Quick Hits

• Fortnitemares 2026 kicks off tomorrow, October 1, and it's "a tale of two Freddies" — Freddy Krueger and Freddy Fazbear headline a star-studded lineup of horror icons, including one of 2026's best films, per Destructoid.
• Pokémon HOME's FireRed & LeafGreen compatibility update arrives next week, finally linking the Game Boy Advance classics to the storage subscription service after The Pokémon Company's announcement last month.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is adding "Collateral," a Counter-Strike-inspired competitive mode that Eurogamer can't believe the series never had before.
• The Witcher 3 just hit its highest-ever Steam concurrent player count — 11 years after launch — thanks to the newly released Remastered edition.
• Valve is still all-in on Deadlock, with an update promising six new heroes and over 10,000 new voice lines.

Pokémon & Nintendo

The big one for trainers: Pokémon HOME's compatibility update for FireRed & LeafGreen lands next week, making October 2026 the month those GBA remakes finally plug into the modern storage ecosystem. Mark your calendars.

In stranger TCG news, IGN reports crypto exchange Coinbase is muscling into the Pokémon TCG craze with its own digital pack-opening platform — a genuinely wild collision of crypto and cardboard culture.

And in the "please, shower" department: IGN covers a Texas-based VGC pro who went viral after begging competitors to practice basic hygiene, claiming an opponent's "putrid" stench literally made him throw up at an event. Please. Wash.

On the Nintendo side, Sonic boss Takashi Iizuka told a Japanese magazine the hedgehog has "only reached half of its potential," declaring "Let's aim for Disney" for the IP's future. Meanwhile, Konami announced a Castlevania 40th Anniversary Concert tour for next year — right alongside Zelda's own 40th anniversary concert festivities. TMNT: Splintered Fate shreds past another sales milestone with its Hades-flavored roguelike loop, and Super Evil Mega Corp revealed the most-played characters. Sad news for brick collectors: more Nintendo-themed LEGO sets are retiring this year. And Nintendo Life's review crowns the Mobapad C2 Lite as probably the best budget controller for Switch 2.

Fortnite

Fortnitemares 2026 begins October 1, and Destructoid's coverage makes it sound like the spookiest one yet: Krueger and Fazbear share top billing, with a lineup of horror icons that draws on one of 2026's best films. Expect the annual transformation that makes the island "a whole lot scarier" — the yearly event remains one of Fortnite's most exciting traditions, and this one looks loaded.

Call of Duty

Modern Warfare 4 is courting the competitive scene with Collateral, a brand-new mode for the series inspired by Counter-Strike. Eurogamer's writer can hardly believe it took this long — on top of all the expected CoD modes, it's a clear play for the tactical-competitor crowd.

Indie Games

GameSpot pulls back the curtain on what it takes to build a modern game showcase, profiling the Triple-I Initiative and how organizers treat 45 minutes like a puzzle — a fun read in a world drowning in online broadcasts. Also worth your time: RPS interviews SquallyDaBeanz, the solo modder behind the Baldur's Gate 3 Act Two expansion that seamlessly slots a full army-fighting detour into the RPG's plot — a one-person "extra chapter" now in beta.

Steam & PC

The Witcher 3's Remastered edition has dramatically rekindled interest in the 11-year-old RPG, which is currently sitting at its highest Steam concurrent player count ever, per Eurogamer. Not bad for a game older than some of its new players.

Valve is busy on two fronts: RPS reports Steam's homepage discounts and events section is going "the way of the algorithm" to surface (and sell) more games, and Deadlock's latest update promises six new heroes and over 10,000 new voice lines — proof, as RPS notes, that Valve remains committed to the still-technically-not-released game.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's Depths of the Damned update claimed an RPS writer in its "flesh pipes" — and they're confident it'll get you too. In less happy PC news, Eurogamer reports controversy around Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve on Steam: the bundled Belkan War re-release remains problematically attached to the new game's Deluxe Edition on PC, while console players get it standalone, souring the early access launch.

Gaming Roundup

• Halo's former Franchise Creative Director Frank O'Connor (nearly 20 years at 343 Industries/Halo Studios) sees three possible paths forward for Activision's Halo, per IGN — and separately urged Activision to hire laid-off Bungie and Halo Studios developers, per VGC.
• Xbox's new Mythic Achievements start rolling out to Insiders today, with progress tracking that shows exactly how close you are to 100%, Gamespot reports.
• Analyst Mat Piscatella (via GameSpot) claims the majority of Gears of War: E-Day's Xbox revenue will be cannibalized by its Game Pass day-one launch.
• Cregger's Resident Evil film is already the third highest-grossing RE movie, passing $100 million domestically in under two weeks, per PC Gamer.
• And Konami has a Silent Hill lore bible — and no, you can't see it. Rude, but fair.