The Finals hotfix (again) fixes Guardian Turret bug, broken DLC access and missing showcase drops

What happened

Embark Studios dropped a short Discord update on Wed 22/10/2026 confirming two bug fixes and a make-good for missed rewards, all tied to Season 12 "PRIME TIME," which went live on Tue 20/10/2026 (11:00pm AEST Brisbane / midnight AEDT Sydney-Melbourne, 20–21 October). The patch fixes PS5 and Xbox loading crashes, loadout swaps after elimination in some game modes, Guardian Turret target detection, early Grappling Hook activation and two cosmetic issues. Notably, this is a repeat attempt: the previous day's hotfix had already listed "an issue with the Guardian Turret not being able to correctly detect targets" as fixed — hence Embark's own admission it's being fixed "for real this time."

The 22/10 post also confirms a fix for Contestants who'd bought the New Contestant Pack DLC but weren't getting access to it, and promises Twitch Drops from the 15 October Galaxies Showcase (which aired at 5:00am AEST / 6:00am AEDT Brisbane/Sydney time, per the official Season 12 announcement) will land next time affected viewers log in.

What changed

• Guardian Turret detection (take two): target-lock bug fixed again after the first fix in the 21/10 hotfix apparently didn't fully land.
• New Contestant Pack DLC access: players who paid for the cosmetics-and-Multibucks bundle but couldn't access it should now see it unlocked.
• Missing Galaxies Showcase drops: anyone who watched the 15/10 showcase and missed their Twitch Drop rewards will get them on next login.
• Console stability: a bug prevented eliminated players from changing loadouts in some modes; the hotfix addresses it, alongside PS5/Xbox loading-screen crash fixes from the prior day's patch.

What players are saying

Season 12 itself has landed well in previews — reviewers called the destruction overhaul and new Solo Showdown mode a near-reinvention, with one outlet calling it "a game show it was always meant to be" and another saying Embark "cooked hard" with the update. The health rebalance (Lights up 25, Heavies down 25) and new Infiltrator Light playstyle have also drawn praise in hands-on coverage.

That said, this specific follow-up patch highlights two sore points: a gadget bug that needed two attempts to squash, and a paid-DLC access fault — the kind of issue that stings more than a free-cosmetic bug because real money was on the line. The Finals' Steam reviews have long carried a running complaint that microtransactions are "unreasonably, exorbitantly expensive," so a bundle not granting what was paid for lands in already-sensitive territory, even as Embark moved fast to fix it within 48 hours of launch.

What it means for you

If you own a Guardian Turret build or bought the New Contestant Pack, update your client before your next session — both issues should now be resolved. OCE/Australian players hopping back in post-reset should notice turret target-locking actually working, and anyone missing their Galaxies Showcase drops just needs one more game launch to trigger delivery. Nothing here changes core balance from the 12.0.0 patch, so Season 12's ladder and loadouts stay as they were on launch day.

What to watch next: Embark says more fixes are coming for the UI glow toggle, shotgun hitmarkers, Ultrawide support and bot-match contract completion — worth watching the patch notes page for the next hotfix.

Sources

• HOTFIX & UPCOMING FIXES — THE FINALS (12.0.1 patch notes)
• PRIME TIME — THE FINALS (12.0.0 patch notes)
• THE FINALS X GALAXIES SHOWCASE
• The Finals Season 12: Release Date, Infiltrator & What's New
• THE FINALS Season 12 is THE FINALS 2.0 in more ways than one
• The Finals Season 12 preview
• Steam Community :: THE FINALS reviews
• THE FINALS 12.0.1 patch notes

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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.