Terahard Studios is excited to announce its latest title, Dunebound Tactics, a turn-based tactics roguelite RPG set in a wasteland overtaken by the bonedry desert sand. The Steam page launched today and is ready to welcome some wishlists! Lead your band of survivors on a hazardous trek across unforgiving sands in search of a new home. Battle ruthless factions, scavenge dwindling resources, and make life-or-death choices to keep your sand-faring ship on the move, even if it requires sacrificing your own crewmates!

"Personally, I'm a huge tactics fanatic. We built our very own tactics engine with RPG elements from the ground up for Dunebound Tactics! I'm excited both for the technical innovations as well as the freedom we gave our game designers to create an amazing experience. The art in this game is the best we've managed so far connecting all the little details to squeeze performance and quality." - Aris Tsevrenis, CEO of Terahard Studios

ELECOM, a global leader in innovative gaming peripherals, is excited to announce the launch of the TK-VK720A gaming keyboard. This groundbreaking device is set to redefine the gaming experience with its advanced magnetic switch technology, offering unmatched speed, precision, and customization—all within a sleek, compact design. The keyboard will be available in two color options: black and white.

Unmatched Performance with Advanced Magnetic Switches
At the core of the TK-VK720A are its advanced magnetic switches, making ELECOM one of the first in the industry to adopt analog silent switches. These switches provide faster actuation and reset points than traditional mechanical switches, ensuring key presses register at the slightest touch for smoother, more responsive keystrokes. This technology offers a crucial edge in competitive gaming, where every millisecond counts.

MSI proudly announces the launch of its latest gaming peripherals: the VERSA 300 ELITE WIRELESS and VERSA 300 WIRELESS gaming mice. Built with a focus on comfort, precision, and performance, these new models are designed to enhance gaming and professional experiences.

VERSA 300 ELITE WIRELESS - Brilliance Meets Comfort
The VERSA 300 ELITE WIRELESS delivers top-tier performance with its advanced PixArt PAW3395DM Optical Sensor, offering up to 26,000 DPI for pinpoint accuracy and speed. With a 1000 Hz / 1 ms polling rate, gamers can experience ultra-responsive input, ensuring every movement is fast and precise. The ELITE model is equipped with OMRON micro switches rated for 60 million clicks, providing a durable and tactile response that enhances gameplay. Weighing just 65 grams, it is engineered for a lightweight and agile feel, perfect for long gaming sessions without causing fatigue. Paired with its ergonomic, symmetrical shape, the mouse is comfortable for all hand sizes and grip styles, ensuring a snug fit for every gamer. Featuring the exclusive MSI Diamond Lightgrip which combines a grippy texture with gorgeous, fully customizable RGB lighting through MSI Center, allowing users to create an immersive, personalized setup.

After recently announcing PS5 and PC cross-play, Airship Syndicate announced that its co-op, indie, ARPG dungeon crawler, Wayfinder, will officially exit early access on October 21. Along with the full version 1.0 release, Wayfinder will introduce both a new playable area, called The Crucible, and a new vertical traversal tool, called a Hookshot, specifically designed to explore the ruins of the ancient city. The announcement comes with gameplay footage (see on the PlayStation Blog) of the overgrown, gloomy mega-mech that was built by the ancients to fight a war but has since been reclaimed by nature. The new map adds an extra degree of verticality to the game, giving the developers an opportunity to expand the player experience and arsenal.

In addition to the new region and extended mobility options, Airship Syndicate is teaming up with Critical Role for a paid DLC that will add The Legend of Vox Machina characters to Wayfinder as playable characters. Although exact pricing of the DLC is unknown both the Critical Role DLC Supporter Pack and The Crucible will be available on October 21. After the update, players will still be able to play in both single-player and co-op modes, just like before.

Despite the recent successful launch of Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero, which sold 3 million units in 24 hours, it looks as though Bandai Namco is pressuring 200 of its 1,300 employees in Japan to voluntarily resign in what is being called a short-sighted move to boost profits. According to a recent Bloomberg report, the Japanese game developer is skirting strict labor laws in Japan by removing all work responsibilities from 200 of its employees. Allegedly, nearly 100 of those staff being pressured into resignation have already left the company. Along with the layoffs, Bandai Namco has apparently cancelled three new games that were in development, namely, new Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto games.

