Riot’s October 15 “FINAL WORD” video teased a new agent without naming her, and the October 18 trailer supplied the name, the role, and the origin. Riot has not published an ability list, ability names, or a release date, and it says only that Hush will be available in Season 26 // Act VI.

Confirmed and still unannounced

Riot has confirmed Hush’s name, Duelist role, Guangdong origin, reality-bending theme, and Season 26 // Act VI window. VALORANT opens agent reveals with a trailer that fixes the character, then follows with a separate gameplay and ability breakdown, so the trailer establishes who Hush is and leaves how she plays for a later drop.

A player weighing a ranked pick cannot yet judge Hush’s place in a composition, and any read on her strength is inference. Season 26 // Act VI is a patch cycle with no specific day attached, so the launch timing stays open too.

The trailer, which has gathered roughly 1.8 million views, includes an original song, “It’s You” by Karencici, and Brunch Studios is credited as the animation partner.

This is also a busy stretch for hero shooters. Deadlock shipped its own new hero, Violet, earlier in October, as covered in GamerHeadlines’ report on that hero release. Hush arrives while the community has been debating the game’s audience, a conversation GamerHeadlines tracked in its coverage of VALORANT’s viewership at the Esports World Cup.

Reading the reality-bending wording

Riot’s description says Hush changes the conditions of a fight. “Reality-bending” and “rewrite the rules of the battlefield” point toward space, sightlines, and engagement rules as her tools, and those words are the entire official power description Riot has published so far.

A Duelist built on reality-bending would enter fights by disrupting how the enemy holds space, opening room for the team to push. Her usefulness would hinge on how that disruption interacts with the rest of a composition’s utility.

The early view count is a single data point. A cinematic can pull in lore and casual viewers before competitive players weigh the mechanical design.

The Availability Split and the PoE 2 Porting Backlog

The table below follows the two lists in GGG’s announcement.

More than half of this year’s set is Path of Exile 1-only. The six cross-game items are character or pet cosmetics, namely two pets, a body skin, a hat, a weapon skin, and a hip attachment. The Path of Exile 1-only list adds a hideout, a portal effect, an apparition effect, fireworks, and a grave decoration, and it also mixes in character cosmetics such as devil horns, bleeding eyes, a spider web cloak, and a scare mask helmet skin. The announcement links to the shop where players can buy the items individually.

GGG has not said why the Path of Exile 1-only items trail behind or when they will reach Path of Exile 2. Until then, those items are Path of Exile 1-only.

A Path of Exile 2 player who buys one of those items today cannot use it in Path of Exile 2 until GGG finishes the port, while Path of Exile 1 players can use every listed item immediately. For a Path of Exile 2 player, the six cross-game items are the safe choice for instant use, and a Path of Exile 1-only purchase means paying now for a port with no date.

Path of Exile 2’s upcoming full release has its own cosmetic reward. GamerHeadlines has covered the Path of Exile 2 full release registration, which unlocks a Soulflame weapon effect.

Limited Window and Annual Return

GGG confirmed these items are available until 4pm Tuesday, November 11 (PST), which is November 12 at 2:00 AM (GMT+2). The window runs from now through that cutoff, roughly three weeks. After that point, the items leave the store and return next Halloween.

A player who waits gives up roughly a year of use, and the confirmed return next Halloween removes any one-time rarity from buying now. Path of Exile 2 players who want a Path of Exile 1-only item also wait on the un-dated port, so for them the wait stacks the seasonal gap on top of the port timing.

Players who missed a previous Halloween can use this window to fill gaps in a collection, since GGG confirms the items return each year. A collector who is missing one or two items can grab them now and finish the set before the November 11 deadline.

A Cosmetic Store Rotation

GGG’s announcement describes microtransaction availability only. The items are purchasable cosmetics that change how a character, pet, hideout, or portal looks, and GGG lists no changes to character balance, skill behavior, progression, or game content. Any value is aesthetic or collection-based.

GamerHeadlines has separate coverage of ExileCon 2026, which notes the event is about a month away and includes free livestream details.

How do you restore all or selected licenses on PS5?

