Valve's popular The International tournament for Dota 2 kicked off today in Germany, and company co-founder Gabe Newell addressed the crowd with some opening remarks in which he said he has grown to love the game and still plays it every day despite facing some online harassment.

"Before that first International [in 2011], I really enjoyed the game, but after The International, I loved the game. It's not just the game I love, but the community. Sure, people talk shit at me in chat and about once a week, people say, 'Hey, noob, uninstall the game and [bleeped out],' but that's really about their enthusiasm for the game and the energy that they bring. And that's why after all these years, I still play Dota every day," Newell said.

The first The International took place 14 years ago in Cologne, Germany, the same city where Gamescom is held annually. This year's event is taking place in Hamburg, Germany, and matches are underway now. Teams are competing for a share of millions in prize money.

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After seven years between games, Borderlands 4 is just around the corner. In the run up to the game's release, Gearbox President Randy Pitchford has said some off-the-wall things. But his latest remarks about potentially reselling a Borderlands-inspired Fortnite skin sounds like a surefire way to get banned by Epic Games.

On X, Pitchford recalled that the Psycho Bandit skin became an in-demand item on Fortnite, and suggested that flipping the Mad Moxxi skin on eBay may also prove to be lucrative.

Is it true that the pre-order incentive Psycho Bandit skin in became one of the most valuable skins in Fortnite sometimes fetching over $2k when trading on eBay? What are the odds this bundle becomes worth much more than the price of the game it is promoting? https://t.co/wQnLrXngfr

— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) September 7, 2025

It's true that the Psycho Bandit Fortnite skin was very popular in 2019, in part because it was only briefly available as a promotion for Borderlands 3. After appearing in the Epic Games Store for a limited time, Psycho Bandit wasn't officially available for purchase in Fortnite until it returned in April 2025.

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Crafting more multiplayer features for the Far Cry franchise is reportedly a major push at Ubisoft. While the company hasn't officially announced a follow-up to Far Cry 6, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot recently stated that keeping players engaged in the series with multiplayer is a focus going forward.

Game File (via VGC) reports that Guillemot spoke at Saudi Arabia’s New Global Sport Conference and was asked about the Far Cry series. The Ubisoft executive noted that the objective "on Far Cry [is] really to bring the multiplayer aspects more predominantly pushed, so that it can also be played for a long time by players."

Earlier this year, a Far Cry multiplayer extraction game was reportedly rebooted, as resources were diverted to Far Cry 7. It's believed these are two different projects, with the extraction shooter being a standalone title. The extraction shooter apparently has an Alaskan setting as players attempt to survive the harsh environment, wildlife, soldiers, and other players.

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No matter how much you might want a new Sly Cooper game, it doesn't really sound like anyone at the original studio that made it, Sucker Punch Productions, is all that interested. Currently, the Infamous developer is preparing for the launch of Ghost of Yotei, which is due out at the start of next month on October 2. That game's co-creative director Nate Fox recently made an appearance on Minnmax where he was asked 125 rapid-fire questions. On the topic of Sly Cooper, Fox's response makes it pretty clear that right now, there are very few people at Sucker Punch who would want to make it.

When asked about what percentage of the studio Fox estimated would be excited if he said the next game after Ghost of Yotei would be a new Sly Cooper, he had this to say: "10%." After such a low figure was offered, interviewer Ben Hanson expressed his surprise, to which Fox responded, "It's been a long time, Ben, since Sly Cooper's come out."Back in 2022, a blog post from Sucker Punch even outright said there aren't any Sly Cooper games in the works.

Fox himself served as a designer on the original game--which came out way back in 2002--reprising this role for the following two games as well. But following the third game's release in 2005, there's only been 2013's Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, which was made by Sanzaru Games, not Sucker Punch. So it's been two full decades since Sucker Punch made a Sly Cooper game, having released three full games in the Infamous series, and Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei in the meantime.

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The Epic Games Store continues to give away a free game each week, and this week is another nice find with a price that can't be beaten. Every Thursday at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, Epic offers at least one free PC game (and sometimes even as many as two or three). All you need to do to claim the free games is create a free Epic account and enable two-factor authentication. You have a week to add the freebies to your library before the new one(s) take their place. At this point, Epic has given away hundreds of free games, and there's no sign that the program will stop any time soon. The company has also extended its freebies to Android devices, and you can claim a free game every week here as well. We keep this article up to date weekly to highlight both the current free games and next week's offerings.

If you're looking for more freebies, you can check out our list of the 25 best free PC games to play in 2025, or for more options, the 25 best free games to play in 2025 on multiple platforms.

