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Articles by Ethan Carter
Fish Them All! Free Steam Demo Lets Players Chase 100 Million Fish
Since 2001, Piisu Inc. has kept its jellyfish character Funya inside Japan, with the franchise appearing only in mobile phone games, web content and smartphone titles. That track record is about to change with Fish Them All!, a pixel-art incremental fishing game whose free Steam demo was announced on Monday, October 19, 2026, as Steam Next Fest opens. Automaton PR sent the announcement on behalf of the Tokyo studio, which lists three employees.
BIG DIG, a Narrative Incremental Game, Launches on Steam at 25% Off
When Universal Paperclips arrived in October 2017, it showed that a clicker could carry a real story, and BIG DIG now brings a similar pairing to Steam. Developers Schu and Hjalte announced on Monday, October 19, that their narrative incremental game is out, with a 25% launch discount attached. The announcement came through a Steam post, and the tone is warm and a little goofy from the first line.
Fortnite Leak Shows the Unreleased Benched Synced Emote
Fortnite has been adding new dance moves and gestures since its battle royale mode launched in September 2017, and nine years later the cosmetic pipeline still produces a fresh leak almost every week. The latest comes from HYPEX, who shared the first gameplay of an unreleased Synced Emote called Benched on Sunday, October 18, 2026. “First gameplay of the unreleased \”Benched\” Synced Emote” – @HYPEX The emote has not been officially released, and no shop date, price or bundle has been announced.
Fable: The Lost Chapters Turns 21 Years Old on the Original Xbox
Fable: The Lost Chapters reached Steam on December 19, 2011, a long stretch after its original console debut, and the game has kept finding new players ever since. On Sunday, October 18, 2026, the official Fable account marked a bigger number, noting that the expanded edition launched on the original Xbox 21 years ago. “Ready to feel old?
GTA 6 Enters Its Final 30 Days Before the November 19 Launch
The last time Rockstar Games sent players into a final-month countdown was October 2018, when Red Dead Redemption 2 reached shelves on October 26 after being pushed back twice. Now the studio is back in that position, and on Sunday, October 18, 2026, the GTASixInfo account marked the moment with a short post that fans quickly picked up. ICYMI: GTA 6 Mural on Hollywood Boulevard Is Finished in Los Angeles. “ONE MONTH UNTIL GTA 6.
Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Gets First “Unhinged” Verdict After Early Access Opens
This is an update on Modern Warfare 4 Campaign Early Access Starts October 16, Six Days Before Launch. More on this story: Call of Duty Confirms Shipment Returns in Modern Warfare 4. The first loud verdict on the Modern Warfare 4 campaign is out. A post on Saturday, October 17 says the game “looks absolutely unhinged” and “brutally fkn savage.” It also tells readers to “forget GTA VI.” That reaction landed about a day after campaign early access opened on Friday, October 16.
Solo Dev Pulls SurgePoint Out of Early Access Over Low Interest
When Valve opened Steam Early Access in March 2013, the pitch was that players would fund unfinished games and help shape them over months or years. SurgePoint, an Action and Indie title, has now taken a much shorter road through that system. Its solo developer, QuantumMo0se, announced in a Steam community announcement on Sunday, October 18, 2026 that the game is leaving Early Access because of a lack of consumer interest. Catch up: Clicker Game Solo Dev @eldoridle Calls on X to Find His People.
Thank You Bus Driver Gets Tattles Fan Art and a Very Positive Steam Reception
Three days after Thank You Bus Driver reached Steam on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, an illustrator who has already dropped Tattles into several other games added the creature to Double Fine’s newest release. The artist, posting on Bluesky as 99healpotions, also said the game prompted their first-ever written review. Earlier: Thank You Bus Driver Is Steam Deck Verified Ahead of Oct 14 Launch.
