The Witcher 3 gets a free rebuild 11 years on, and more people play it on Steam at once than ever before

The rest of the day

12 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Sony draws lots for PS5 Pros in Japan

   Sony is holding a lottery to sell the PS5 Pro, the stronger version of its PlayStation 5, on its own online store in Japan. [10] To enter, a buyer needs a Japanese Sony account with at least 60 hours of play on a PS4 or PS5 over the past two years. [11][12] Entries close on 7 October, and winners hear on 26 October. [10] Each winner may buy one console for 137,980 yen, about $876. [10][12]

   Why it matters — GameSpot says memory chips are short, so demand is running ahead of supply. [11] It says the 60-hour rule is likely there to keep out resellers, who buy consoles to sell on at a mark-up. [11] Kotaku ties the rush to GTA 6 and notes that the standard PS5 is still in stock. [12]

2. 03

   Valve's invite-only Deadlock hits a record

   Valve, the company that runs the Steam store, put out a big update for Deadlock on Tuesday. [13] Deadlock is a team battle game that Valve has never officially released, and new players still need an invite from someone already playing. [15][14] The update redraws the map and adds six new characters, two a week, in an order players vote on. [14] Soon after it went live, more than 228,000 people were playing at once, the game's highest ever. [13]

   228,000Deadlock, invite only

   vsvs

   120,000+The Witcher 3

   Why it matters — Valve says progression and customisation will keep changing with player feedback before a full release. [13] Its record was almost twice The Witcher 3's on the same day, for a game that still needs an invite to play. [13][2]

3. 04

   A PC bonus drags down Ace Combat 8's Steam score

   Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve, a fighter-jet game from the publisher Bandai Namco, opened on Steam for buyers of its $90 deluxe edition before its 1 October release. [17] Every pre-order includes Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, a 2006 game only ever sold on PlayStation 2. [16] On PS5 and Xbox the old game is a separate app. [16] On Steam it is an add-on, so players must install the new game, 135GB to 150GB by different counts, to play one under 4GB. [16][17]

   under 4GBThe 2006 bonus game

   vsvs

   135-150GBAce Combat 8, needed first

   Why it matters — The Steam page once said the old game would be separate, and the wording was later changed. [16] Steam reviews sit at Mixed, though critics praised the new game itself and some complaints are about crashes. [17][18]

4. 05

   Naughty Dog has two more Last of Us projects

   Neil Druckmann, head of Naughty Dog, the Sony studio that makes The Last of Us, says it has two new projects set in that world. [19][21] Both are in very early stages and will take the story beyond the first two games. [20] He did not say whether they are games, a TV show or something else. [19][20] Its next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, first shown in 2024, gets a full reveal in 2027. [21][22] The Last of Us Day charity stream raised over $11,000 for AbleGamers. [21][23]

   Why it matters — The studio worked on an online Last of Us game for years and then cancelled it, so Polygon says there is no guarantee these projects will be seen. [22] Polygon notes that the HBO TV series based on the games ends with its third season in 2027. [23]

5. 06

   Mexican lawmakers propose a digital games law

   Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas, who chairs the Mexican Senate's digital rights commission, and federal deputy Irais Reyes are proposing changes to consumer law. [24] Sellers would have to say whether a buyer gets the game itself or only a licence to use it. [24] Buyers would keep some way to play after a game's servers are switched off. [24] Companies selling digital goods in Mexico would also need a Mexican business address, so authorities can act on complaints. [24]

   Why it matters — The same two lawmakers filed a competition complaint against Sony after it announced its move away from game discs. [24] For now it is a proposal, which Colosio posted on his Instagram. [24]

6. 07

   Xbox opens disc-to-digital to everyone

   Xbox began letting every player turn a game disc into a digital copy on 29 September, after testing it with volunteers. [25] The player puts the disc in an Xbox Series X or Xbox One and picks Claim digital license, and then no longer needs the disc. [25] A fan-made list counts at least 1,400 games that work, and Sega signed up the same day. [25] Xbox 360 and original Xbox discs are left out, and Square Enix is among the publishers not taking part. [25]

