This Week in Gaming News: October 12th - October 18th, 2026

Autumn continues its relentless march, and as the nights draw in (and drawing in they certainly are), we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re looking for diversions or distractions from the increasingly cold weather and rainfall.

If you are, then, as ever, you’re in the right place, because we’re about to run down all of the most important gaming news you might have missed over the last week or so.

Preamble dispensed with, it’s finally time to begin, so why not grab your favourite chair, get yourself a spooky snack, and see what the gaming world has offered up over the last seven days?

Nintendo isn’t dropping physical games anytime soon

As Sony and Xbox gear up to ditch discs forever, Nintendo has confirmed that it isn’t looking to take a similar path, at least not for the time being. Looks like you can breathe easy if you’re a Switch cartridge fan.

This comes from Nintendo Latin America exec Bill van Zyll, who says that the company has “no plans to ditch physical” and that Nintendo is aware of “how much the fans like [physical releases]”.

Whether this stance stands the test of time remains to be seen, of course, but for now, it looks like you’ll still be able to display your Switch 2 games proudly on your actual, physical shelf.

Epic has reportedly delayed a Marvel-Star Wars shooter

While a shooter that crosses over Star Wars and Marvel sounds like the kind of thing we’d have killed for as kids, it looks like we’re going to have to wait that little bit longer for those dreams to be realised.

The game, which is as yet unannounced, appears to have been in development at Epic, but if Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier is to be believed, the game has been internally delayed.

Not only that, but Epic has also apparently been instructing the developers working on the game to embrace the use of generative AI. We’re not sure how we feel about that aspect.

GTA 6 could be heading to PC in Q1 2027

According to gaming news publication GamesBeat (which cites sources familiar with the matter, as most do these days), GTA 6’s PC release could be slated for the first quarter of next year.

Rockstar’s decision not to launch the game on PC on day one has been met with controversy, but it looks like PC gamers shouldn’t have that much longer to wait to check the game out, at least.

Of course, this is still just a rumour, so you should take it with the requisite pinch of salt, but hopefully, PC players will be installing and checking out GTA 6 sooner rather than later.

Xbox’s new Xbox Labs initiative might be AI, but Xbox isn’t telling

This week, Xbox announced a new initiative by the name of Xbox Labs, and it is, according to the company, “a small group of game makers, engineers, and scientists whose job is to turn emerging ideas into things [its] players and developers can experience”.

If that sounds an awful lot like generative AI might be involved, we’re right there with you, but in the announcement post, Xbox cannily avoids mentioning anything to do with AI, even though it’s almost certainly pivotal to this initiative somehow.

We’ll likely learn more about the Xbox Labs initiative in the coming months, but when Xbox eventually comes clean and admits it’s all about AI, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Ubisoft is closing down Trials studio RedLynx and shrinking its Singapore team

Sadly, our next item concerns yet more Ubisoft layoffs, and this time, it’s the turn of Trials developer RedLynx to be shuttered, with the company’s Singapore studio also affected by staff cuts.

It looks as though somewhere around 120 staff members will be hit by this latest round of layoffs, although Ubisoft says the Singapore team is still “an important part of Ubisoft’s global production organisation”.

It’s an ignominious fate for the studio that developed Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, which enjoyed the highest debut Steam numbers for any game in the franchise to date. Oh well.

League of Legends Classic is closing its doors just three months after release

Around three months ago, Riot introduced League of Legends Classic, a way for League players to bathe themselves in the warm glow of nostalgia (for a game in which people still screamed slurs at each other in chat, of course).

Now, however, the game mode is closing its doors, and Riot says it’s for a simple reason: most players aren’t playing Classic anymore and have “gone back to other parts of League”.

Although Classic is ending for the time being, this won’t be the last you hear of it; Riot says it plans to reintroduce the mode later down the line, “likely as an event mode with adjustments and additions”.

Control Resonant is now Remedy’s fastest-selling game

If you were wondering just how well Remedy’s mind-bending action RPG Control Resonant has done, then wonder no more, as the studio announced this week that the game is now its fastest-selling title.

This is by virtue of the fact that Control Resonant has managed to shift a million copies within its first month, a feat no other Remedy game has managed so far.

Here’s hoping that this indicates the developer’s fortunes are starting to turn around, as it’s been a pretty rocky old time for Remedy of late.

Sega has pulled Total War: Shogun 2 from sale

Sega ran into a pretty embarrassing moment this week, as the company was seemingly forced to pull the recently-released Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition from sale following accusations that generative AI was relied upon for its creation.

The studio apologised for the state of the game and admitted that the release had “fallen short of both [fans’] expectations and [Sega’s] own standards”.

Sega says it has seen feedback from players and is determined to investigate the issues raised by the game’s fanbase. The original game will be reinstated for the duration of said investigation.

Written by

Jay Allsopp

Meet Jay, the visionary Founder of GamerBolt, who launched this gaming haven in 2010. A dedicated PS5 enthusiast, Jay thrives on the adrenaline rush of Call of Duty and the competitive spirit of EA Sports FC. His passion for gaming goes beyond play; it's about creating a community for fellow gamers to celebrate the worlds and stories they love; Gamerbolt.