GTA 6 Planes Look Closer to Real-Life Size Than GTA 5’s
When Grand Theft Auto V arrived in 2013, its jets and airliners were scaled down to fit a compressed Los Santos, and that choice stood for 13 years. Now the GTA 6 fan account GTAVI_Countdown has shared a side-by-side of aircraft from GTA 6 (2026) and GTA 5 (2013), arguing that Rockstar has corrected the problem. The comparison is a fan observation, not a Rockstar statement, so the exact scale of the planes is not confirmed.
Digital Foundry Finds GTA VI Trailer Runs at 1440p Upscaled to 4K on Base PS5
This is an update on Justice Releases GTA VI Launch Trailer Single Flower in a Hurricane With SZA and Tame Impala. Digital Foundry has put the GTA VI launch trailer under the microscope. Its verdict on base PS5 is a 1440p image upscaled to 4K. The team posted the findings on Friday, October 16. When the trailer dropped with its Justice, SZA and Tame Impala soundtrack, most talk was about the music and the visuals. Now the tech crowd has weighed in.
GTA 6 Mural on Hollywood Boulevard Is Finished in Los Angeles
The second GTA 6 trailer arrived on May 6, 2025, and fans have scanned every billboard and wall for the next piece of marketing since. The latest find is a giant mural on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, which the fan tracker GTAVI_Countdown reported as officially finished on Friday, October 16. “The giant GTA 6 mural in Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles is officially finished.” – @GTAVI_Countdown The artwork is painted on the Grand Budapest Hotel 2 building.
Ocarina of Time Remake Previews Land as Fans Joke About Shrek 2 Stealing GOTY
Back in June 2011, Nintendo and Grezzo released Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS, a remake that mostly kept the 1998 original’s layout intact. Fifteen years later, previews of a new Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake describe something far bolder than that careful 3DS update. Genki_JPN rounded up the early impressions from IGN, VGC and Engadget in a post on X on October 14.
Fortnite Leak Points to Wednesday Addams Returning on October 18
Fortnite has been running Halloween events since Fortnitemares first appeared in 2018, and the game has a long track record of timing spooky returns to the final weeks of October. A new leak from HYPEX fits that pattern, claiming that Wednesday Addams comes back to Fortnite on Sunday, October 18. Epic Games has not confirmed it. HYPEX posted the claim on X on Friday, October 16, in all capitals and with an attached link.
GTA 6 Story Reportedly Leans on Red Dead Redemption 2 Over GTA 5
In October 2016, Rockstar Games began teasing Red Dead Redemption 2, a game that then took until October 26, 2018 to reach players. A new claim from @gtasix_ on Friday, October 16 says the story of Jason and Lucia in GTA 6 will follow that game’s lead more closely than GTA 5’s. “Jason and Lucia’s story in GTA 6 will be more inspired by Red Dead Redemption 2 than GTA 5.” – @gtasix_ The post links a source, but the source is not identified in the text, so the claim should be read as a rumor.
UvsU: You vs You Sets Jan. 21, 2027 Steam Launch for Its Time-Loop Puzzles
When Braid arrived in 2008, it showed that a time-rewind mechanic could carry an entire puzzle platformer. Nearly two decades later, UvsU: You vs You is taking a similar idea in a darker direction, and it now has a launch date. The claymation game from solo developer Dietzribi will release on PC via Steam on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2027, a date revealed during IGN Fan Fest on Oct. 15, 2026, according to a press release from Stride PR.
GTA 6 Ultimate Edition Giveaway Is Open Worldwide, With PS5 or Xbox as the Pick
Grand Theft Auto V went on sale on September 17, 2013, and the series has not had a new mainline entry since. That long gap explains why a giveaway for a GTA 6 Ultimate Edition draws attention. IndieGameJoe is running one on X, and the winner gets to pick PS5 or Xbox. “GTA 6 Ultimate Edition giveaway on PS5 or Xbox, and it could be yours for nothing.” – @IndieGameJoe Three Steps and a Monday, October 19 Draw The entry rules are short.
