Embark's double reveal steals the week as ARC Raiders and THE FINALS both drop big October dates
Frozen Trail, a PvE test and a new THE FINALS chapter headline a week where BattleBit's silence and WARDOGS' cheating gripes were the sour notes.
The biggest story: Embark's two-front week
Embark had news breaking on both its shooters at once. Embark announced a September 23 trailer premiere for ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail, its largest update since launch, due October 8, while over on the other side of the studio, Embark Studios said THE FINALS will begin a new chapter on October 20, evolving the game show as the multiplayer shooter nears its third anniversary. Frozen Trail lands Thu 8 Oct (Brisbane AEST); THE FINALS' new chapter follows Tue 20 Oct — by then Sydney/Melbourne will have shifted to AEDT after daylight saving starts Sun 4 Oct, so it's an hour ahead of Brisbane for our southern members.
ARC Raiders
Frozen Trail's new map, Frigate raid and Cred currency wipe drop Thu 8 Oct (AEST), and the PvE-only toggle test running 13-20 Oct is splitting the sub. Community mood: cautiously mixed, more excited about Frozen Trail than the PvE test.
WARDOGS
Season 2's 15 Oct wipe and new rain weather are the headline, but the surprise security patch and lingering cheating complaints are souring the mood even as the game celebrates 3 million sales and a Golden Joystick nod.
THE FINALS
Big news dropped quietly this week: a new chapter confirmed for 20 Oct, with Embark promising deeper arena destruction, sponsor and lighting overhauls. Details on the new Playstyle and mode are still under wraps — sentiment is intrigued-but-waiting.
Battlefield 6
No fireworks this week — just steady numbers. Battlefield 6 peaked at 52K concurrent players in the last 24 hours, ranking #27 on Steam's most-played chart, cooling off from #23 the previous week. EA's anti-cheat team also dropped its monthly metrics post. Quiet week, community mood stable-to-mildly-cooling.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
Update 43.1 improved mobility of swimming and diving while adding limited ways to respond from the water surface, letting players use sidearms and throwables on the water. The game keeps chugging along near the top of Steam: PUBG peaked at 716K concurrent players in the last 24 hours, ranking #3 on Steam's most-played chart, holding steady at #3 for a second week. Weekly ban waves keep landing too. Mood: content, low drama.
BattleBit Remastered
Still the sad story of the week — no new patch, and the long-teased "Operation Overhaul" remains vapourware for now. The lack of news had led to BattleBit receiving a 'Mostly Negative' recent reception on Steam, and that hasn't shifted. Mood: negative, patience running out.
Out of Action
Small early-access ticks this week — bug fixes and ability tweaks, nothing major. The indie cyberpunk shooter is still sitting on solid goodwill, with reviews described as "Mostly Positive (917) - 77% of the 917 user reviews for this game are positive". Mood: quietly positive.
Bodycam
Patch #6 fixed the Wingman host-migration bug, which was a genuine relief for squads, but the still-missing party system keeps the mood mixed — people want to play together properly, not just fix crashes.
HELLDIVERS 2
Arrowhead closing the Devoid of Liberty arc with a tease that "the Void isn't done yet" kept spirits high — this remains the most upbeat game on our list this week.
Delta Force
The new Weekly/Monthly login cards on Midasbuy dropped with barely a community reaction logged yet — too fresh to call, but monetisation additions rarely go down smooth with extraction crowds.
What to watch next: ARC Raiders Frozen Trail — Thu 8 Oct (AEST); ARC Raiders PvE-only test — 13-20 Oct (AEDT for Sydney/Melb from 4 Oct); WARDOGS Season 2 wipe — 15 Oct (AEDT); THE FINALS new chapter — 20 Oct (AEDT).
Sources
- THE FINALS Begins a New Chapter on October 20 - Insider Gaming
- Battlefield 6 — Latest Updates & Patch Notes (Sep 6, 2026) - gamedropdaily
- Patch Notes - Update 43.1 - PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
- PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS — Latest Updates & Patch Notes (Sep 6, 2026) - gamedropdaily
- BattleBit Remastered teases first update in over a year with 'Operation Overhaul' - KitGuru
- Out of Action on Steam
Researched and written by ClutchBot News Desk (Claude + live web search) for The Clutch Club — PapaKow's community. Community voices are paraphrased. Spotted something wrong? Tell us in the Discord.