Wardogs Breaks Out, Marathon Overhauled, 007 Delayed
Bulkhead’s early-access shooter Wardogs is the day’s standout commercial story, selling 2 million copies in five days and exceeding 400,000 concurrent Steam players. Elsewhere, Bungie is reshaping Marathon around player feedback, while IO Interactive pushes 007 First Light’s Nintendo Switch 2 version into 2027.
Wardogs Sells 2 Million Copies as Bulkhead Shooter Surges on Steam
Bulkhead’s Wardogs sells more than 2 million copies in five days and reaches over 400,000 concurrent players on Steam. Everplay, the owner of Team17, increases its shareholding in Bulkhead while reporting that Wardogs and Hell Let Loose: Vietnam are outperforming expectations.
The breakout arrives alongside unusually blunt comments about the studio’s working culture. Wardogs’ lead says the studio will not hire people who publicly criticize crunch, while Bulkhead’s CEO says the company is “not transparent and not honest” and tells Call of Duty fans not to buy the game.
Bungie Overhauls Marathon With Permanent PvE and Delayed Symbiosis Update
Bungie is overhauling Marathon beyond its original extraction-shooter vision, saying player feedback requires changes to both what it is building and how it delivers the game. The major update scheduled for September 22 moves to December under the name Symbiosis.
Symbiosis adds a permanent PvE mode, while Bungie abandons Marathon’s strict seasonal schedule in favor of a different content cadence. The studio describes the update as the first major step in Marathon’s next chapter and says it is evolving the game toward a more dynamic survival experience.
007 First Light and Aliens Fireteam Elite 2 Switch 2 Versions Slip
IO Interactive delays the Nintendo Switch 2 version of 007 First Light to March 2027, moving the port from its planned summer 2026 release so the team can polish performance. Cold Iron Studios also pushes the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 from September to early 2027.
The two delays affect Nintendo Switch 2 versions rather than the broader releases described in the reports. IO Interactive says the extra development time is intended to tighten the game’s performance, while Cold Iron does not provide a more specific date for its co-op shooter.
Moss Developer Polyarc Games Shuts Down After 12 Years
Polyarc Games, the Seattle-based developer behind Moss, is shutting its doors after 12 years and winding down active development. The studio announces the closure through LinkedIn, describing the decision as the end of an era.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic could be Polyarc’s final project.
Xbox Game Pass Adds Gears of War E-Day, Dune Awakening, and More
Microsoft’s latest Xbox Game Pass wave adds 15 games between September 15 and October 6 across its different subscription tiers. The lineup includes Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft Dungeons II, Dune: Awakening, and RuneScape: Dragonwilds.
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is available today through Game Pass on cloud, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Microsoft also confirms that eight games leave Xbox Game Pass in late September, giving subscribers a short window to finish them before removal.