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• Steam client beta adds Big Picture UI refresh, screensavers and fixes

  Valve published a Steam Client Beta on the Steam News Hub. The update introduces a redesigned full-screen Big Picture / SteamOS interface with new customization options and screensavers, alongside a range of bug fixes and performance improvements. Items addressed in the patch notes include game recording, in‑game overlays and better performance on Linux-based devices, with changes aimed at Steam Deck, Steam Machines and desktop Big Picture Mode. The timeline for a stable rollout and full opt-in details have not been confirmed.

• GTA 6 Extended Look drove 100,000+ Netflix sign-ups in US during six-hour window

  A 26-minute Extended Look at Grand Theft Auto 6, presented in a six-hour exclusive window on August 27, prompted more than 100,000 new Netflix sign-ups in the United States. The preview was a collaboration between Netflix and Rockstar Games and was one of the platform’s biggest single-day subscriber spikes in 2026. Analysis also found the event reactivated over 5% of US Netflix members who had not watched anything in the prior 30 days, a higher reactivation rate than any other title in that period. The spike ranked third in 2026 behind the final season of a major series and a high-profile MMA fight event.

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown — Steam news hub; Ubisoft drops Connect requirement

  Steam hosts a News Hub page for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Separately, Ubisoft has said its games on Steam will no longer require the Ubisoft Connect launcher to start, calling the change an initial step toward a smoother launch experience. The Steam page provides a central location for updates, but the evidence does not specify whether this title is affected by Ubisoft’s change. Details on which Ubisoft games and the rollout timing are not established in the provided sources.

• Nintendo credits tariff refunds for U.S. Customer Appreciation Sale

  Nintendo is running a U.S. Customer Appreciation Sale from September 13–26 that offers 30% off dozens of Switch games and related products. Discounts cover digital and physical games, DLC, accessories, amiibo and apparel across the Nintendo eShop, Nintendo Store and participating retailers, though a full list of included items has not been released. Nintendo said the promotion was made possible in part by tariff-related refunds and that it absorbed most tariff-related costs; the sale follows earlier global price increases Nintendo attributed in part to tariffs and rising component, labour and shipping costs. The refunds stem from U.S. tariffs later ruled illegal, a topic that has prompted questions about how returned funds would be handled.

• Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2 Limited Edition Sells Out, Resale Listings Rise

  The Legend of Zelda 40th anniversary limited-edition Switch 2 consoles and related accessories sold out within minutes of launch. Numerous units quickly appeared on secondary markets, with some resale listings reaching about $1,200. Both the console and accessory bundles were included in the rapid sell-out. There is no confirmed information yet about additional stock or official restocks.

• Switch 2 firmware 23.0.0 adds VRR support for docked TV mode

  Firmware version 23.0.0 for the Nintendo Switch 2 enables variable refresh rate (VRR) when the console is docked and in TV mode. VRR changes a display's refresh rate to match a game's frame rate, smoothing gameplay and reducing screen tearing, which is especially useful for titles with unstable frame pacing. The update also adds a handheld boost mode toggle in quick settings and brings new music to Mii Maker. Nintendo had previously said the Switch 2 would support VRR but the console launched without the feature.

• Kojima’s Physint leaves PlayStation and will be published by Xbox

  Hideo Kojima says PlayStation notified Kojima Productions in mid-June that it would cancel Physint, prompting a three‑month search for a new partner that ended with Xbox taking on the project. Physint had been presented as Kojima Productions’ return to tactical espionage action and was previously announced as a PlayStation exclusive in 2024. PlayStation has said it decided to step away, and Kojima says development of the game is ongoing under the new Xbox partnership. Sony issued its own statement on the change of plans.

• Nintendo Direct Sept 2026: new Metroid and Kirby for Switch 2, Zelda remake shown

  Nintendo held a 45-minute September 2026 Direct focused on new announcements and updates for the Switch 2, including new Metroid and Kirby entries. The presentation followed a separate Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct and featured gameplay of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake as part of the anniversary celebrations. Most games shown were announced as Switch 2 exclusives, though several titles will still come to the original Switch as Nintendo’s support for that console slowly winds down. The event mixed first- and third-party reveals and forms part of ongoing Zelda 40th celebrations continuing through the year.

• Professor Layton and The New World of Steam set for Dec. 10, 2026

  Professor Layton and The New World of Steam will launch on 10 December 2026 for Switch 1 & 2. It is presented as the first mainline Layton game in over a decade after years of mystery and delays. The plot centers on Layton and Luke traveling to the land of Steam Bison to investigate a phantom gunslinger terrorising a town. The announcement gives a firm release date but does not include pricing, editions, or wider platform details in the provided evidence.

• Kirby and the World Beyond announced for Nintendo Switch 2, Spring 2027

  Nintendo announced a new Kirby game titled Kirby and the World Beyond for the Nintendo Switch 2, targeting a Spring 2027 release window. The reveal included a trailer shown during a Nintendo Direct presentation. The title is a new entry in the Kirby series. Specific release date, platforms beyond Switch 2, and gameplay details have not yet been confirmed.