Rockstar Puts Six Real-Life GTA 6 Cars on Miami Streets
This is an update on New GTA 6 Trailer Reportedly Drops Five Weeks Before the November 19 Launch. Rockstar is now marketing GTA 6 with real-life versions of six in-game cars in Miami. The news surfaced in a post on Friday, October 16. Our earlier report said a new trailer reportedly lands five weeks before the November 19 launch. This is a different kind of push.
GTA Online Adds GTA$500,000 Bonus for Dr. Dre Contract Finale
This is an update on GTA Online Halloween Week Hands Out an Orange Glow Skeleton Onesie and GTA$100,000. Earlier: GTA Online Business Rivalries Brings 10X Bonuses Throughout September. GTA Online just got a much bigger cash reward. Rockstar says completing The Contract Finale this week pays an extra GTA$500,000 bonus. The announcement went out on Friday, October 16. Rockstar’s pitch is short and simple. Give your Agency its big break by finding Dr. Dre’s stolen phone.
GTA 6 Launch Trailer Brings Back Announcer Jeff Berlin
When Grand Theft Auto V arrived in 2013, it carried over an announcer voice that players had first heard in Grand Theft Auto IV in 2008, and the same voice has now turned up again in the launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI. Geoff Keighley posted on X on Thursday, October 15, that veteran announcer Jeff Berlin voices the title in the new trailer, calling it one of his favorite parts. Catch up: Fan Comparison Pits a 2013 GTA 5 Wall Against GTA 6.
Flipping Is Hard Launches With 32-Player Co-op and Chill Mode
Roughly 18 months ago, in spring 2025, Flipping Is Hard was a scrappy little prototype called Plonk Is Hard, and on Friday, October 16, Elegant Horse Studios turned it into a finished Steam release. The physics-platformer climb is out now on Windows, with the developers announcing the launch in a Steam post that thanks everyone who playtested along the way. The studio jokes that the project took so much effort it could star in a sequel called Working Is Hard.
Ezmeralda 1.0 Adds Four Ward Bosses and a Hollow King Finale
The last time a small action RPG shipped a 1.0 that restructured the whole game around a boss ladder, the genre’s usual answer was a harder difficulty tier and a loot reset. Ezmeralda, from developer Leifyy, does both of those and adds a proper campaign on top.
WWE 2K26 X Street Fighter Elite Pack Launches October 28
WWE 2K26 reached Steam on March 12, 2026, and a little over seven months later 2K is adding the first Street Fighter crossover in the history of the WWE 2K series. The WWE 2K26 X Street Fighter Elite Pack arrives on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, and it puts five wrestlers in the roles of Capcom fighters. 2K announced the pack on October 15 in a press release. The Rock Becomes M.
DREADMOOR Sets Steam Early Access Date for Nov. 9 at $19.99
Dream Dock has no earlier release to point to, because DREADMOOR is the studio’s debut IP, so its only track record so far is a set of playtests and a public demo. That record is now turning into a release date: the dark first-person fishing game launches in Steam Early Access on PC on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. Publisher Digital Vortex Entertainment announced the date on Oct. 15 through Stride PR.
GTA Online Halloween Week Hands Out an Orange Glow Skeleton Onesie and GTA$100,000
GTA Online has been live since November 18, 2014, and in October 2026 Rockstar is still rolling out limited-time Halloween rewards for it. The studio announced on Thursday, October 15, that the game’s Halloween event continues this week, with free clothing items, a cash payout and a round of vehicle discounts. Catch up: Fan Comparison Pits a 2013 GTA 5 Wall Against GTA 6.
New GTA 6 Trailer Reportedly Drops Five Weeks Before the November 19 Launch
In December 2023, Rockstar Games pushed its first Grand Theft Auto VI trailer out roughly 15 hours ahead of schedule after the footage leaked online. Now the fan account GTAVI_Countdown says a new GTA 6 trailer has arrived and shared the claim on X on Thursday, October 15.