Current free games at EpicGhostrunner 2

This week, you can get Ghostrunner 2, Monument Valley 2, and The Battle of Polytopia for free. If you never grabbed Ghostrunner 2 when it was given away for free on EGS in December 2024, then you missed out on a slick first-person hack-and-slasher set in a cyberpunk world. Its developer is currently working on a souls-like first-person game called Valor Mortis. The Battle of Polytopia is a turn-based strategy game set in a strange--and very flat--world, and it features both single-player and multiplayer modes.

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A new update for Black Myth: Wukong is out now and it addresses a key complaint about the recently launched Xbox version. The new update that arrived on September 10 improves the graphics on Xbox Series X, after people and graphics experts said the Series X version didn't deliver the best visuals.

This new patch fixes an issue "where graphics appeared blurry on Xbox Series X," developer Game Science said. The studio said global illumination ghosting for the game's Quality and Balance modes was to blame.

A report from Digital Foundry said the Series S version of Black Myth: Wukong had even bigger struggles, but this newest patch for the game does not mention the Series S. It was previously rumored that technical issues with the Xbox Series S were behind the delay of the game's port, which publisher Game Science denied. The Game Science team has acknowledged that bringing the game to the Xbox consoles was unexpectedly difficult.

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Battlefield Studios has shared lots more official information about Battlefield 6's battle royale mode, including match sizes, gameplay systems, and how the game has the "deadliest ring" in the genre. Battlefield Studios will allow people to try the battle royale mode before it is released through the Battlefield Labs testing program, so be sure to sign up for a chance to play early.

"We see a great opportunity to infuse the core Battlefield pillars of class-based squadplay, tactical destruction, and vehicle combat into the battle royale genre to create a high-stakes and adrenaline pumping gameplay experience," the developer said. "This is Battlefield's twist on the classic formula, so you can expect to find all of the core principles of Battlefield taking place within this mode; gadgets, explosives, destructible environments, and vehicles can all be used to secure the win."

A sneak peek at the Battlefield 6 battle royale map.

Battlefield 6's battle royale map, which doesn't have an official name yet, was built specifically for battle royale, the developer said, and it will feature a "diverse array" of points of interest that provide "unique gameplay opportunities."

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Following the announcement of Borderlands 4 beer from Voodoo Ranger comes another beer-related gaming announcement: Sapporo has created special Ghost of Yotei beer packaging to celebrate the game's upcoming launch.

Available in stores across the US now are new packaging materials for popular Sapporo varieties of cans and bottles. It's the same Sapporo beer, but in specially designed packaging to promote the game. And to that end, the packages come with a QR code that players can activate to unlock an in-game reward when Ghost of Yotei launches on October 2 for PS5.

The in-game reward is "The Charm of Hokkyokusei," which features Sapporo's famous star logo. Hokkyokusei is the Japanese term for the North Star, and this connects back to Sapporo lore, as the company's original brewmaster was said to have followed the North Star to Germany where he learned how to make beer. In the game, using the charm gives players a "minor chance" to "not consume ranged weapon ammo when equipped," according to the announcement.

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Canadian musician bbno$ is everywhere right now. Pronounced 'baby no money,' and definitely not 'bibinos,' he's collaborated with everyone from the VTuber Ironmouse through to producer Y2K. Several of his tracks have gone viral on social media platforms such as TikTok, including the likes of "Edamame" which was used in the trailer for The Garfield Movie, and "U Mad?" which appeared in CS:GO promotional materials. Now, we've spotted a possible reference to the singer-songwriter in none other than Borderlands 4.

Baby No Money? Baby Yes Money!

As part of the game's achievements and challenges, we spotted "Baby Yes Money," which rewards you for collecting increasing amounts of cash during your travels through Kairos. It's either a reference to bbno$ or an incredible coincidence, but with the musician's career going from strength to strength and his new album on the horizon, we prefer to believe it's the former.

Borderlands 4 will be released tomorrow, September 12. In our Borderlands 4 review, Jordan Ramée says the starting lineup of Vault Hunters is the best yet, but the "repetitive" enemy designs and "dull" side quests let the game down slightly.

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Earlier this year, the UK's Online Safety Act forced digital game storefronts like Steam and Itch.io to ban or hide certain forms of adult content, with Steam even adding on an age-verification requirement when viewing said content. This same bill has also led Xbox to enforce age verification starting from next year in order to use certain social features. Now, it sounds like game developers are rethinking how they incorporate online features in their games, with some studios apparently considering doing away with certain "user-to-user" modes.

The Game Business recently spoke with Isabel Davies, a lawyer at media, technology and IP law firm Wiggin, about how this growing trend of online safety laws are affecting the way games are made. She spoke of the importance of risk assessments when it comes to things like children being exposed to potentially harmful content, and how there are simple options like not suggesting users add random strangers to their friends lists, or to not allow messages from strangers either.