Use the Settings path when several purchases are missing or more than one game shows a padlock:

1. Sign in to the PS5 user that owns the affected content.
2. Open Settings from the top-right corner of the Home screen.
3. Select Users and Accounts.
4. Select Other.
5. Select Restore Licenses.
6. Choose the licenses to restore and confirm the action.
7. Return to Game Library and try the affected title or add-on again.

For one title, highlight it on the Home screen or in Game Library, press Options, and choose Restore License. This targeted path is faster when only one game is affected. Keep the console online and signed in until the process finishes.

What does restoring PS5 licenses do?

Restoring licenses refreshes the console’s access record for PlayStation Store content tied to your account. It can help when a game shows a padlock icon, a purchased game or add-on is missing, or a game crashes. It does not delete save data, screenshots, installed games, or account data; Sony states that restoring licenses won’t affect your data (PlayStation Support).

It also doesn’t create ownership. If another account bought the game, a PlayStation Plus entitlement expired, a title left an eligible catalog, or a purchase failed, restoring your account’s licenses can’t replace that missing entitlement.

Why is a PS5 game still locked after restoring licenses?

Match the symptom to the ownership check before deleting or reinstalling anything:

Sony’s locked-game checklist starts with the purchasing account, a successful transaction, active PlayStation Plus access when applicable, and Console Sharing status (PlayStation Support). Those checks separate a real license-sync problem from content the current account doesn’t own.

How do you check Console Sharing and Offline Play?

On the account that owns the game, open Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play and select Enable. You can turn on Console Sharing and Offline Play on one PS5 at a time. If the owner enabled it on a different PS5, that activation must be changed before other users on this console can use the owner’s purchases and eligible subscription benefits.

Don’t toggle the setting on random accounts. First identify which account bought the game. PlayStation’s support page says anyone using the enabled PS5 can play downloaded purchases and receive some PlayStation Plus benefits, but the purchasing user must be the one who enables the feature (PlayStation Support).

Does restoring licenses delete games or save data?

No. Restoring licenses doesn’t erase saves, installed content, or account data. It also doesn’t rebuild the database, reset the console, or delete your account, and you don’t need to uninstall the game first.

Reinstalling can be slow and may not fix an entitlement problem, so run the license restore, verify the purchasing account, and check network status before deleting a large download. Backing up save data is still good practice, but it isn’t a prerequisite for the restore action itself.

What should you do if restoring licenses doesn’t work?

Work through this order and stop when the game runs:

1. Confirm the purchasing account and a successful transaction.
2. Confirm PlayStation Plus eligibility if the game came from a subscription, and check whether it’s still in the PlayStation Plus game catalog.
3. Check PlayStation Status for account, store, or gaming alerts.
4. Restart the PS5.
5. Install the latest PS5 system software.
6. Enable Console Sharing and Offline Play on the purchasing account if another user needs access.
7. Restore the affected license again.
8. If the game is on USB extended storage and won’t start, move the game data to internal storage.
9. Delete and redownload the game only after the entitlement checks pass.
10. If the problem persists, use Safe Mode’s Clear Cache and Rebuild Database options before considering any reset or system-software reinstall.

Sony places data-destructive recovery much later in its launch-issue flow. Don’t select Reset PS5 or Reset PS5 (Reinstall System Software) because a padlock remains. If you contact PlayStation Support, note the error code, the affected account, the transaction, the exact title or add-on, and the steps already tried.

Can you restore a license for only one PS5 game?

Yes. Highlight the game on the Home screen or in Game Library, press Options, and select Restore License. Use the broader Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Restore Licenses route when the problem affects several titles or you don’t know which entitlement is out of sync.

If Restore License is missing for a title, first confirm you selected a digital game tied to the signed-in account. Disc games still need the correct disc and can have separate installation or drive problems; restoring a digital Store license can’t replace physical media.

Frequently asked questions

How long does restoring licenses take?

There’s no published completion time. It usually finishes quickly, but let it finish before you retry the game or add-on.

Does this work on PS4 too?

Yes, with a different path. On PS4, go to Settings > Account Management > Restore Licenses and select Restore.

Will restoring licenses bring back a game that left the PlayStation Plus catalog?