This shift at Bandai Namco comes in spite of a booming Japanese game industry, which will reportedly grow by 6.66% annually until 2029. Game Developer attributes Bandai Namco's coerced "voluntary" layoffs to the losses generated by the consistently underwhelming performance of the company's online division, which supposedly generated a net loss of an equivalent to $51.35 million in the last fiscal year. If our recent reporting is any indication, there seems to be a shift in the overall gaming market, in which younger audiences predominantly seem to prefer multiplayer (specifically PvP) games. Second to PvP is single-player gaming, which was consistently the preferred game type for more than 30% of gamers, regardless of age groups. This latter niche is seemingly where Bandai Namco's strengths and audience seem to lie, along with many of its other Japanese game studio competitors, like From Software, Nintendo, and Capcom.

Welcome to the middle of October and a slight shift in pace, as this coming week has multiple big releases, albeit no AAA launches. Our top pick for this week involves strapping yourself into a massive, walking machine of destruction in a franchise that kicked off all the way back in 1989. This is followed by some galaxy conquering, a friendly wolf and its human friend, you starting up human civilization on a new planet, a Roman style city builder, silence please and something unknown that's waking up.

MechWarrior 5: Clans / This week's major release / Thursday 17 October
In MechWarrior 5: Clans, players take on the role of a newly graduated pilot from the Smoke Jaguar cadet program, thrust into the heart of the Clan Invasion of the Inner Sphere during Operation Revival. This pivotal moment in the MechWarrior universe sees players leading a five-mech "Star" squad across numerous planets with diverse biomes, engaging in an expansive campaign filled with immersive gameplay and intricate combat encounters. Armed with customizable BattleMechs featuring cutting-edge technologies, players explore a wealth of tactical options and strategic possibilities. Steam link

After the drama and negative press surrounding the recent Assassin's Creed Shadows delay, fans of the franchise might be happy to hear that, after more than a year on other platforms, Assassin's Creed Mirage has finally received a PC release date. Additionally, Ubisoft guarantees that Assassin's Creed Mirage will be playable on the Steam Deck at launch, even though it won't ship with the "Playable" logo.

According to the announcement, Assassin's Creed Mirage will launch on Steam on October 17, 2024. When the game launches on Steam, it will feature 50 in-game achievements that will "range from completing missions or ranking up, to performing specific actions." Despite having Steam achievements and Steam Deck compatibility at launch, AC Mirage players will still have to install UbiConnect, Ubisoft's first-party game store and launcher—a move that's unlikely to sit well with many gamers.

MSI unveils its new lineup of AI gaming desktops, following the introduction of Intel's Arrow Lake-S desktop processors. The lineup features two advanced models: the MPG Infinite X3 AI and the MEG Vision X. These desktops harness the power of Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2) with built-in Neural Processing Units (NPUs), coupled with NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards. This powerful combination delivers enhanced performance in both AI-accelerated gaming and complex processing tasks, aiming to optimize the gaming experiences.

These new desktops are equipped with up to Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K, boasting 8 P-Cores, 16 E-Cores, and an integrated 13 trillion operations per second (TOPS) NPU. When paired with up to a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, the systems achieve an impressive total of over 1300 TOPS, enabling them to handle advanced AI tasks effortlessly while enhancing gaming performance and AI-generated content (AIGC) efficiency. The integrated NPU significantly enhances processing capabilities, particularly for AI-related tasks. In applications like DIGIME software, it boosts AI inference efficiency while simultaneously reducing GPU load. This optimization not only improves performance in specific applications but also benefits overall AI computation across various tasks.

Corsair, a leading global developer and manufacturer of high-performance gear and technology for gamers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts, has begun to release the first products in its multi-year, full cross-brand collaboration with the critically acclaimed Call of Duty franchise. This powerful new integration sees two of the world's best-known gaming brands come together for the first time with the collaboration extending across multiple product categories at Corsair including Drop, Elgato, ORIGIN PC and SCUF Gaming.

"We are thrilled to be teaming up with Activision and have our world-class brands come together as Corsair is set to deliver premium performance for Call of Duty players across all platforms whether it's playing Black Ops 6, capturing amazing content or streaming with friends," said Thi La, President and COO at Corsair. "Our goal has always been to fuel the Call of Duty fandom with best-in-class products built for today's gamers and we couldn't be more thrilled to partner with Corsair for the launch of Black Ops 6. The suite of officially licensed products will help elevate gaming stations everywhere in true Call of Duty Black Ops style," said Brooke Carpenter, Senior Director, Global Consumer Products at Activision.