But Davies also shared that some studios the law firm has spoken with are considering if user-to-user modes are worth the investment. "I've spoken to some already [that are doing that]," Davies said. "Or, they've gone 'We will do it, but maybe not at launch.' A good example will be … let's get the core game monetization loop working, let's make sure the gameplay is good. And only then invest in clan functionality or chat functionality etcetera.

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Patch 2.31 for Cyberpunk 2077 is now live, bringing numerous improvements and updates to the game. One of the biggest areas being tweaked here is in the vehicle department, as an AutoDrive upgrade should make your vehicle behave more smoothly on the road. CD Projekt Red says you can expect cars and bikes to overtake blocking vehicles and ignore traffic lights--when driving to a destination--while Free Roam mode will obey the rules of the road instead.

Fans of Cyberpunk 2077's photo mode can also expect some welcome changes, as "most" of the new poses introduced in the last major update now work with any gender, and NPC collision has been disabled to make it easier to pose extras characters in your images. Several other issues have been addressed, and on PC, CDPR has fixed a strange problem related to Nvidia Reflex and DLSS that caused the screen to turn pink.

This new patch comes not too long after the release of Update 2.3, which added new vehicles to collect, the first incarnation of the AutoDrive feature, and even more tools for the game's photo mode. The game will be five years old in December, and work is currently progressing on its sequel, Cyberpunk 2.

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Borderlands games are all about chasing down rate loot, and for Borderlands 4, players can once again expect to plug in some Shift codes to grab an instant high-caliber upgrade. We already know that Borderlands 4 will support Shift codes, although we're still waiting for confirmation on what they unlock in the game exactly.

We're still betting that each code you redeem will still give you Golden Keys that can be used to unlock a treasure chest of rare goodies in the game or new cosmetics that you can apply to your Vault Hunter. We'll be keeping track of Shift codes and the games you can redeem them in, so you can check back often for updates.

Borderlands 4 Shift Codes

No Borderlands 4 Shift codes have been posted online yet, but we'll be keeping this section updated as soon as they're available.

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With a career record of 113 losses and no wins, racehorse Haru Urara became an unintentional pop culture icon in Japan and beyond. The beloved race-losing horse inspired one of Umamusume: Pretty Derby's horse-girl characters, and her death this week has been marked by many well beyond the racing sphere.

After making her debut in 1998, racehorse Haru Urara became famous for her reliable losing streak, becoming a household name across Japan and for some a kind of patron deity for losers who nevertheless refuse to give up.

Former racehorse Haru Urara, known for an impeccable 113 race loss record, and as the inspiration for the Umamusume: Pretty Derby character of the same name, has died aged 29. pic.twitter.com/HXvdijrj1G

— Eurogamer (@eurogamer) September 9, 2025

Haru Urara lends her name and trademark losing streak to one of the characters in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a game and anime franchise centered around anthropomorphised horse-girls who double as racers and idols. Though the racehorse Haru Urara retired in 2006, the Umamusume character made more people aware of her quirky background, with the anime and game seeing a trend of fans coming to visit the horse where she was spending her retirement at Matha Farm.

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The latest big EA Sports College Football 26 title update is here, bringing gameplay tuning, bug fixes, uniform updates, new marching band pop covers, and new content bringing the game further in line with the real-life college football season. Here's everything that's new.

The update brings some improvements to gameplay logic across the board, including both bug fixes and tuning of existing mechanics. One major addition in gameplay is the option to turn on Base Protection as the default, for players who prefer the more predictable protection style as featured in previous College Football games.

EA has also made some changes to the game's ranked competitive Road to the College Football Playoffs mode, to make the experience feel more competitive and reward skilled play. All players will now earn more Rank Points overall, especially in lower divisions, which will be balanced by a lower starting rank. Some players may find their ranks moved down as a result of the update. EA is also making improvements to playoff qualifications to reward strong performance, as well as making win modifiers like Away wins or lower-tier victories more significant.

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One of the hardest fights in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has been between the developer and the cheaters. Activision has warned cheaters in the recent past, and ramped up its response to the issue as well. Now, the publisher is taking a bow by demonstrating how some of the latest anti-cheat measures have been implemented in the game.

On Call of the Duty's official site, Activision cited its in-game mitigations that disrupt cheaters in matches by making their weapons disappear or blowing up their cars. "They then promptly tell on themselves across social media, asking 'Why did this happen?'"

"These are our mitigations at work, ramped up and powered by new detection systems that have been extremely effective at disrupting bad actors in real-time," continued the developer. "We don't hit every cheater with these mitigations; most are banned upon detection. But in August alone, over 55,000 cheaters were disrupted by Call of Duty's mitigations."

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In 1995, Full Tilt! Pinball gave users the chance to play on three different pre-rendered 3D pinball tables, including Space Cadet 3D, Skulduggery, and Dragon's Keep. While that game may have faded into memory, former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer recently disclosed that Space Cadet 3D Pinball had the most embarrassing bug that he ever let get by him.

