id Software Says 'We're Doing Great' With Half a Studio, FURIA Win a Five-Map Final, and the Worlds Quarterfinals Are Set

Industry

• Xbox's summer reset cut roughly half of id Software the day before the studio shipped its Doom: The Dark Ages expansion, and co-director Marty Stratton now says "we're doing great." Stratton said id is "working more closely with MachineGames than ever" on engine technology, with further Xbox layoff rounds reportedly set for November and January. Read more →
• Bungie says Destiny 2 will only feel "whole" again around 2028, with the Red War campaign and other vaulted content still in pre-production. Head of product Josh Deane put full production on the porting work at February 2027, around 12 months to finish, and ruled out any Destiny announcement at this year's Game Awards. Read more →
• Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma says console sales are "constrained by supply, with more demand than consoles available" while hardware sales keep falling. Sharma is leaning on an expanded refurbishment program to get used Series X/S units to players before GTA 6 arrives, as the RAM shortage is forecast to worsen into 2027. Read more →
• Auroch Digital has confirmed layoffs at its Bristol studio two weeks after Boltgun 2 launched to a 96 percent positive Steam rating. A since-deleted company post put the cuts at about a quarter of staff, and the studio's reposted statement drops the number; Warhammer Survivors is still due November 10. Read more →
• Celeste and TowerFall are gone from the Xbox store, with creator Maddy Thorson saying the removal backs the BDS, or Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, movement. MaddyMakesGames is the second studio this month to pull out of Xbox after House House kept Big Walk off the platform over Microsoft's technical support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Read more →

Releases and updates

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4's Season 1 arrives November 6 with Backstab, Canyon and a reimagined Shoot House, plus the X01 Black Site in DMZ. Warzone gains two new maps, Hajin and Zodiac, alongside full integration with Modern Warfare 4, and Grind, Drop Zone and a Gauntlet 1v1 mode join at launch. Read more →
• Game Pass adds GRAVHOUNDS on November 2, Pit of Goblin on November 3, VOID/BREAKER on November 4 and Escape Academy 2: Back 2 School on November 5. Zero Parades: Director's Cut also lands November 3, and Football Manager 27 opens in PC early access the same day for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass pre-orders. Read more →
• Final Fantasy XIV's Evercold expansion has slipped about four weeks to February 23, 2027, with pre-orders opening November 4. Pre-ordering any edition brings early access from February 19, and the Japan Fan Fest also showed the Bastion and Zephyr jobs and a Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover set for 2027. Read more →
• FromSoftware has moved The Duskbloods to 2027 for "final adjustments to the game rules and balancing" after its closed network test. The studio named the year and nothing narrower, saying its network test showed interest in the game's combat, strategic depth and player expression. Read more →
• Witchbrook finally has a release date of January 28, 2027, ten years after Chucklefish first showed the magical school life sim. The date came at Nintendo's October Indie World showcase, and the game has players sitting witch exams, running a magical business and befriending their coven mates. Read more →

Esports

• The Worlds 2026 quarterfinals are set, opening with Top Esports against Invictus Gaming on November 3 and closing with T1 against Karmine Corp on November 6. Karmine Corp, LYON and Bilibili Gaming took the last three spots at 3-2 on October 31, so the LCK and LPL send three teams each and Brazil's CBLOL none; Gen.G meet LYON on November 4 and Dplus KIA meet BLG on November 5. Read more →
• FURIA beat Nemiga 3-2 in the PGL Masters Bucharest final for a second CS2 title in a month, with YEKINDAR named MVP at 82-57 across five maps. Nemiga opened with a 13-2 win on Ancient and forced a decider by taking Mirage 13-11, and FURIA then conceded one round on Nuke's second half to close it out. Read more →
• KRÜ Blaze beat Gentle Mates 3-2 in São Paulo to become the first Latin American team to win VALORANT's Game Changers Championship. The Argentine side came through the lower bracket after a 2-0 loss to Shopify Rebellion Gold, took $180,000 of a $500,000 prize pool, and saw tok1o named grand final MVP with 84 kills. Read more →
• 100 Thieves won all five of their series 2-0 at FiRe Last Chance in Buenos Aires, taking Europe's last Singapore Major spot on the final day of the Valve ranking race. A device clutch in double overtime on Cache sealed the 2-0 over Wildcard and lifted the team to 18th in the European standings, sending the organisation to a Counter-Strike Major for the first time. Read more →
• Hanwha Life top laner Zeus has reportedly rejected a contract renewal and will test the League of Legends free agent market instead. The Inven Global report follows HLE's Worlds exit to Bilibili Gaming, and the two-time world champion's team says talks with him are continuing. Read more →