There was a bit of upheaval in the indie gaming space this July, when game publisher, Humble Games, effectively shuttered its doors due to budgeting concerns at its parent company, Ziff Davis. Back then, the entire staff was laid off when the publisher shuttered its doors. Now, the former Humble Games general manager, Alan Patmore, and ex-global publishing VP, Mark Nash, have come together to form Good Games Group—a game publishing group with more or less the same set of values and goals as Humble Games, but without the corporate oversight.

The new team's first order of business is helping Humble Games support indie titles previously launched under the Humble Games—a task that was apparently given over to a third-party game publisher after the 36-person crew of Humble Games was laid off earlier this year. Given that Good Games Group's first step involves Humble Games and projects that would previously have been worked on by the same team, it seems likely that the same developers that published games via Humble Games will continue to work with Good Games Group.

HexGaming, a leader in customizable game controllers, is setting a new standard for eSports performance with the release of the PHANTOM Gaming Pro Controller for PS5. Built for serious competitive gamers, the PHANTOM combines precision engineering with unparalleled customization, empowering players to dominate in any high-pressure gaming scenario.

Key Features Include:

• Well-Designed Controller Layout:
  The PHANTOM Controller boasts an ergonomic design that enhances the hands-on feeling, allowing for an outstanding gaming experience. Its integrated structure provides multiple solutions and ensures precise, quick button responses. Soft rubber grips reduce fatigue during long gaming sessions, letting players enjoy every moment of gameplay.

MSI proudly announces the launch of two cutting-edge wireless gaming controllers: the FORCE PRO WIRELESS and the FORCE GC300 WIRELESS. Building on the success of their predecessors, the FORCE GC30 and GC20, these new controllers deliver superior performance, enhanced features, and maximum comfort for gamers seeking the ultimate control experience across various platforms.

Ultimate Customization & Performance: FORCE PRO WIRELESS
The MSI FORCE PRO WIRELESS takes customization and precision to a whole new level. Featuring auto-calibrating interchangeable thumbsticks with built-in drift correction and 3-level Hall Effect triggers, this controller is built for peak performance. With 4 rear programmable buttons and 4 vibration motors, the FORCE PRO WIRELESS offers gamers full control and an immersive gaming experience, all with secure handling thanks to its anti-slip texture and firm handgrip.

Welcome to the first full week of October and another busy week of new game releases. This week's AAA release involves balls and dragons, but no need to worry, it's not an adult only game. This is followed by a co-op metroidvania game that actually appears to have a story, this week's remake which involves a ghost town on a hill, a shady parkour platformer, an old-school style JRPG, a turn-based RPG and finally a peaceful exploration game. Also out this week is the Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred DLC.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero / This week's AAA release / Friday 11 October
Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero takes the legendary gameplay of the Budokai Tenkaichi series and raises it to whole new levels. Become a super warrior and experience the earth-shaking, limit-breaking power of Dragon Ball battles! Engage in heart-pounding, high-speed 3D battles that stay true to the anime and video game series, with breathtaking visuals and authentic combat moves like beam clashes, rush attacks, movements too quick for the eyes to see, and planet-razing ultimate attacks. Steam link

Motion Twin, of Dead Cells fame, has announced the early access release date for its next roguelite, Windblown, which looks to be a much more cheerful affair than the grim-dark Dead Cells, and it's designed for multiplayer, too. Windblown will feature many of the same gameplay elements as Dead Cells, though, including fast-paced hack-and-slash combat, platforming, and permanent death. This time, though, Motion Twin has gone for an isometric perspective, instead of the side-scroller style, and the pixel graphics are swapped out for a cutesy cartoon style and color palette somewhat reminiscent of the likes of Paladins. There also appear to be some nifty bullet-hell-style battles thrown into the mix.

As for the release date and playable demo, Motion Twin has not yet announced when the game will fully release, but a Windblown demo will launch on October 14 during the upcoming Steam Next Fest, and Steam Early Access for the full game arrives on October 24. Motion Twin also says that any progress and unlocks achieved during the playable demo will carry over once the full game launches, which is a nice touch.

Starfield's Shattered Space DLC launched on September 30, and it was meant to address many of the base game's major issues, with a more hand-crafted feel, more intimate encounters, and a more narrative-driven gameplay experience. Instead, Steam gamers and critics alike have lambasted the expansion online for boring and underwhelming, repetitive gameplay, calling it "more Starfield," essentially repeating the story of Starfield's initial launch. At the time of writing, the Shattered Space DLC has 1,601 reviews on Steam, with only just over 34% of those reviews rating the expansion positively—placing it squarely in the "Mostly Negative" category on Steam.