   Why it matters — Kotaku warns that selling or losing the disc may cost the digital copy, especially if someone else claims it. [25] The move comes as Sony plans to stop making PlayStation game discs in 2028. [25]

7. 08

   Synduality's online world closes in 2027

   Bandai Namco will shut the online servers of Synduality: Echo of Ada, a 2025 game where players pilot giant robots and fight monsters and each other for supplies. [26] At its best it barely passed 3,000 players at once on Steam. [26] Online play runs until May 2027, and then the game switches to an offline mode against computer enemies. [26] Its in-game currency stops being sold on 17 December. [26]

   Why it matters — People who bought it keep a game they can still play after the servers close. [26] That is the kind of fallback the Mexican proposal would require by law. [24]

8. 09

   Steam's sale pages will pick deals for each shopper

   Valve will replace the hand-picked spots in Steam's Discounts and Events section with recommendations chosen for each shopper. [27] Today those spots are booked on a calendar by developers, publishers or Steam itself. [27] In tests, Valve says the personal version showed ten times more games a day and brought more store visits, wishlists and cart additions. [27] Prices stay the same, and the change is due to start in early 2027. [27]

   Why it matters — PC Gamer notes that getting seen on Steam is a constant struggle for small developers, and more slots could help them. [27] Its writer also worries that shoppers will see less outside what they already buy. [27]

9. 10

   A magazine prints 14 pages on GTA 6

   Game Informer, a games magazine, published a 14-page preview of Grand Theft Auto 6 on Tuesday. [28] Rockstar Games, which makes GTA, has built the new game around a version of Florida. [28] Paul MacPherson, who leads the art of the game's places, suggested Disney World, Orlando and the Cape Canaveral space base will not appear as such. [28] GTA 6 comes out on 19 November on PS5 and Xbox. [28]

   Why it matters — MacPherson said the team picked places to suit the game rather than copy every famous spot. [28] Each new detail feeds the run-up to what GamesIndustry.biz calls a fairly safe bet for the biggest game launch ever. [29]

10. 11

    Two small games launch on GTA 6's day

    Fairy Mount, a small studio, will release its strategy game Flame, Forest and Flood on 19 November, the day GTA 6 comes out. [29] The indie publisher Devolver Digital is putting out Volvy's Adventure: Reslimed that day too. [29] Devolver's Robbie Patterson points out that GTA 6 is not coming to Steam at launch. [29] Sensor Tower, a research firm, says GTA 6 already has more than 5.6 million pre-orders and estimates more than $550 million in sales. [29]

    Why it matters — Analyst Joost van Dreunen told GamesIndustry.biz that any console release that week will largely go unnoticed. [29] Fairy Mount's boss says his game breaks even below 10,000 copies, while GTA 6's budget is reportedly well over $1 billion. [29]

11. 12

    Satisfactory gets its first paid expansion

    Coffee Stain, the studio behind the factory-building game Satisfactory, announced an expansion called Core Values on Tuesday. [30] The studio says it is the game's first paid add-on and a major expansion. [30] It takes building underground for the first time, with new resources, plants and animals. [30] It already has a Steam page, and the studio says only that it is coming later. [30]

    Why it matters — It is the first time Satisfactory players are asked to pay for new content in the game they already own. [30] PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon, who has about 400 hours in it, says the game takes over his evenings once he starts. [30]

12. 13

    A 34-year-old survival game gets new clothes

    UnReal World, a survival game that PC Gamer calls 34 years old, gets a big update in October. [31] It is made by two developers, Sam Maaranen and Erkka Lehmus, of a studio called Enormous Elk. [31] The update, called The Survivor's New Clothes, lets characters make their own clothes over many evenings in the game. [31] Cloth is costly: in one picture from the update notes, a trader will not swap nine feet of linen for a bow, five arrows and a hand axe. [31]

    Why it matters — A two-person studio is still adding new features to the game after 34 years. [31] This week, Bandai Namco said its much newer Synduality will lose online play after two years. [26]