Quick Hits

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's campaign reviews are in, and they're far better than anyone expected — Kotaku calls it "surprisingly good," GameSpot says it sticks to the basics for a satisfying finish. Full launch hits 23rd October 2026, with campaign early access live now for pre-orders.
• Pokémon Pokopia's Halloween event, Pumpkaboo's Sweet Surprises, is live now — running 17th October to 1st November, it adds two Gen 6 Ghost-types, Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist, plus Pumpkin Candy to collect.
• Pokémon TCG Pocket is finally fixing trading and immersive cards, while also slowing its release cadence, per Kotaku.
• Valve is beta testing Steam Achievement Sets, letting developers group achievements into collections so new content stops breaking your 100% completion.
• Deadlock has cracked 300,000 concurrent players — despite still being an invite-only closed alpha, per Destructoid.

Pokémon & Nintendo

Spooky season is officially here in Pokémon Pokopia: the Pumpkaboo's Sweet Surprises event runs from 17th October to 1st November, and Nintendo Life has a full guide covering everything from Pumpkin Candy to evolving your way up to Gourgeist. Treat yourself to two Gen 6 Ghost-types this Halloween.

In the card game sphere, Kotaku reports Pokémon TCG Pocket is finally overhauling one of its most frustrating features — trading — alongside improvements to immersive cards, though the game is also slowing down its release cadence.

Over on Switch 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arrives 23rd October with two different upscaling options, and Nintendo Life has an early explainer on the difference — well worth a read before you pick a mode. Capcom has also confirmed a Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Switch 2 update is currently in development, after other platforms received a title update following the game's release earlier this month. Meanwhile, Koei Tecmo confirmed a "body shape change feature" — slim or fuller — for Atelier Karia: The Night Kingdom & the Guide of Memories, asking fans "What kind of Karia would you like to adventure with?" ahead of its Switch 2 launch early next year.

And as the Ocarina of Time Switch 2 release draws closer, Nintendo Life's dungeon crawl retrospective passes the halfway point with entry #5 — it's hammer time, apparently. The Pokémon community is also out in full Halloween force on Reddit, from a shiny, glittery custom Magikarp bookmark to a Halloween-hatted Pikachu drawing and an AI Sada and AI Turo itabag for the sad robot enjoyers.

Call of Duty

The big story of the day: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's campaign reviews are in, and the consensus is genuinely positive. Kotaku says the reviews make it sound "surprisingly good" — a return to form, if not to the series' heyday. GameSpot's verdict is that Modern Warfare 4 "goes back to basics to properly finish its story," delivering "a satisfying campaign from start to finish" in its review, "A High Price For Revenge." PC Gamer's review-in-progress calls it "a campaign you shouldn't skip," and the outlet has a full breakdown of release times and early access. The full launch lands 23rd October 2026 on Switch 2 and other platforms.

Indie Games

Keep your eyes on two intriguing pickups from Rock Paper Shotgun: Rain98, a blue-hued, pre-Y2K, Serial Experiments Lain-inspired visual novel set in Tokyo, 1998, about a woman time travelling to the past to end the world (there's a demo!), and The Lich Wars, Psychic Software's standalone prequel to cult RPG The Necromancer's Tale — a storybook RPG spanning 30 years of undead botheration. Also worth your time: GameSpot's feature on Outlast, the horror juggernaut no publisher wanted — 60 million players later, it's doing just fine.

Steam & PC

Valve is beta testing Steam Achievement Sets, a new feature letting developers group a game's achievements into collections — the aim being that new DLC no longer wrecks your completion status, per Eurogamer. In less cheery news, Kotaku reports 2026 has already seen more games added to Steam than all of 2025, with 24,000 titles expected by year's end — a flood of AI and vibe-coded releases the outlet warns could look tiny compared to 2027. That flood is already biting: Kotaku also reports the anime gambling horror game Drunken Goddess Reflux has ditched its free Steam demo entirely over fears of getting ripped off by AI, opting for a closed beta instead. On a happier note, Destructoid reports Deadlock keeps smashing its own records — 300,000 concurrent players and counting, invite-only closed alpha and all, boosted by a new hero release.

Gaming Roundup

The AI debate rages on: GameSpot argues it's "time for Epic Games and its CEO to touch grass" as the company pivots toward "AI-accelerated development" with Tim Sweeney on the defensive, while Konami tells Rock Paper Shotgun that real people are what matter most for making good games. In happier news, Bungie is hiring new developers to work on Destiny 2, with Destructoid noting the studio plans to restore massive chunks of vaulted content after June's final big update. And tabletop fans, take note: IGN sat down with D&D designer James Wyatt to dig into Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft, the massive crossover expansion landing in less than a month.