Likely the biggest disappointment when it comes to Shattered Space's poor reception is that the Starfield player base actually seemed quite optimistic about the expansion, thanks to previous gameplay and interviews about the intention behind the expansion. Critically, however, Starfield developer, Bethesda, deliberately didn't send out game keys to the press for review prior to the launch of the game, so there was no real way for players to know whether they would enjoy the $29.99 expansion before buying it.

Nintendo is living up to its litigious reputation this week, with news reports emerging of the gaming giant issuing a massive wave of copyright strikes on any YouTube videos containing footage of emulation. In addition to this, it seems like Nintendo may have had some harsh words for the lead developer of a popular open-source Switch emulator.

As of an announcement today, the open-source Switch emulator, Ryujinx, is no longer available for download from its GitHub repository. One of the more active developers for the project confirmed via a message in the official Discord that the lead developer, who goes by gdkchan, was contacted by Nintendo with an "offer," although given the outcome of the interaction, it was likely less an offer and more a threat. Shortly before that, Retro Game Corps, a popular content creator in the Nintendo emulation community, posted on X that his YouTube channel had received multiple copyright strikes, requiring that he move away from showing game emulation on-screen.

Humble Bundle has just announced its monthly Humble Choice game bundle, a monthly selection of games that Humble Bundle members can download and keep forever for free. While the intention is obviously to tempt gamers to sign up for a recurring Humble Bundle membership, there's nothing stopping you from signing up for a month for $11.99 to claim the Humble Choice bundle and then cancelling the membership.

For October, there are eight new games joining the Humble Choice bundle, ranging from colorful, action-packed, third-person RPGs to indie simulation games, and meditative puzzle exploration games. The main attractions of the October Humble Choice bundle, though, have to be Remnant II, Persona 5 Strikers, Jusant, and Dome Keeper, which have each earned positive reviews both from critics and gamers alike.

Today, Razer announces two significant updates to its revered Basilisk V3 line of gaming mice - favored by gamers who prioritize customizability, immersion and convenience. The all-new Razer Basilisk V3 Pro 35K, a fully customizable wireless ergonomic gaming mouse, and the Razer Basilisk V3 35K, a wired version, both feature quality of life upgrades to redefine personalization. These updated models, available in both black and white editions, also retain the 13 customizable controls, multi-zone Chroma RGB with underglow and wireless charging compatibility as well.

Upgrades include:

• Razer Focus Pro 35K Optical Sensor Gen-2: First used in the mouse of champions, the Razer Viper V3 Pro, this sensor delivers unrivaled precision on any surface. Enhanced by intelligent features like Smart Tracking, the sensor automatically detects surface types to adjust the tracking algorithm accordingly, ensuring optimal performance on different materials. This feature, combined with Motion Sync, synchronizes data from input to PC for more responsive tracking. Gamers can adjust to 1-DPI precision, or port over the sensitivity settings that they are accustomed to, in just three quick steps.
• Extended Battery Life: Enjoy up to 140 hours on Razer HyperSpeed Wireless, or up to 210 hours on Bluetooth, on a single charge, allowing for marathon-long gaming sessions without interruption.
• Configurable Razer HyperScroll Tilt Wheel: Offers customizable scrolling experiences from smooth, free-spinning to tactile incremental movements. Users can also auto-switch between the two based on their scroll speed in Smart-Reel mode—now configurable on the new Synapse 4. In addition, gamers can layer on preferred scroll acceleration settings to amplify their virtual scrolling speed.

Creative Technology today announced the release of the Sound Blaster GS5, a sleek and compact soundbar designed to elevate the audio experience while taking up minimal space. With versatile connectivity and exceptional audio performance powered by SuperWide technology, the Sound Blaster GS5 creates a wider, more immersive soundstage—perfect for intimate gaming sessions or cozy movie nights with family and friends.

Despite its compact size, this soundbar packs a punch with deep bass and crystal-clear sound. It is powered by advanced full-range racetrack drivers and a built-in port tube with a peak power output of up to 60 W, making every sound—from subtle whispers to dramatic explosions—come alive.