No. Restoring licenses refreshes access you already own. If a title left the catalog or your subscription lapsed, a restore can’t recreate that entitlement.

What did Game Freak and Fictions announce?

Game Freak posted on X on October 16 that the frequent major-update cycle it has run since release will come to a close with the next release, planned for around October 20 Japan time, with the actual date subject to change. Fictions’ patch notes are more specific. The next patch, “currently planned for Oct 19th (final date TBD),” will be “the final patch in this ongoing phase of major post-launch updates.”

Is Beast of Reincarnation ending support?

No. Fictions is closing the frequent major-update cycle, and support tickets stay open. The notes say the team hopes to address remaining major concerns “either in next week’s planned patch or a later update.”

Neither studio has given a reason for ending the frequent major-update cycle.

What did the latest patch change?

The current published notes (v1.1.01 / v1.012.000) describe the eighth update since launch. It adds Hasten to the Capital, which unlocks after clearing the mid-game Great Wall Terraces Zone and lets players skip Pilgrim’s Zone, Matsukawa Colony Zone, and Fuji Frontier Zone to reach the Capital sooner.

Choosing Hasten to the Capital during a New Game run blocks the achievements tied to those three zones for that run; Fictions says they can still be earned in New Game+ by taking the Mountain Route.

The same patch added a PC field-of-view setting, an option to show or hide event-skip prompts, and cutscene pacing and staging adjustments. It also fixed skip-related soft locks and lingering subtitles, an Entanglement Overdrive cancel that toggled lock-on, and a bug where Koo used items on staggered enemies. Effect-generation load was redistributed to improve performance. It also fixed a “Manual: Explosive Arrow” item that could not be obtained in New Game+ and adjusted submersion detection depth and collision boundaries across all zones.

What should players do before the patch?

• Save and exit, then restart the game to check for the update.
• Verify the installed version on the title screen rather than assuming the console or Steam client finished updating.
• In a first New Game run, decide whether Hasten to the Capital is worth losing the three skipped-zone achievements.
• Reproduce any unresolved issue on the latest version and note the platform, version, location, and steps.
• Send urgent feedback through Fictions Support before the frequent major-update cycle ends.
• Wait for the actual notes before assuming a requested fix made it in.

Availability can differ by platform, and the date is still provisional. If the patch does not appear immediately, relaunch the game and storefront client later rather than reinstalling without evidence of a local problem.

What changes after the update?

Expect fewer large, frequent changes. The official wording leaves room for a later update if a major concern remains, without guaranteeing a schedule or scope.

Anyone waiting on a specific accessibility option, performance fix, balance change, or progression adjustment should read the upcoming notes directly. If it is missing, no later patch is guaranteed.

Where is Beast of Reincarnation available?

Beast of Reincarnation is an action RPG from Game Freak and Fictions, out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, and starring Emma and her wolf companion Koo. See the official game page.

The Switch 2 demo carries the same opening content as the Prologue Demo already available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. It is free to download, and no pre-order is required to play it. This is the first Monster Hunter Wilds demo released for the Switch 2.

What the Demo Includes

According to the official Capcom demo page, the demo lets players play the beginning of Monster Hunter Wilds with the exact same content as the full game. It runs from character creation through Chapter 1-3 “To the Forest”, covering the opening of the story. Players can create a hunter and a Palico, and all 14 weapon types are available. The demo is set in the Forbidden Lands, the uncharted region where Monster Hunter Wilds takes place.

The table below lists the confirmed features of the Nintendo Switch 2 demo.

Save Transfer and Local Play

Save data from the demo carries over to the full game, so character choices and progress made in the prologue continue. Players who create a hunter and Palico keep those choices, and progress through Chapter 1-3 “To the Forest” carries over as well.

The Switch 2 demo supports local multiplayer, so two systems can hunt together offline. Online multiplayer is not available in the demo, which is why firing an SOS Flare calls up to three NPC Support Hunters to assist instead of other players. In the full game, players can also hunt online with others from around the globe.

Capcom’s previous Monster Hunter game, Monster Hunter Rise, passed 20 million copies sold in October 2026.

