Grasshopper Goes Indie, Crimson Desert DLC Delayed, Deadlock Soars
Grasshopper Manufacture is independent again after separating from NetEase Games, while Pearl Abyss delays Crimson Desert’s first expansion and Valve’s Deadlock reaches a new player peak in closed beta .
Grasshopper Manufacture Separates From NetEase Games
Grasshopper Manufacture, the Japanese studio behind No More Heroes and Killer7, is once again operating as an independent developer after splitting from NetEase Games . NetEase acquired the studio in 2021, but its broader pullback from game investments has included studio closures and the withdrawal of funding from major projects
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Founder Goichi “Suda51” Suda says the separation follows thorough discussions with NetEase, and that Grasshopper wants to create a wider variety of games for players . The studio’s latest release is Romeo Is a Dead Man, which launched earlier this year before the team reclaimed its independence
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Crimson Desert’s Charting the Unknown Expansion Moves to October 29
Pearl Abyss delays Crimson Desert’s first post-launch expansion, Charting the Unknown, from October 15 to October 29 to deliver a more polished and stable gameplay experience . The expansion was only announced at September’s State of Play with the original October release target, making the two-week delay a relatively short wait
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Charting the Unknown is designed as a substantial addition to Crimson Desert, with Pearl Abyss seeking extra time to fine-tune the large number of activities packed into its open world .
Valve’s Deadlock Update Sets a New Steam Player Record
Valve’s Deadlock remains in invite-only closed beta, but its City Never Sleeps update pushes the MOBA hero shooter to a new concurrent-player record and near the top of Steam’s most-played games chart . The surge is notable because the game is not fully released and is still inaccessible to large portions of the public
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The Witcher 3 Remastered Breaks Its Steam Record Amid Technical Complaints
The free The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered update drives CD Projekt Red’s RPG to its highest-ever concurrent player count on Steam since launch . The response is not uniformly positive, with players criticizing the remaster’s brighter, more washed-out lighting and other changes
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Some PS5 Pro players also report major performance differences, while other players encounter no serious problems beyond an existing hitch during autosaves . On Nintendo Switch 2, players can unlock the remastered version for free by using a physical Nintendo Switch copy of The Witcher 3, including a borrowed cartridge
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PlayStation Plus October 2026 Games Include F1 25
Sony’s October 2026 PlayStation Plus Essential lineup includes F1 25, Hunt: Showdown 1896, and Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 . The three games become available to PlayStation Plus members on October 6 and remain claimable until November 2
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