Philips launches two exciting additions to the Evnia 5000 gaming monitor series: the 27" (68.5 cm) Philips Evnia 27M2C5501 and the 31.5" (80 cm) 32M2C5501. These new models are designed to pull gamers deeper into the action, offering high-performance to elevate the gaming experience. Featuring Quad HD Fast VA panels, a 180 Hz refresh rate, and 0.5 ms MPRT with Smart MBR feature, these monitors deliver fast, smooth gameplay, while HDR10 and AI-enhanced Ambiglow lighting create an immersive, visually stunning environment.

Speed and precision for competitive gamers
The Philips Evnia 27M2C5501 and 32M2C5501 offer gaming enthusiasts all the features they need to get the most out of even the most intense, competitive games. The curved Fast VA panel matches beautifully with these monitors' 180 Hz refresh rate, low input lag, Adaptive-Sync and a fast response time of 0.5 ms MPRT with Smart MBR, which together ensure that players enjoy swift, precise, seamless movements that appear immediately on-screen without any tearing, smearing, or blurring. With these features, nothing stands in the way of pure enjoyment.

Amazon Games recently launched the long-awaited free-to-play MMORPG, Throne and Liberty, in early access, and the game appears to have gone down quite well with the community. On Thursday, mere moments after the launch, Throne and Liberty already had a peak player count of 53,884—a figure it likely earned during its advanced access period in South East Asia and Korea, where it has been available since as early as December 2023.

Since then, Throne and Liberty has continued its success, rising to as many as 54,720 concurrent players on Saturday, September 28. While this only places it in third place for current top sellers on Steam, this player count is in spite of the free-to-play game's early access pass costing a minimum of $40 on Steam. Throne and Liberty has also garnered its significant following despite only 60% of its Steam user reviews being positive, making its success even more anomalous.

Welcome to week 40, which is also the beginning of October and another week packed full of new game releases. This week's major release is a F2P MMORPG by NCSoft, for those that are into those kinds of things. This is followed by an animal horror game, an open world zombie survival, an arcade inspired isometric action shooter of sorts, some roguelike magic, a remake of a 2015 adventure game and finally a Japanese co-op action RPG. In addition to this, the first DLC for Starfield is out this week.

Throne and Liberty / This week's major release / Tuesday 1 October
Welcome to Throne and Liberty, a free-to-play MMORPG that takes place in the vast open world of Solisium. You can scale expansive mountain ranges for new vantage points, scan open skies, traverse sprawling plains, explore a land full of depth and opportunity. Adapt your fight to survive and thrive through strategic decisions in PvP, PvE or both as you encounter evolving battlefields impacted by weather, time of day, and other players. There is no single path to victory as you seek to defeat Kazar and claim the throne while keeping rival guilds at bay. Steam link

Since its inception, Razer Synapse has been designed with the goal of empowering gamers and elevating their experience; with core functions like key remapping and macro creation, Synapse enables users to create personally tailored setups to make Razer peripherals truly their own. For years, Synapse has been constantly innovating to meet evolving user needs. And now, as the Vice President of Software at Razer, it is with great pleasure and excitement that I am able to announce the official full rollout of Razer Synapse 4.

What's new with Synapse 4
In this latest evolution, after nearly a year of intensive beta testing, Synapse 4 has redefined performance and usability, ensuring that all users will be able to enjoy a more reliable and intuitive experience on the platform.

Today we are thrilled to unveil the Razer Kraken V4 Pro at RazerCon 2024—a testament to more than 12 years of legacy with our iconic Kraken headset series, which has been a cornerstone in gaming audio. Joining the recently launched Kraken V4 and Kraken V4 X, the Kraken V4 Pro with its pioneering OLED Control Hub, brings a new dimension of audio immersion and control, pushing the limits of what an immersive wireless gaming headset can offer.

Engineered for Comprehensive Audio Control
Our journey in developing the Kraken V4 Pro was driven by a singular vision: to create a headset that not only provides unparalleled sound but also gives gamers complete control over their immersive gaming experience.

Today at RazerCon 2024, we proudly unveiled the Razer Freyja, the world's first HD Haptics Gaming Cushion. This pioneering device is designed to significantly enhance sensory experiences, transforming gaming into a vividly immersive journey.

Next-Gen Tactile Immersion
At the core of the Razer Freyja is our Razer Sensa HD Haptics technology. This advanced system extends sensory feedback beyond the visual, allowing you to feel every detail of your gameplay. Imagine feeling the adrenaline of a race car's roar or the tense quiet of a stealth mission with such realism that it blurs the lines between game environments and reality.