a new entry at No. 2, according to the GfK-compiled physical chart reported by Nintendo Life. EA Sports FC 27 is third and Final Fantasy Resonance debuts fourth. GfK's split puts 78% of MW4's boxed sales on PS5, 19% on Xbox Series and 3% on Switch 2; the chart counts physical copies only, not downloads.
Read our full story | Source: Nintendo Life (GfK UK physical chart)
Phantom Blade Zero: How Long to Beat, Bosses and Difficulty
Reviews put Phantom Blade Zero at 30-40 hours for the story and 45-50 to complete. It has at least 50 bosses and four difficulty modes, including 66 Days.
Helldivers 2 Liberty Day 2026: Free Liberator Legacy and End Time
Liberty Day ends Oct 26 at 23:59 CET (3:59 PM PT). Anyone who played since Sep 26 gets the free AR-23L Liberator Legacy when it ends, plus ship decor.
Canada's NDP leader blames private equity for BioWare's closure
Avi Lewis, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, responded to EA's closure of BioWare on Bluesky: "This is private equity, this is what it does. Buy up businesses, run them into the ground, and rip them apart for short-term profit." He said BioWare's developers "should be given the first opportunity – and the federal support – to buy it and run it themselves," Eurogamer reports. The closure followed EA's leveraged buyout by a group that includes Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group.
Read our full story | Source: Eurogamer
Microsoft gives Arkane Lyon one more month (to about December 13) to find a buyer
Microsoft has extended the consultation period at Arkane Lyon by a month, moving the November 13 buyer deadline first reported by Le Monde to about December 13. "We have extended the consultation period by one additional month as we explore options, including finding a partner to support the studio through the development work still ahead," a Microsoft representative told PC Gamer, which says that work is Marvel's Blade. The rep added that the closure documents "do not represent a final decision."
Read our full story | Source: PC Gamer
Helldivers 2 Liberty Day: free Liberator Legacy rifle and ship decorations today
Helldivers 2 is celebrating Liberty Day today, October 26, with banners, rugs and party decorations aboard every ship for 24 hours, Arrowhead says on the PlayStation Blog. Anyone who has played since September 26 (00:00 CET) gets the AR-23L Liberator Legacy rifle, handed out when the celebration ends at 23:59 CET tonight, so log in and join in to make sure you qualify. Separately, Arrowhead CCO Johan Pilestedt told Rock Paper Shotgun (via VGC) that Helldivers 3 isn't in development: "the biggest competitor to a Helldivers 3 would be Helldivers 2."
Source: PlayStation Blog
Dead Rails Halloween Event: Phantom Train Quest and Free Hat
Dead of Night runs Oct 20 to Nov 7. How to finish the Phantom Train for the free Hollow hat, plus every Grave Silver shop price and the Act 3 date.
Ocarina of Time Switch 2 Editions: Prices, Pre-Orders, Bonuses
Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 is $59.99 digital or $69.99 physical, out Nov 5. Pre-orders are open; the first print has a foil cover, digital adds a wallpaper.
Cyberpunk 2077 Dual Wield Build: Double Trouble Perks and Guns
Dual wielding in Update 2.5 needs 9 Cool and Power pistols or revolvers. Every Double Trouble perk value, which guns qualify, and a level 50/60 build.
12 Best Physics Puzzle Games on iPhone and Android (2026)
Royal Smash! leads a new wave of cannon puzzlers. Our 12 physics puzzle picks for iPhone and Android, from Cut the Rope to World of Goo 2, with prices and ads.
ANOMALITH Release Time: PS5 Deluxe Early Access Starts Today
ANOMALITH unlocks Oct 28 at 15:00 UTC on PS5, Switch 2 and Steam. The $69.99 PS5 Deluxe Edition gets 48-hour early access from today, Oct 26.
Eric Bauza, voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, dies at 46
Eric Bauza, the Emmy Award-winning voice actor who became the modern voice of Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, has died at 46. His family announced it in a statement on his Instagram account on Sunday, October 25, saying he "has passed away suddenly" and adding "More details to come." No cause of death has been given. The news has been reported by Kotaku, CBR and Parade, among others.
Source: Kotaku
Disney Dreamlight Valley Halloween 2026: Puzzles, Candy, End Date
Haunted Floating Festival and Trick or Treat end Oct 31; start Oogie Boogie by Nov 4. Every Haunted Mansion puzzle answer, candy tips and furniture recipes.
Sonic X Shadow Generations passes 3 million copies sold
Sega says Sonic X Shadow Generations has now sold more than 3 million copies, announcing the milestone on the official Sonic the Hedgehog account on Oct 26, just after the game's second anniversary. It launched on Oct 25, 2024 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch and PC, followed by a Switch 2 version in June 2025. Sega had reported 2 million sales in January 2025.
Source: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
#SaveMassEffect petition passes 200,000 signatures
The Change.org petition asking EA to keep Mass Effect going, or license it to another studio, showed 200,172 verified signatures when we checked at 02:10 UTC on Oct 26, up from 188,145 on Sunday evening. IGN credits part of the surge to videos from both Commander Shepard actors, Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer, urging fans to sign, and to Destiny players who rallied behind the campaign.
Read our full story | Source: IGN
Sword x Staff Codes (October 2026): 15 Active Codes and Rewards
15 Sword x Staff codes cross-checked Oct 26, led by SXSDCTHANKS, SXSFBTHANKS and ZJ888, plus expired weekly codes like HOTPOT and how to redeem them.
Phantom Blade Zero Reviews: Metacritic Score and What Critics Say
Phantom Blade Zero holds an 88 Metascore on PC and PS5 as reviews land. Critics praise its combat and bosses but knock the story. Out Oct 29 for $59.99.
Phantom Blade Zero reviews are in: Metacritic 88 ahead of the Oct 29 launch
Review embargo has lifted for S-Game's kung fu action RPG, and early scores are strong: Metacritic lists an 88 for the PC version from 23 critic reviews (checked 00:10 UTC Oct 26). Push Square gave the PS5 version a 9/10 and Wccftech scored PC 10/10, with combat and boss fights the main praise and the story the most common complaint. It launches October 29 on PS5 and PC, at $59.99 on PlayStation.
Read our full story | Source: Metacritic