Pre-Orders and the December Launch

Digital pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Monster Hunter Wilds begin on October 19, the day the demo goes live. The full game launches on Nintendo Switch 2 on December 4, 2026. Monster Hunter Wilds is developed and published by Capcom, and it is the latest entry in the Monster Hunter series.

Capcom revealed Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, the next Monster Hunter expansion, at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Capcom has described Ascendance as a massive expansion due out in 2027.

Bulkhead now says the wipe “never really landed” because of how quickly players re-climbed. On October 16 the studio posted on X and in a Steam discussion with a direct admission: “We’re holding our hands up and we got a few things wrong.” The immediate response included removing the Lonestar Cash and XP bonus and fixing a Driver exploit, but Bulkhead has no plans for a knee jerk reset this weekend.

What Was Removed in the October 16 Backend Update

The backend update removed the Lonestar (Blue team) Cash and XP bonus after Bulkhead confirmed the buff was out of line. Driver progression fixes were also deployed, and a Driver exploit that let lots of players access tanks too early was removed. Bulkhead said the Lonestar buff and the driver progression exploit have now been removed.

The studio also listed Limited Mode Servers as coming soon, with no power weapons and no vehicles. Those servers are not live in the backend update, but they are part of the response.

Confirmed Fixes vs Community Questions

Bulkhead followed up on October 17 in a post on the game’s official X account with a wider explanation: “Season 2 was meant to be a fresh start, and for a lot of you it hasn’t felt like one.” The studio said it deliberately sped up progression but called it “the wrong call.” Some things are out of balance and will be fixed, while others have split the community and will be watched before action.

• Confirmed: Lonestar Cash and XP bonus has been removed.
• Confirmed: The Driver exploit allowing early tank access has been removed.
• Confirmed: Limited Mode Servers with no power weapons and no vehicles are coming soon.
• Under review: Other imbalances that have split the community, with Bulkhead waiting to see how they play out first.
• Not happening this weekend: A knee jerk reset, because it would be unfair to players already enjoying the climb.

WARDOGS ships a 34-weapon arsenal ranked in a Season 1 weapon tier list, and the game topped a million sales in September 2026.

What Changes for Players

The studio is looking at bringing Season 3 and some of its content forward significantly so players get “a proper fresh start.” More details will come in the studio’s dev vlog next week. Bulkhead closed the October 17 statement with “This is what Early Access is for.”

Solo Dungeons for Moon Hunter Keep and March of Sacrifices

The two dungeons move from the Wolfhunter DLC, which becomes free for all players on October 19, so everyone can enter them. Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim runs until January 27, 2027. Like all seasonal content, these solo dungeon experiences are free for all ESO players. ZeniMax Online Studios described the solo dungeons as a new kind of challenge to fan-favorite encounters. Each solo version adapts group mechanics for one player, and you can bring a Companion.

Sean Wicks, one of ESO’s Senior Encounter Designers, said players have soloed group dungeons since the launch game, but that experience is out of reach for many players and far from optimal for a player who is alone. The team wants everyone to experience the stories at a comfortable pace while also giving players looking for a challenge a reason to do the solo version of a dungeon as opposed to soloing the group experience. Wicks added that the team tried to retain the spirit of each encounter. Some mechanics designed for groups are very difficult for one player, so those mechanics have been adapted, and values and scope of abilities in the dungeon have been tuned for a much more level playing field.

Lauren Kaiser, Senior Encounter Designer, said some encounter mechanics have been reimagined for a solo experience and for a solo-with-companion experience. Adventuring through a solo dungeon with a Companion is a huge boon, and some mechanics are specifically targeted only at the Companion.

Meted Misfortunes and Dauntless Difficulty

At the entrance to each solo dungeon, players find a pile of armor and weapons where they can activate Meted Misfortunes to add more danger. Each activated Misfortune applies an effect intended to make the experience more difficult. Warm Welcome doubles incoming damage, so players will want to bring more mitigation to counter it. Activating any Misfortune raises monster and boss stats and lets them use more of their arsenal. Up to three Misfortunes can be activated at once for Dauntless difficulty, the most challenging version.

