FIGHTING
Tekken 8 Heat Burst vs Engager: 10 and 15 Seconds
Tekken 8 Heat runs 10 seconds off a Heat Burst and 15 seconds off an Engager — and why a Heat Dash after a Burst drops the aerial follow-up.
Bandai Namco Impact: 8/10
INTEL ARCHIVE // PAGE 10 OF 23
All Intel — page 10
MMO
WoW Delves Tier 8 Solo: Brann Curios and Zekvir's Lair
Endgame solo player's guide to Tier 8 Bountiful Delves in WoW: The War Within, optimizing Brann Bronzebeard's combat roles, curios, and conquering Zekvir.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 8/10
EVERGREEN
Blizzard Pipeline: Diablo V in 2029, StarCraft in 2030
BlizzCon 2026 turned Blizzard's pipeline into public dates: WoW Forever, Diablo V in Spring 2029, StarCraft in 2030, and the projects still undated.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 9/10
RPG
Diablo V: D2 Stat Requirements and the Tetris Bag
How Diablo V's loot borrows from Diablo II: gear that demands Strength, a Tetris-style bag, sets, and Runes slotted in sequence.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 7/10
SURVIVAL
ARC Raiders vs Tarkov vs Delta Force: Cost of Dying
Tarkov's milsim, ARC Raiders' co-op sandbox, or Delta Force's free on-ramp — what dying costs in each, and which to pick before the October 8 drop.
Cross-studio Impact: 8/10
RPG
GTA 6: What November 19 Launch Actually Confirms
GTA 6's confirmed launch ledger: a November 19 single-player release, multiplayer signaled for 2027, and vinyl and CD on day one.
Rockstar Games Impact: 8/10
MMO
Heroes of the Storm in 2026: Six Roles, One Queue
What Heroes of the Storm is in 2026: six explicit roles, a single ranked queue, and Xal'atath arriving September 28 after roughly six years.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 7/10
RPG
Monster Hunter Wilds Prep: Gogma Artian and HR 100
What to finish in the Update 4 endgame before Ascendance resets the board: Gogma Artian focus trade-offs, HR 100 Transcend armor, and Boost Bracer prep.
Capcom Impact: 8/10
HARDWARE
Switch 2 Holiday 2026: What December 4 Changes
What the Switch 2's second holiday actually changes: Monster Hunter Wilds on December 4, game-key cards versus cartridges, and whether 256 GB is enough.
Nintendo Impact: 8/10
RTS
Warcraft III Reforged 3.0: What Returning Players Get
What Warcraft III Reforged's 3.0 update changed: the Forsaken Kingdom campaign, a revamped World Editor, a new hero, and the Definitive Edition.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 7/10
RPG
Wo Long 2 vs Fallen Dynasty: Open Fields and 208 AD
What Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember changes from Fallen Dynasty: open fields instead of corridors, Insight Skills, officer recruitment, and a 208 AD story.
Team Ninja Impact: 7/10
MMO
WoW Classic vs Modern vs Forever: Picking One in 2026
Three WoW experiences now run in parallel: Modern's Worldsoul Saga, Classic's era realms, and Forever's new Vanilla zones opening November 4, 2026.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 8/10
RPG
GTA 6 Multiplayer: Twitch CEO Points to a 2027 Window
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy's Bloomberg remark puts GTA 6 multiplayer in 2027, after the November 19 launch — and what the GTA Online precedent suggests.
Rockstar Games Impact: 9/10
RPG
Monster Hunter Wilds TGS: Teostra Returns in Ascendance
Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance at TGS: Teostra returns as an Elder Dragon, the Boost Bracer explained, and the base game's December 4 Switch 2 launch.
Capcom Impact: 10/10
HARDWARE
PS5 Firmware 26.06: Trending Now and PSSR Default
Sony's PS5 update turns Enhance PSSR Image Quality on by default for PS5 Pro, and adds voice chat display names plus Welcome Hub popularity widgets.