Plummer shared the story on his YouTube channel (via PC Gamer), and recalled that he ported the game from Windows 95 to Windows NT. To do so, he had to write a band-new game engine around the original program that could handle the video and sound. However, the game engine he wrote had a bug that "drew frames as fast as it could." Space Cadet 3D Pinball ran at 60-90 fps when Plummer coded it on a MIPS R4000 processor running at 200 MHz. But when Space Cadet was played on a more powerful machine, it ramped up the speed to 5,000 fps.

"Fast forward a couple of years later, somebody notices that on multi-core machines, it's using an entire core to play Pinball at all times," said Plummer. "It was still drawing as fast as it could, but it was now drawing at like, 5,000 frames per second, because machines were much much faster than they used to be."

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College football players who lent their names and likenesses to both EA Sports College Football 25 and EA Sports College Football 26 reportedly received a pay bump from $600 to $1,500 per player. However, that may not be enough for players when EA begins putting together the deals for College Football 27.

According to Front Office Sports, the issue at hand is revenue sharing. EA's Madden NFL and other pro sports games include players when dividing the revenue. However, EA's deal for the College Football games only included extra payments if the athletes appeared on the cover or if they were involved with the marketing of the game.

FOS notes that EA also left out the language in the contract that allowed college players to opt out of the deal, but the company told Front Office Sports that players can still do so if they contact EA directly. OneTeam Partners--the organization that worked with EA to line up the college players--has shared a statement calling for revenue sharing in the next installment of the series.

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The sixth novel in the best-selling Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown has arrived. The Secret of Secrets was published by Penguin Random House imprint Doubleday on September 9. Fans of the thriller series can grab the hardcover edition of The Secret of Secrets for only $22.80, which is a 40% discount from the novel's $38 MSRP. Netflix is already working on a TV series based on The Secret of Secrets.

Dan Brown - The Secret of Secrets (Hardcover)

$22.80 (was $38)

See at Amazon

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Next week, Assassin's Creed Shadows is getting its first DLC expansion, Claws of Awaji. But before Naoe and Yasuke take on the Sanzoku Ippa in a new island region on September 16, Ubisoft is releasing the 1.1.1 update for Assassin's Creed Shadows on September 11.

As part of the Claws of Awaji storyline, Naoe and Yasuke's ally, Junjiro, goes on a quest to meet a legendary bo master, which will unlock a bo staff for Naoe. However, Ubisoft's new update will give the bo staff to every player in the game for free--even if they don't have the DLC--starting on September 16.

The previous update raised the level cap to 80, but update 1.1.1 will push the cap to level 100. Players will receive two additional upgrade levels for unique buildings and three new hideout levels. For anyone who favors running stealth missions at night, upgrading to Nando level 2 will allow players to meditate and advance time to either 6 AM or 6 PM.

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Disney Villainous: Unstoppable

$20 (was $25) | Releases October 15

Preorder at Amazon

Ravensburger's Villainous board game has seen tremendous growth since it first hit shelves in 2018 and now features various versions and expansions themed after Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel. However, the company is looking to make the game even easier to get into with the new Villainous: Unstoppable, a streamlined version of the main Disney version of the game that will be easier to set up and play. The game launches on October 15, and if you preorder now at Amazon, you can secure your copy at a slight discount for just $20 (was $25).

Disney Villainous: Unstoppable $20 (was $25) | Releases October 15

Disney Villainous: Unstoppable is a standalone game that can be played by itself without needing to purchase any other expansions or core sets--though it's also compatible with other Villainous releases if you want to expand the game.

Unstoppable is designed to introduce players to the Villainous universe, with simple rules, quick matches, and four playable villains (Maleficent, Ursula, Hades, and Scar). Matches take up to 30 minutes, with between two and four players using their villain's unique special abilities to thwart the other players as they attempt to reach their own goals.

Preorder at Amazon Villainous: Unstoppable

Need something to keep you busy until Villainous: Unstoppable arrives next month? There are plenty of excellent existing board games to choose from. For one, you can pick up the original Disney: Villainous, which is on sale for $30 (was $40). This version is a bit more in-depth than the new Villainous: Unstoppable, but the upshot is you can play as an expanded roster of Disney antagonists like Captain Hook, Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, Queen of Hearts, and Prince John. You can also combine it with the many standalone expansions that add even more characters, including the Perfectly Wretched expansion that features Pete, Cruella De Vil, and Mother Gothel, or the Evil Comes Prepared expansion with Scar, Ratigan, and Yzma. Each of these releases is playable on its own or in combination with other sets.

In addition to all these Disney: Villainous releases, there's also the aforementioned Star Wars and Marvel versions of the game--both of which also have their own standalone expansions. Check the list below for a round-up of more Villainous board game releases available at Amazon.

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