Kaiser said playing without any Meted Misfortunes active works with a typical overland build. Once players start adding Meted Misfortunes, it becomes advantageous to change up a build to meet those challenges. The full season schedule is outlined in ESO’s October 2026 Survival Guide.

Solo Dungeon Rewards at a Glance

Solo dungeons provide a new Undaunted Crest currency at increasing amounts by difficulty. Players exchange it by talking to Veya Thenim in their Undaunted Enclave. Rewards on the merchant include new Cultivated Cryptpod alchemical reagents, style materials, and more.

Solo dungeon rewards also feature two new two-piece monster sets. Masks drop from dungeon final bosses, and shoulders are available from Veya Thenim. Other rewards include style pages for the new sets, new bust and trophy furnishings, Nowhere Keys, and pieces of legendary companion equipment, specifically chests and two-handed melee weapons. Many rewards increase as difficulty rises. Players can also check ESO’s Season Two Tamriel Tome rewards for other seasonal rewards.

In the official 1.0.5 patch notes, Frontier said concurrent player numbers were “well above our expectations.” The studio also apologized for stability issues, especially in Franchise Mode, and wrote that general game stability “has been below what we would expect.” Frontier blamed the complexity of the simulation during the biggest influx of players.

Frontier named several high-priority areas after launch: Franchise Mode stability, crash and performance resolution, save stability and protection from Conservation Credit loss, the return of quality-of-life features from the original Planet Zoo that did not deploy correctly, and fixes for erratic animal behaviors and animations.

Franchise Mode and server connectivity

Franchise Mode gets the most direct changes in 1.0.5. Frontier increased server capacity and added more animals to the trading market. The patch balances male and female animals added to the market and balances male and female births, which should make breeding stock less lopsided. A longer login window has been introduced to reduce server timeouts, and the studio said loading a franchise zoo is now more stable.

The patch notes also explain two cases that can appear as connection failures. Some usernames are blocked by the profanity filter when a banned word appears inside the username, and this can surface as a server connection error. Affected players should file a support ticket. Frontier also warned that using a VPN while playing, especially in Franchise Mode, may cause connectivity issues.

Quality-of-life settings and construction fixes

Update 1.0.5 adds an Edge Scrolling option to Keyboard and Mouse settings, one of the features Frontier said did not deploy correctly from the original Planet Zoo. A settings bug that prevented several options from being saved after closing the game has also been fixed. For DLC owners, the Zoopedia no longer marks DLC animals as inaccessible incorrectly.

Sandbox and creative players should see fewer visual interruptions because texture streaming improvements reduce pop-in. Crash fixes cover the ecosystem brush and keybinding conflicts. Construction and Workshop fixes are included, along with a gamepad fix and localization corrections.

Career softlocks and animal fixes

Career mode players receive fixes for three specific blockers: a Moon Jelly Exhibit softlock, a Great Rift Valley giraffe softlock, and an East Africa Shoebill adoption softlock. Wildlife Reserves were also costing the wrong amount of Conservation Credits, and that cost error has been corrected.

Animal fixes in this patch include climbing animation improvements, corrected albino Meerkat textures, fish stuck outside aquariums, and African Penguins walking on water. A separate fix stops vet staff from remaining stuck while removing deceased animals.

For Steam Deck players, the update includes a PC/Steam fix for the inability to connect to the server on Proton 11 and newer. Frontier said that next week it will publish an “under investigation” news post that will be regularly updated to highlight key issues from its Issue Tracker. The fixes listed in 1.0.5 are live now, but broader behavior and stability problems remain tracked separately.

When PGS 12 ends, the final 2026 PGS Points standings will be locked. The standings will determine the eight teams that advance to the PUBG Global Championship 2026.

Circuit 4 Offers 240 Points

Across the three remaining tournaments, 240 PGS Points are still available. The PGS 10 winner earns 60 points, with points awarded down through 16th place. PGS 11 awards the same top value, with its winner earning 60 points. PGS 12 doubles all point values, with the winner earning 120 points and second place earning 96 points. A single team can collect a maximum of 240 points across Circuit 4.

