Gaming News Digest — October 15, 2026

A Steam demo for the historical RTS is out, featuring the July 1941 defense of Buynichi village and a Capture mode.

The Switch 2 version arrives March 18, with pre-orders offering a GoldenEye suit.

Summitsphere's action-platformer hits PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on October 15.

The developers criticized AI in gaming, calling it a parasitic growth that hurts big titles.

The Helldivers 2 Warbond Scope of Authority drops October 20, 2026, with sniper rifles and stealth gear.

Stardock's RTS launches November 10, 2026, with a Steam launch discount and three factions.

Manjuu Games' open-world adventure gets an English open beta in summer 2027 with over 20 million pre-registrations.

The Steam version has sold 10.5 million copies, according to publisher Critical Reflex.

OGames' sequel hit Steam Early Access with full crossplay and a free car gift.

Evil Empire's entry holds 86 on Metacritic and OpenCritic, the series' best since Dawn of Sorrow in 2005.

Patch 1.20.1 raises religious diplomacy costs, adds a 90-day rite cooldown and makes saint canonization pricier.

The Anno 117: Pax Romana expansion arrives November 5, 2026, adding Egypt's Aegyptus province with Nile floods and irrigation.

Glen Schofield says Krafton forced The Callisto Protocol to ship three months early during COVID-19, causing launch issues.

Early access owners won't rebuy at 1.0, saves auto-convert, and cross-platform multiplayer is not planned for launch.

Epic rolled out a preview of a revamped launcher built with AI, adding cart-based purchases.

The Diplomacy Update adds 12 factions across six types plus mercenaries on Steam, Epic Games Store and GOG.

Analysts doubt a Q1 2027 PC release, citing Take-Two financials showing no planned PC revenue through March 2027.

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier details Rockstar's growth from 2,441 to 4,711 staff across 12 offices over eight years.

Per Bloomberg, Jason and Lucia can do essentially everything together in the open world.

Rockstar's Jennifer Kolbe recounted telling Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick about the second delay in a Bloomberg feature.

The leak saga ended after a related cryptocoin collapsed.

Operation: Echoes adds free UM45 and MP40 SMGs plus graphics improvements on Power Plant and Hideout.

YouTube fully restored the French blogger's channel after a ban over a Hellraiser: Revival stream, admitting no violations.

Gaming Factory announced an arcade racer mixing Japanese drift culture with folklore and demon battles.

Enshrouded passed 5 million players, and update 1.0 lands October 15 on PC and PS5 with a new endgame zone.

The «Blessing of Scrolls» event offers a 10% success rate, making self-crafted blessed Zel and Dai a guaranteed loss.

CI Games says the team is focused on combat balance, the Umbral mechanic, visuals, onboarding and narrative.

Half Human Games announced a tactics RPG set in an abyssal fortress with a vice and corruption system.

Xbox unveiled a 13 cm, roughly 100 g gamepad with 18 inputs, Bluetooth and an Action button, with preorders open now.

The company says it has no plans to abandon physical games for now.

The Resident Draugr Halloween event runs until November 1, with an arachnophobia mode and a town hall skin reward.

The chill off-roader from the art of rally creator launched October 14, 2026, with four-player co-op.

Frontier's zoo sim sequel launched with 136 species and around 1,000 Steam reviews at 70% positive.

GTA 6 was originally planned to span much of North and South America before being cut down to Miami.

October's catalog adds Horizon: Forbidden West, Mafia: The Old Country and Mycopunk on October 20, while 8 games leave October 18.

Update 1.5.3 speeds up level loading, fixes crashes and resolves mission editor and PS5 login issues.

Atari and Sad Cat Studios' action game hits Google Play on December 8, 2026, with pre-registration live.

The company says it will recognise a union if GTA 6 staff want one, less than a year after firing 34 employees.

Patch 1.0.1 fixes disappearing world saves, adds save recovery, a jump attack and 40 inventory slots.

Studio Gamepires laid off staff and shrank its team, citing challenging market conditions.

Valve added Deadman Danny, an explosive skeleton hero with a rocket launcher and jetpack, to Deadlock.

The remake hits Nintendo Switch 2 on November 5, 2026, with modern graphics, voice acting and symphonic music.

The company may close Trials studio RedLynx in Helsinki and cut 70 jobs at its Singapore office.

The Ghostrunner creators' soulslike sits at 84% very positive on Steam but peaked at only about 4,600 concurrent players.

The Index VR headset is discontinued, with remaining stock at $399.20 instead of $499 while supplies last.

Season 2 starts October 15, 2026, with peak online already at 428,666 and login and connection errors reported.

The boomer shooter launched on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with Switch 2 coming later.

The Processional of the Damned expansion adds the Fanatic archetype, a melee fighter with area-damage hammers.

Solo dev Versiris announced a story-driven adventure about cryptids and an interdimensional conspiracy.

Xbox launched a new division led by CTO Scott Van Vliet to study emerging tech and build tools shared with the industry and gamers.

Summer Eternal, staffed by ZA/UM alumni, revealed Red Rooster, a physics-driven RPG led by office worker Redrick Rust.

A 3D platformer where each level has its own atmosphere, with WASD movement and dash controls.

A mod that removes wind for easier golf.

You awaken in a room with three strangers and must communicate to uncover why you are there.

A 2D pixel puzzle survival game about caring for your mental state and room.

A lightweight tactical plate carrier loadout drop.

Bongo Cat has 170,168 players online, RimWorld climbed 16 spots, and over the hill is the third top seller.