Quick Hits

• Modern Warfare 4's launch weekend is off to a rocky start — DMZ extraction players are furious over a perk that allows self-revives, the multiplayer director says there's probably no such thing as "perfected" matchmaking, and Switch 2 owners have a new update to grab before playing.
• Phantom Blade Zero has already sold half a million copies on Steam — and it isn't even out yet, with Eurogamer calling the Chinese action game a candidate for "one of the year's breakout hits."
• The FBI is investigating the theft of 6,451 PSA-graded trading cards, nearly 3,000 of them Pokémon cards, stolen from a FedEx truck in California.
• Half-Life 3 speculation is alive again after a Valve composer dropped the letters "HLX" during a panel about video game sound, per Rock Paper Shotgun.
• Steam Next Fest wraps Monday, October 26 at 10am PT/1pm ET — Valve has revealed the 20 most-played demos so far, and yes, Fart Together made the list.

Pokémon & Nintendo

• The big one: Eurogamer reports the FBI and Santa Ana police are investigating the theft of 6,451 PSA-graded cards — including almost 3,000 Pokémon cards — swiped from a FedEx truck in California. A genuinely wild true-crime saga for the TCG world.
• Also from VGC's latest podcast: a Pokémon store is coming to London. Meanwhile, r/Pokemon is delivering the wholesome content as always, from a dad's custom soccer-themed birthday card for his son to the gloriously gothic vampire fan-design "Count Lacula" ("I suggest running," indeed).
• PSA for Switch 2 owners: the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Switch 2 update is now live, per Nintendo Life — and Activision reportedly hasn't shared official notice, so check for the download before your weekend session.
• Lara Croft is turning 30! Nintendo Life notes the Tomb Raider series hit its 30th anniversary this week, nicely timed with the third entry in the 'Survivor' trilogy getting shadow-dropped on Switch 2.
• Darkest Dungeon II now has a Switch 2 Edition, with a paid upgrade available for existing owners — more sanity-testing on the go.
• And a happy 15th birthday to Kirby's Return to Dream Land, which Nintendo Life credits with ushering in Kirby's "golden era." The pink puffball's consistency remains unmatched.

Call of Duty

• The DMZ discourse has arrived early. Eurogamer reports Modern Warfare 4's extraction mode — out just two days, and only for pre-orders — already has players asking "Why the f**k would they add a perk like that?" over a trait enabling self-revives. Extraction purists, you have my sympathy.
• Kotaku spoke with multiplayer director Joe Cecot, who says there's probably no such thing as a "perfected" matchmaking system that satisfies everyone — a notably candid take during launch week.
• On the bright side for PC players: PC Gamer found Modern Warfare 4 runs "pretty smoothly" on Activision's recommended RTX 3060 Ti, with tested settings to squeeze out the best performance. GameSpot also has a guide to DMZ's best hot spots and loot locations for your first runs.
• Movie news! Director Peter Berg teased his live-action Call of Duty film to IGN as an adaptation with "a very strong soul" that explores "the cost of war," and he's full of praise for the Modern Warfare characters.

Indie Games

• Steam Next Fest is in its final stretch (ends Monday, October 26), and IGN has Valve's list of the 20 most-played demos — topped by the likes of Fart Together, Emberville, and ArcheAge Chronicles. Get those downloads in while you can.
• GameSpot makes a compelling case that Double Fine has made "the first single-player friendslop game" — a delightful twist on the co-op-slop flood crowding recent showcases.
• If your social feeds are full of gem-cutting clips, PC Gamer confirms the hypnosis is real: Abyssal Lapidary is every bit as satisfying as it looks.
• In a story worth your attention, PC Gamer reports an indie dev has scrubbed AI-generated voice lines from his game — "I drank from the chalice of blood" — after previously calling the technology "anti-human and anti-art." A rare walk-back in the AI debate.

Steam & PC

• Phantom Blade Zero is the story of the week: Eurogamer reports the Chinese action game has shifted 500,000 copies on Steam alone despite being days from release, outperforming the likes of Gears of War: E-Day and Control Resonant on the charts.
• Wake up, new Half-Life 3 rumor: Rock Paper Shotgun reports a Valve composer uttered the codename-y letters "HLX" about an hour into a panel on game audio, and the speculation machine is sprinting.
• The Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition saga continues — after the remaster was pulled from Steam amid complaints about technical problems and AI-generated art, Rock Paper Shotgun reports the Total War boss says "This was not a Creative Assembly developed game," pointing the finger at an external partner.
• Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is escalating his feud with Steam, telling Destructoid the platform's forced AI disclosure is "abhorrent" and would help a so-called "hate mob." Spicy!
• PC Gamer asks if we're in a "cozy gaming gold rush era," noting the word "cozy" has grown over 250% on Steam since 2024. And in minor-but-fun news, Steam's Personal Calendar is officially out of testing and a fully fledged feature, per Rock Paper Shotgun.

Gaming Roundup

• Headline of the day from VGC's podcast: Mass Effect 4 has reportedly been cancelled as EA closes BioWare. If that holds up, it's a seismic shakeup for one of gaming's most beloved studios.
• Destructoid has a character tier list for Final Fantasy Resonance if you're optimizing your eight-person party this weekend.

That's the weekend sorted — update your Switch 2, queue those Next Fest demos, and keep an eye on that Phantom Blade Zero launch. Game on! 🎮