The PGS Circuit 4 schedule runs from October 14 to November 1, as GamerHeadlines previously reported. PGS 10 opened with the Group Stage on October 14, followed by the Winners Stage on October 15 and the Survival Stage on October 16. The PGS 10 Final Stage runs October 17 and 18. PGS 11 will hold its Winners Stage on October 22, Survival Stage on October 23, and Final Stage on October 24 and 25. PGS 12 will hold its Survival Stage on October 29 and Grand Finals from October 30 through November 1.

At PGS 12, the top eight teams in the Circuit 4 PGS Points standings advance directly to the Grand Finals. The remaining 16 teams play the Survival Stage for the rest of the Grand Finals spots.

Current PGS Points Standings

The standings below reflect the PGS Points table after Circuit 3, with nine PGS events complete.

Petrichor Road currently holds the eighth and final PGC qualification spot. Gen.G Esports trails that position by seven points.

PGS 10 Groups and PGC 2026 Seeding

PGS 10 uses a 24-team field with snake seeding from the final PGS 9 results. The PGS 9 winner Gen.G Esports leads Group A, second-place T1 leads Group B, and third-place Falcons leads Group C.

• Group A: Gen.G Esports, Made in Thailand, Virtus.pro, TEAM LIQUID, DN SOOPers, Sharper Esports, Team Vitality, Natus Vincere
• Group B: T1, Alpha Gaming, Team Flash, eArena, Petrichor Road, FULL SENSE, TYLOO, JD Gaming
• Group C: Falcons, Geekay Esports, Anyone’s Legend, 17Gaming, FOUR ANGRY MEN, Twisted Minds, 09, Godlike

The announcement notes that 09 was Team Nemesis at PGS 9. Team Flash was selected as the replacement for GAM The Expendables after GAM The Expendables withdrew from PGS Circuit 4. Team Flash was chosen based on its placement in PVS Phase 1 under the existing team qualification criteria.

For PGC 2026, the top eight teams in the final PGS Points standings from PGS 1 through PGS 12 qualify, a race that also ran through the regional PUBG Americas Series 2 Finals 2 earlier this month. The first-place team advances directly to the PGC 2026 Grand Finals. The second-place team enters at Survival Stage Day 1. Teams ranked third through eighth begin in the Qualifying Stage. PUBG Esports notes that a higher PGS Points ranking also means a more advantageous PGC seed.

Free Rewards and Season Window

Every player can claim the free track without spending anything. The rewards mix in-game currencies with cosmetics and collectibles, and they stay available through January 27, 2027, the full span of Season Two. The free track includes the following, among other rewards:

• 8,000 Seals
• 9,000 Trade Bars
• several Crown Crates
• the Maarselok Slayer weapon style set
• the Shagrath’s Web skin

The free rewards are unlocked by all players as they play through the season, with no purchase required. For more on the lead-up to Echoes of Skyrim, see the ESO October 2026 survival guide and our coverage of the High Seas of Tamriel event from earlier this season.

Premium and Premium + Bonuses Tiers

The Premium Tome includes everything from the free track, plus 1,500 more Trade Bars, the Azureblight Recall customized action, the Maarselok Slayer Mammoth mount, and more elaborate versions of the Maarselok Slayer weapon styles. Buying the Premium or Premium + Bonuses Tome keeps your access to the Tome after the season ends, so you can finish at your own pace.

The Premium + Bonuses Tome adds everything from the Premium track, plus two Caches of Tome Points. Each cache contains 2,000 Tome Points, and the tier also includes the Patched Tabby Cat pet.

ZeniMax also notes the Tomes system recently received a major quality-of-life update.

Who Should Pay for the Tome

Stay on the free track if you play casually and mainly want the base Maarselok Slayer weapon style or the Shagrath’s Web skin. The free track has no purchase requirement, and you can claim everything before the season ends on January 27, 2027.

Buy the Premium Tome if you want the Azureblight Recall action, the Maarselok Slayer Mammoth mount, or the upgraded weapon style versions. It is also the right choice if you cannot finish before the season ends, because your access remains after January 27, 2027.

Buy Premium + Bonuses if you want the Patched Tabby Cat pet and 4,000 Tome Points total from the two caches. That tier suits collectors or players who want to finish the track faster.