Sony Interactive Entertainment Impact: 7/10
SURVIVAL
ARC Raiders 1.45: Three Dates Before Frozen Trail
ARC Raiders' 1.45 patch is the last live update before Frozen Trail on October 8, when Creds are removed and the engine sits on Unreal 5.7.
Embark Studios Impact: 8/10
RPG
Wo Long 2 Dated March 4, 2027; Alpha Runs to September 30
Wo Long 2's alpha runs until September 30 and carries a Fledgling Phoenix Helmet into the March 4, 2027 launch on Switch 2 and Game Pass.
Team Ninja Impact: 8/10
RTS
StarCraft Shooter Devs on 2030 and Ground-Level Scale
Why StarCraft's 2030 window is real, per the developers, and what open-world play means: a 10-foot Hydralisk, factions you can set against each other.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 8/10
RPG
Diablo V: Spring 2029, Three Classes, a Caravan
Blizzard's Diablo V reveal: Sanctuary fallen, a survivor caravan replacing towns, Demon Hunter, Monk and Plague Knight, and Diablo II-style itemization.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 10/10
MMO
Xal'atath: Heroes of the Storm's First Hero in Six Years
Heroes of the Storm gets its first new hero in 6 years: Xal'atath arrives September 28, with a PTR on September 14 and a hint that more may come.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 8/10
RTS
BlizzCon 2026: StarCraft Returns as a 2030 Shooter
StarCraft's return is an open-world shooter, not StarCraft 3: ex-Far Cry director Dan Hay dated it 2030 and showed a cinematic, no gameplay.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 10/10
RTS
Warcraft III Reforged 3.0: Forsaken Kingdom Campaign
Warcraft III Reforged 3.0 is live with the Forsaken Kingdom campaign — the first new WC3 campaign in 23 years — plus a graphics pass and a new World Editor.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 9/10
MMO
WoW Forever Launches November 4 with Three New Zones
WoW Forever adds three zones, over 1,000 quests, nine dungeons, two raids and the Skyborne race to Vanilla Azeroth on November 4, 2026.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 10/10
SURVIVAL
Ark 2 in 2028: What Survival Evolved Veterans Unlearn
Souls-like melee, third-person combat and a primitive-first world: what Survival Evolved veterans must unlearn, and how Legacy of Santiago bridges it.
Studio Wildcard Impact: 6/10
RTS
BlizzCon 2026: The Schedule and the StarCraft Hour
BlizzCon 2026 runs September 12-13 with a free stream, a $600,000 esports prize pool, and an unmarked main-stage hour where a StarCraft reveal fits.
Blizzard Entertainment Impact: 8/10
MMO
MMO Netcode: Why 100-Player Zones Work but 10,000 Fail
Why your position in Orgrimmar, your raid boss timer, and your Tarkov deaths all come down to one architectural question: who is allowed to say what is true?
Cross-franchise (technical analysis) Impact: 5/10
SURVIVAL
Core Keeper 1.3: Mounts, Hookshot, Moss Sub-Biome
Core Keeper 1.3 adds rideable mounts, a Hookshot for crossing pits without bridges, and the Moss sub-biome, plus a Mage and Summoner rework.
Fireshine Games and Pugstorm Impact: 8/10
MMO
FFXIV Dawntrail Crafting: i750 Gear and Stat Breakpoints
The FFXIV Dawntrail endgame in numbers: i750 gear, 4-star recipes, the 5400 to 5886 Gathering breakpoints, and why 400 or 1000 collectability is the target.
Square Enix Impact: 6/10
MMO
MMOs in 2026: WoW, FFXIV, ESO and GW2 Time-to-Fun
Match your playstyle to the MMO loop: what WoW, FFXIV, ESO, GW2 and Throne & Liberty each optimize for, what they cost, and time-to-fun.
Various (Blizzard, Square Enix, ZeniMax, ArenaNet, NCSoft) Impact: 6/10
SURVIVAL
Icarus Survival: Oxygen, Stamina and the 465-Point Tree
Icarus kills you through oxygen, temperature, and stamina budgets, not monsters — what to prioritize in a 465-point talent tree before the extraction timer.
RocketWerkz Impact: 6/10