• Mario Kart World adds Super Mario Kart courses and Knockout routes in free update

  A free 1.8.0 update for Mario Kart World launched on September 9, bringing ten courses from 1992's Super Mario Kart into Versus play. The pack includes tracks such as Choco Island, Vanilla Lake, and Ghost Valley, and restores the original question-mark panel item mechanic. The update also adds two new Knockout Tour routes called Turnip Rally and Propeller Rally. Nintendo announced the changes during a Nintendo Direct.

• Gorr the God Butcher joins Marvel Rivals Season 10 on Sept. 11

  NetEase revealed Gorr the God Butcher as the newest playable hero in Marvel Rivals Season 10: Butcher’s Blasphemy. Gorr is a Duelist who wields the All-Black Necrosword, bringing a brutal new playstyle to the game. Season 10 launches on Sept. 11 and adds the God Quarry map along with new events, costumes, and additional content. Exact release times by time zone and other post-launch details have not been confirmed in the available evidence.

• No Man's Sky's Cosmos update adds space station directorship, alliances

  Hello Games introduced Update 7.0, Cosmos, which overhauls space content in No Man’s Sky. Players can become director of a space station with customizable interiors and exteriors, found galactic alliances with names and banners, and construct space bases. The update also adds a new star system map, mechanics for stripping derelict hulks for parts and hauling physical salvage to remote outposts, and deep-space outposts inhabited by alien lifeforms; it arrives alongside the Our Journey Continues expedition marking the game's tenth anniversary.

• Ten PS5/PS4 games added to PS Plus Extra and Premium for Sept 2026

  Sony has confirmed the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup for September 2026. The additions include ten PS5 and PS4 titles headed to the PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium tiers. Available material does not list the individual games or their availability windows, only that the catalog for September has been set.

• Steam leak exposes achievement lists and story details for hundreds of upcoming games

  A large Steam leak revealed achievement lists and story details for numerous upcoming titles. Steam confirmed that 15 of the entries were previously unannounced. Leaked items include major franchise entries such as Kingdom Hearts 4, Persona 6, Fable, and Xenoverse 3, and the leak covered hundreds of upcoming games. The disclosures blended unannounced projects with story-related information for some high-profile releases.

• GPT-6 Astra trained on ~100,000 Nvidia GPUs; Nvidia plans 400,000-GPU scale-up

  OpenAI’s GPT‑6 Astra was trained using roughly 100,000 Nvidia Grace Blackwell NVLink72 server racks. Company leaders describe this as the first training run that used more than 100,000 GPUs and say a substantial portion of the compute went to safety and alignment work. Access to GPT‑6 Astra has begun for a limited set of organizations, with wider subscriber access planned soon. Nvidia plans to scale hardware up to about 400,000 GPUs to support future needs.

• Scuf Omega review: PlayStation-style pro controller for PC, but costly

  The Scuf Omega is a PlayStation-style pro controller positioned for PC use while also supporting PS5, priced at $219.99. It offers extensive button customization, comfortable ergonomics, and notable button and trigger designs aimed at competitive play. The controller is limited to a 1,000 Hz polling rate and is reported to have weaker build quality compared with some similarly priced rivals. Those trade-offs lead to questions about value at this price point.

• sh1ro wins fifth EVP as Spirit become firm world No.1 at BLAST Open Porto 2026

  At BLAST Open Porto 2026, sh1ro collected his fifth EVP of the year while Spirit emerged as the firm world number one. Danil “donk,” age 19, earned his thirteenth MVP and posted standout numbers across the event, including a 1.62 group-stage rating and a 2.32-rated Ancient versus MOUZ. He also produced 118 ADR in the 11‑1 first half on Nuke against Falcons and finished the event with 0.91 KPR, 1.25 KPRW and positive round swings in 52.4% of rounds.

• 16 teams named for TWC closed qualifier; only one will reach $1M Malta LAN

  Sixteen invited lineups will take part in the Thunderpick World Championship 2026 closed qualifier for a sole berth at the $1,000,000 Malta LAN. The field features established European sides such as HEROIC and 100 Thieves plus Ninjas in Pyjamas, who enter the qualifier with new in-game leader Karim "Krimbo" Moussa. Two teams, Wildcard and BESTIA, represent regions outside Europe (North America and South America respectively). The tournament's remaining seven main-event slots will be allocated via invites from the VRS event on August 3.

• HLTV releases Week 36 Counter-Strike short news roundup

  HLTV published its Week 36 Counter-Strike short-news roundup and introduced a new on-site Prospects portal. The Prospects home is reachable via a direct link or from the Players menu on the top bar. A sidebar lets visitors browse all past editions to view monthly spotlights, risers and fallers. The short news also directs readers to Week 35 for additional coverage.

• Krabeni signs contract extension with Turkish org FUT, joining teammates

  Aulon Krabeni has extended his contract with Turkish organization FUT, joining teammates Dmytro 'dem0n', Džiugas 'dziugss' and András 'coolio' who had already renewed. His inclusion ends earlier speculation about his omission from the initial wave of extensions. FUT recently added Yasin 'xfl0ud' in place of Laurențiu 'lauNX' and reached the grand final of the Esports World Cup. Nikita 'cmtry' Samolotov remains the only NAVI Junior graduate still on his original deal as the squad prepares for PGL Masters Bucharest, where they previously won their first trophy this year.