Justice Releases GTA VI Launch Trailer Single Flower in a Hurricane With SZA and Tame Impala
Back in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V shipped with an original score from a group of composers that included Tangerine Dream and Woody Jackson. Rockstar Games is now putting the music of Grand Theft Auto VI much closer to the front, as French duo Justice has a new standalone single called “Flower in a Hurricane.” Rockstar announced on X on Thursday, October 15, 2026, that the track features Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
Tales of Eternia Remastered Launches on PS5 Friday, October 16
The last time Tales of Eternia reached players on a PlayStation console was back in 2000, when it debuted in Japan on the original PlayStation. Now, roughly 26 years later, the classic JRPG is coming to PS5 as Tales of Eternia Remastered, and the tale returns on Friday, October 16. PlayStation’s official X account announced the date on Wednesday, October 14, with a short pitch for the story. “Journey to save two intertwined worlds in Tales of Eternia Remastered.
NBA 2K27 Season 2 Adds GOAT Builds and Sunset Beach on Oct 16
When Sunset Beach first appeared in NBA 2K17 back in 2016, it was one of the more memorable hangouts in the series, and a decade later NBA 2K27 Season 2 is bringing a remastered version back to The City. The season launches Friday, October 16, 2026, just ahead of the NBA tip-off, and 2K announced it on Wednesday, October 14, through a press release from its PR agency. Caitlin Clark, the cover athlete of the NBA 2K27 Deluxe Edition, and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton headline the season.
Mafia: The Old Country and Mycopunk Lead the PS Plus Game Catalog on October 20
Mafia: The Old Country reached Steam on August 7, 2025, and roughly 14 months later it is headed to a PlayStation subscription catalog. Sony laid out the full October 2026 PlayStation Plus Game Catalog on Wednesday, October 14, and the lineup is playable from Tuesday, October 20 unless otherwise noted. Mafia leads the Extra and Premium tiers on PS5, with Horizon Forbidden West right beside it on PS5 and PS4. Sony marks the Horizon entry as a PlayStation Plus re-release.
Fan Comparison Pits a 2013 GTA 5 Wall Against GTA 6
When Rockstar Games rereleased Grand Theft Auto V for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2014, only 14 months after the original launch, the studio rebuilt textures and lighting, and fans have judged the series by its surfaces ever since. The fan account @GTAVI_Countdown revived that habit on Tuesday, October 13, with a side-by-side image of one wall in GTA 5 and the same wall in GTA 6, labeled 2013 and 2026. “Same wall, different era.
GTA 6 Leaks Reportedly End After a 20th Clip, With a Dead Man’s Switch Threat
In September 2022, a hacker posted around 90 early development videos of GTA 6 on GTAForums, and Rockstar confirmed the breach the very next day. A leaker going by Cyberleek now says a new run of GTA 6 clips is over after a 20th video, according to a statement shared on X on Wednesday, October 14 by the fan account GTAVI_Countdown. The statement claims the final clip comes from the game’s last missions, cut so it reveals nothing about the story.
Dan Houser Calls His Max Payne 3 Writing a Personal Failure
The last time Dan Houser looked back this openly on Rockstar’s history, the studio was still shipping Grand Theft Auto V for a new console generation, and few of its stories came with admissions of failure. A new interview, summarized on Tuesday, October 13 by the GTA fan account @GTAVI_Countdown, changes that, with the Rockstar co-founder and former lead writer picking through hits, misses and one cancelled project.
Red Dead Online Runs Triple Rewards All October With 10 All Hallows’ Call to Arms Maps
Red Dead Online reached Steam on December 1, 2020, and almost six years on Rockstar Games is still running seasonal events in it. The latest is All Hallows’ Call to Arms, announced on Tuesday, October 13, with 10 seasonal maps and Triple Rewards for the rest of the month.
Cassette Beasts 2002 Lands on Xbox in March 2027 as Raw Fury Fills Its Slate
The last time Kingdom took an Xbox stage was the Xbox Gamescom Showcase earlier in 2026, when Kingdom III: Rising Realms was announced alongside an early gameplay preview. On Tuesday, October 13, Xbox Wire returned to the series with a wider look at Raw Fury’s Xbox slate, which also covers Deep Dish Dungeon, Cassette Beasts 2002, The Séance of Blake Manor, and My Cannibal Family. The post is a rundown of release windows more than a single reveal.
