Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Is Here — and the FBI Is Hunting 6,000+ Stolen Pokémon Cards

October 26, 2026 · 45 sources

Quick Hits

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is officially out for all players, and its DMZ extraction mode is proving so popular that petitions for a PvE-only version have already started — a demand Eurogamer notes has faced "every extraction shooter before it." Meanwhile, a Switch 2 update is live, and it's dueling Nintendo Switch Sports Resort atop the UK charts.
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 (Eurogamer). A genuine card-game crime caper.
The #SaveMassEffect petition has crossed 200,000 signatures, propelled by videos from both Commander Shepard actors and support from the Destiny community (IGN).
Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney doubled down on his criticism of Valve, calling Steam's AI content disclosure "a political act" (IGN).
The third entry in the Tomb Raider "Survivor" trilogy — Shadow of the Tomb Raider — shadow-dropped on Switch 2, landing right on the series' 30th anniversary (Nintendo Life).

The wildest Pokémon story of the day: per Eurogamer, the FBI and Santa Ana police are investigating the theft of 6,451 PSA-graded cards — almost 3,000 of them Pokémon — taken from a FedEx truck in California. Somebody call Looker.
With zero official confirmation, r/pokemon is speculating about what battle system Winds and Waves will feature, and plenty of longtime trainers are hoping for a return to the classic turn-based formula.
Lore corner: a popular thread asks whether ghost types are effectively endangered, since Pokédex entries describe many of them as humans or Pokémon who died in very specific — and hard-to-replicate — ways. Aegislash, explain yourself.
Not everyone's raving about the Pokémon Rave: one attendee at Los Angeles' Intuit Dome reports the entire night leaned on just two "surface level" Pokémon songs.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is fast off the start line in the UK charts, going head-to-head with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in the final week of October (Nintendo Life).
Darkest Dungeon II now has a Switch 2 Edition, with a paid upgrade available — "forward now, into oblivion's inky embrace," indeed.
Anniversary feels: Nintendo Life marks 15 years since Kirby's Return to Dream Land ushered in Kirby's golden era, and shares a charming feature on finally learning to play the ocarina, 30 years after a first one was bought from a hippy shop in Birmingham.

Eurogamer reports DMZ is the breakout mode of Modern Warfare 4's launch — and its popularity has already spawned calls for a PvE-only version. Hunting Legendary loot? Destructoid has a guide to DMZ's best loot locations.
Kotaku spoke with multiplayer director Joe Cecot, who says there's probably no such thing as "perfected" matchmaking — no system will ever satisfy everyone.
Switch 2 players, get downloading: a Modern Warfare 4 update is live now, and Nintendo Life notes Activision hasn't shared official notice, so check for it manually.
On the big screen: director Peter Berg tells IGN the Call of Duty movie will be an adaptation with "a very strong soul" that explores "the cost of war," and per Eurogamer it probably won't be as graphically violent as his upcoming Netflix film The Mosquito Bowl.

Steam Next Fest gem alert: a horror pool roguelite inspired by Inscryption just crossed 50,000 wishlists, featuring upgradable cues, gun mechanics, procedurally generated deadly pool rituals, and boss fights — the free demo is available before Next Fest ends.
After a year of solo development, Claw & Order — a roguelike autobattler inspired by Balatro and Super Auto Pets — finally has a Steam page. You recruit and arrange up to five cats, each with their own abilities. Yes, it's adorable.
Feel-good devlog of the day: the team behind incremental farming game Harvest Dice Profit says a YouTuber changed the game's fortunes just as sales were slowing — and its biggest update yet is now on the way.
A story guaranteed to light up the replies: an indie dev has scrubbed AI-generated voice lines from his game — "I drank from the chalice of blood" — having previously described the technology as "anti-human and anti-art" (PC Gamer).

The Epic-versus-Valve feud rumbles on: Sweeney, Epic's controversial majority owner, spent the weekend doubling down on his criticism of Valve and calling Steam's AI content disclosure "a political act" (IGN).
Steam's Personal Calendar has quietly graduated from test to fully fledged feature — and Rock Paper Shotgun confesses to using it the whole time without realizing it was still in testing.
PC Gamer asks whether we're in a "cozy gaming gold rush": "cozy" has grown over 250% on Steam (and 200% in the writer's inbox) since 2024. Fittingly, ArtDock's cozy seaside-town life sim Pao Pao is nearly here, with the full version launching after its demo.
Review spotlight: GameSpot says Phantom Blade Zero's combat is so good, you won't care the story makes no sense — S-Game clearly understands the core tenets of character-action games.
Weekend deals per IGN: Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Persona 3 Reload, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Pikmin 4, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Star Wars Zero Company, and more.

Sad news: Eric Bauza, the voice acting legend behind Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and countless other classic characters, has died at 46, with confirmation arriving via a post on his Instagram account (IGN).
GTA 6 watch: Manni L. Perez, long rumored to be playing Lucia, went viral dodging a swarm of GTA 6 comments during a livestream — Rockstar still hasn't confirmed anything (IGN).
More Mass Effect fallout: leaks reveal BioWare's canceled game would have accounted for "all" choices from the Commander Shepard trilogy had EA not shut it down (IGN).
Bandai Namco has a surprise 10th anniversary update dropping for Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 this week while fans await the series' third installment.
Grinding Final Fantasy Resonance? Destructoid breaks down every party member Rain and Lasswell can recruit on the way to stopping the Sworn Six.