• Riot co-founder defends 2XKO as Riot ends development and issues refunds

  Riot Games has stopped further development of the tag fighter 2XKO and refunded players for prior in‑game purchases after the project failed to gain sustainable momentum. The game underwent years of development, launched shakily, and saw layoffs roughly three weeks after release. Riot publicly acknowledged it could not make 2XKO sustainable, and co‑founder Marc Merrill defended the effort at PAX West, calling it a difficult product to sell rather than an outright mistake. The company will end development after this year and has processed refunds for purchases made up to the announced cutoff.

• Square Enix vows Final Fantasy VII will stay an 'ever‑evolving' IP after lengthy remake run

  Square Enix has announced it will continue developing the Final Fantasy VII franchise as an evolving property. The company's lengthy remake run produced a trilogy of RPGs that the article describes as solid, and the writer said they enjoyed the first remake and will play Rebirth. The piece also notes Final Fantasy XVI released in 2023 and received a 79 in the outlet's review. The coverage raises questions about whether prolonged work on remakes affects the studio's capacity to create new IP.

• FISSURE Playground 3 single-game fantasy opens; jcobbb is top pick

  The single-game fantasy for FISSURE Playground 3 has opened and allows users to build teams on the event's Fantasy page. The event runs two eight-team double-elimination groups feeding a six-team single-elimination playoff, with quarter-finals and semi-finals as BO3 and a BO5 grand final. Jakub “jcobbb” Pietruszewski is the most-picked player at $195k, appearing on more than 40% of fantasy rosters after a recent rise in his rating despite earlier underperformance affecting his price. The BO5 grand final awards 25% more rating points than regular BO3 games, and the third-place decider will not be included in the fantasy game because it is not added to HLTV.

• ReShade mod offloads DLSS 5 neural render to second GPU, slashes performance hit

  A modder released a ReShade add-on that offloads DLSS 5 Neural Rendering workloads to a second GPU, substantially reducing the AI filter’s performance hit. Tests show the change almost negates the heavy frame-rate cost normally associated with DLSS NR. The work mirrors earlier DLSS 5 demonstrations that ran neural rendering across two graphics cards. The mod is part of active efforts by the modding community to develop DLSS 5 implementations.

• Nvidia evangelist handed out RTX 50-series purchase codes at PAX West

  Jacob Freeman, who identifies as Nvidia’s GeForce Evangelist, attended PAX West and invited attendees on X to find him for RTX 5090, 5080, or 5070 units at MSRP while supplies lasted. He handed out purchase codes for the RTX 50-series at the event. There was no apparent Nvidia booth and no boxed Founder's Edition GPUs available for purchase at PAX West. One attendee noted it was cheaper to fly from the UK to Seattle to try to secure an RTX 5090 via the evangelist than to buy one elsewhere.

• Onimusha: Way of the Sword sells 1M in first day, pushes series past 10M

  Onimusha: Way of the Sword sold over one million copies in its first full day after launching on September 4 across PC and current and last-gen PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. That initial burst pushed cumulative Onimusha franchise sales past ten million units worldwide and represents the series' first major release in about 20 years. Capcom offered an early-access demo before launch, and the game opened to generally positive critical reception with an 85 Metacritic score and an 86 on OpenCritic. The title reached the one-million mark faster than Pragmata, which required two days to hit the same milestone.

• tenzy credits confidence for Astana breakthrough, struggles to regain form after break

  Nikita “tenzy” Kochenyuk says magic’s fourth-place finish in Astana boosted the squad’s confidence and led to invitations to BLAST Bounty and the EWC. He credited frank conversations and letting emotions show on stage for turning a 0–2 start in Astana into a playoff appearance. A lengthy break disrupted the team’s momentum and, in tenzy’s view, hampered their EWC result even as he earned an EVP award there. magic are now in Suzhou as FUT’s replacement for FISSURE Playground 3, and tenzy stressed the need for more time together to rebuild consistency.

• Get Nana Stardust Dreamer Epic skin via MLBB's 10th Anniversary Carnival Battle Pass

  Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is making the Nana Stardust Dreamer Epic skin available free as part of its ALL IN MLBB 10th Anniversary celebration. Players obtain the Epic-tier skin by redeeming Celebration Coins tied to the 10th Anniversary Carnival Battle Pass. The skin is exclusive to this limited-time event and is one of several free anniversary cosmetics. This lets players access a high-tier skin without purchasing it.

• Danish coach ruggah retires after a decade behind teams

  Casper “ruggah” Due, 38, has announced his retirement from coaching after over ten years working behind Counter-Strike teams. His résumé includes an EPICENTER title with Dignitas and coaching stints at North, OpTic, OG and most recently Astralis. Astralis released him following a poor showing at the IEM Cologne Major and replaced him with Filip “NEO” Kubski; he did not join another team over the summer. He served as a pundit on the BLAST Open Porto desk and made the retirement announcement a day after that event finished.