GTA 5 Leaves PS Plus Game Catalog on November 17, Two Days Before GTA 6
Rockstar last launched a brand new mainline Grand Theft Auto on September 17, 2013, when GTA 5 arrived on PS3 and Xbox 360. That game is now getting an exit date on PlayStation Plus, because Grand Theft Auto V leaves the Game Catalog on November 17, only two days before GTA 6 launches. Catch up: GTA Fans Share the Lost Car Joke Ahead of GTA VI’s November 19 Launch. The fan account GTAVI_Countdown shared a new promotional message from PlayStation on Monday, October 12.
Tim Sweeney Says Epic Wants to Survive the AI Revolution
When Epic Games Store launched in December 2018 with an 88/12 revenue split, Tim Sweeney defended the move in public and did not back down from critics. He is doing something similar on Monday, October 12, 2026, after Epic’s news about AI usage at the studio. ShiinaBR reported on X that Sweeney has shared a few more comments on the subject. The original announcement is not detailed in that post, so this piece sticks to what Sweeney himself said.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Message “Mist, or Beast” Stops a Returning Player Cold
FromSoftware has been letting players leave short notes for each other since Demon’s Souls in 2009, and the habit has produced odd phrasing in every Souls game since. This week, one of those lines landed hard on a player returning to Elden Ring. @Zealot_of_Zelda posted on Monday, October 12 that a new lightning-build character, named Malfoid, had just made it back to the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. ICYMI: The Witcher Turns 18 And Players Are Begging For That Remake.
Elden Ring Gets a Leon Mod While a Witcher Crossover Circulates
Elden Ring has spent the years since its Steam release on February 24, 2022 collecting mods that drag outside characters into the Lands Between, and on Monday, October 12, a Leon mod joined the pile. Player @immalkwalahi shared a clip of it, and the character is apparently the Resident Evil hero. Related coverage: 13AM Games Teases Indie Mix of Dark Souls, Inscryption, and Blasphemous. “Leon in Elden ring Mods going crazy” – @immalkwalahi The reactions were quick and mostly playful.
GTA 6 Fan Expectations Keep Climbing as Players Name RDR2 as the Bar
Rockstar Games learned what a long wait can do in October 2018, when Red Dead Redemption 2 took in $725 million in its first three days after five years of silence since Grand Theft Auto V. A fan account is now stoking that same kind of anticipation for GTA 6, posting on Sunday, October 11 that the game will have to be remarkable to top a “masterpiece” it linked in the post. The post carries no announcement or new details about the game.
DroidDeck Reportedly Runs Cyberpunk 2077 and Skyrim at 60 FPS on Android
The last time Cyberpunk 2077 drew this much scrutiny over how it ran on limited hardware was its December 2020 launch, when last-generation consoles struggled badly with it. Nearly six years later, Pirat_Nation reported on X on Monday, October 12, that an Android app called DroidDeck can run the game at around 60 FPS on a phone. The claim comes with a second headline game attached, since Skyrim reportedly hit the same frame rate on the same device at a lower resolution.
RustFS S3 Tables: A Built-In Iceberg REST Catalog in an Apache-2.0 Object Store
RustFS S3 Tables is an Apache Iceberg REST Catalog built directly into the RustFS object storage kernel, so one process on one port serves both standard S3 and the Iceberg REST Catalog protocol. That removes the separate Hive Metastore or Glue catalog a self-hosted lakehouse normally needs. It is Apache 2.0 with no separate commercial edition.
Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition Adds Echoes of Sekigahara Duels on PS5
The last time Sucker Punch repackaged one of its samurai games, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut arrived on August 20, 2021, roughly 13 months after the original launched in July 2020 and with the Iki Island expansion built in. Ghost of Yōtei Complete Edition follows a similar pattern, landing on PS5 with the Echoes of Sekigahara story expansion and Most Wanted Mode in one package. PlayStation announced the release on Sunday, October 11, 2026, and pointed straight at the new content.
