THE FINALS teams with Galaxies Showcase for first PRIME TIME gameplay reveal on 15 Oct
Embark will debut Season 12's trailer at the Galaxies Showcase, teasing its biggest destruction overhaul since launch ahead of a 20 October patch.
What happened
Embark Studios has teamed up with the Galaxies Showcase — a recurring multi-publisher digital games event — to debut the first gameplay trailer for THE FINALS' next season, PRIME TIME. Embark is inviting contestants to join at the Galaxies Showcase on October 15th at 9:00 PM CEST for a first look at the new gameplay trailer for PRIME TIME. Because CEST sits six hours ahead of Brisbane and crosses midnight here, that lands as an early Friday 16 October watch for OCE: roughly 5am AEST in Brisbane and 6am AEDT in Sydney/Melbourne.
There's an incentive to tune in live: watching the show lets contestants earn two drops by linking Twitch and EmbarkID — 30 minutes watched unlocks a Cash Pending Sticker, and 45 minutes gets a Deposit Slip Spray. Galaxies is also letting Twitch creators apply to co-stream the event via a form on its site.
What changed
PRIME TIME is Season 12, and Embark has been drip-feeding details ahead of the showcase. Confirmed via the studio's own social posts and patch-note roadmap:
- Destruction overhaul. PRIME TIME brings what Embark calls its biggest destruction overhaul since launch, including new dynamic smoke systems. Technically, a new "gradual destruction" layer sits between the game's existing Strain and physics systems, creating a loose attachment the instant a piece breaks off, letting debris hinge and bend rather than collapsing all at once.
- New Specialist. The Infiltrator arrives as a new way to play Light, bringing True Sight, Mimic Device and Translocator.
- Arena reworks. World director Joakim Stigsson named Monaco, Seoul and Skyway Stadium as the first classic arenas getting reworked, with new spaces, revised layouts, clearer sightlines and new traversal routes.
- HUD/UI rework. Embark is giving the game a fresh look with a customisable, revamped HUD and redesigned menus.
PRIME TIME itself goes live on October 20th — no exact patch time confirmed yet, so expect it to roll out on Embark's usual overnight-for-Australia schedule.
What players are saying
Reaction so far is based purely on teaser clips, since the full trailer only drops at the showcase. On X, replies to the destruction teaser skewed enthusiastic, with fans crediting Embark's tech team for pushing an already-strong system even further. One more sceptical reply joked that Embark had already proven its destruction was best-in-class and didn't need to keep topping itself — more cheeky than critical.
The one genuine point of friction is the UI. A YouTube creator's video title warned the Season 12 HUD rework "might be a fumble," flagging the risk of messing with a layout players have muscle-memoried for years. Reddit and Steam threads hadn't lit up with substantial discussion as of writing — that verdict will likely land once the full trailer and patch notes are out.
What it means for you
If you're in The Clutch Club and want the Twitch drops, link your Twitch and EmbarkID now and plan for a very early alarm — 5am Brisbane / 6am Sydney-Melbourne on Friday 16 October — or just catch the VOD, since the drops require live or co-stream watching. The real test comes Tuesday 20 October when PRIME TIME patches in. THE FINALS' Steam peaks have cooled to a bit over 17,000 concurrent in October 2026, well down from its 242,000-peak heyday, so this season's destruction and arena overhaul reads as a genuine push to pull players back — worth watching whether it lands with the OCE crowd once servers go live.
What to watch next: Galaxies Showcase trailer drops 5am AEST Brisbane / 6am AEDT Sydney-Melbourne Fri 16 Oct; PRIME TIME itself launches Tue 20 Oct (exact patch time unconfirmed).
Sources
- THE FINALS X GALAXIES SHOWCASE — official patch notes
- THE FINALS on X — PRIME TIME launch date & reimagined Arenas
- THE FINALS on X — destruction overhaul & dynamic smoke
- THE FINALS on X — HUD and menu redesign
- The Finals Season 12: Release Date, Roadmap & News
- The Finals is drastically overhauling its already impressive destruction systems
- ARC Raiders' Underrated Sister Game Announces Mind-Blowing New Update
- THE FINALS Prime Time update lands October 20: more destructible arenas
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.