Brandon Thomas Targets Microsoft Office With WordCraft, GridCraft and DeckCraft
LibreOffice arrived in 2010 as a free, community-built answer to Microsoft Office, and sixteen years later another developer is making a similar pitch with AI as the engine. Brandon Thomas, the creator of the free open-source ArtCraft project, has unveiled WordCraft, GridCraft and DeckCraft as stand-ins for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Pirat_Nation reported the news on X on Sunday, October 11.
GTA Fans Share the Lost Car Joke Ahead of GTA VI’s November 19 Launch
The last time Rockstar shipped a numbered Grand Theft Auto game was September 17, 2013, when GTA V arrived on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. That game gave players plenty of new ways to lose a favorite car, and on Friday, October 9, the fan account GTAVI_Countdown turned that old frustration into a joke on X while the community waits for GTA VI. Earlier: Rockstar Hackers Reportedly Face an FBI Arrest and a November 9 Trial Before GTA 6. “You finally find the car you’ve been looking for in GTA.
Rockstar Hackers Reportedly Face an FBI Arrest and a November 9 Trial Before GTA 6
In September 2022, more than 90 clips from an early build of GTA 6 spilled across the internet in what became the biggest leak in Rockstar’s history. Four years later, the people tied to that leak and to newer attacks on the studio are reportedly running out of road. The fan tracking account GTAVI_Countdown reported on Friday, October 9, 2026, that the FBI arrested a ShinyHunters member linked to an April blackmail attempt against Rockstar.
Witcher 3 Remastered Update 5.01 Brings Colours Closer to the Original
The Witcher 3 has been on Steam since May 18, 2015, and in the 11 years since it has collected 902,394 reviews, so any change to how it looks gets noticed quickly. Patch 5.01 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered went live on Thursday, October 8, and its headline fix is colour. Pirat_Nation shared the news on X. Previously on HappyGamer: Witcher 3 Remastered Patch 5.01 Fixes Blade Oils and DLSS Bugs. “Patch 5.01 for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered is live and they fixed the colours.
Wartales Fires in the Capital DLC Is Out on Xbox, Steam, and GOG
When Wartales launched in April 2023, every contract it offered played out on the frontiers of civilization, in muddy villages and bandit-filled countryside. On Friday, October 9, 2026, developer Shiro Games moved the game somewhere very different with Contract: Fires in the Capital, a new DLC now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and GOG.
Streamer Locks Himself in a Jail Cell Until Mom Beats Margit
Elden Ring reached Steam on February 24, 2022, and more than four years later the community is still finding new ways to make a single boss fight into an event. The latest example is streamer Drake Cummings, who locked himself in a homemade jail cell and refused to leave until his mom beat Margit, the first major boss in the game. Previously on HappyGamer: Ex-Bethesda Dev Says Todd Howard’s ‘Yes Men’ Culture Hurt Fallout, Skyrim. The story was shared on X by InternetH0F on Thursday, October 8.
Double Fine’s KEEPER Launches on PC, Xbox, and PS5 With Noir Mode
When Double Fine released Psychonauts 2 on August 25, 2021, the studio leaned on a talkative, joke-heavy script to carry players through its strange mental worlds. KEEPER, which Double Fine announced on Thursday, October 8, 2026 as available on PC, Xbox, and PS5, goes the opposite direction by telling its whole story without a single word. The studio shared the news in a post on Bluesky, describing the game as a story about unlikely companionship and mystifying metamorphosis.
AnyPS5 Reportedly Hits 100% GPU Shader Instruction Coverage for PS5 on PC
When Nintendo settled with the makers of the Switch emulator Yuzu in March 2024 for $2.4 million, it showed how quickly a console emulation project can jump from hobby curiosity to industry headline. Now AnyPS5, a project aimed at running PS5 games on PC hardware, has reportedly reached 100% GPU shader instruction coverage, according to a post from Pirat_Nation on X on Friday, October 9.
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