Gaming Weekly Roundup: The Biggest Stories Shaking the Industry This September
September 21, 2026 — By Vito Ruocco
If you blinked this week, you might have missed one of the most explosive periods in modern gaming history. From a jaw-dropping 200GB Grand Theft Auto V leak that unearthed scrapped Liberty City DLC and early GTA 6 work, to Nintendo’s unstoppable momentum on the Switch 2, and Blizzard’s revelation that WoW: Forever’s beta numbers are the “craziest” in nearly two decades — the industry is absolutely buzzing. Let’s dive into the stories that defined this week.
The GTA 5 Mega-Leak: 200GB of Secrets, Liberty City DLC, and Early GTA 6 Footage
Rockstar Games has been no stranger to leaks over the past few years, but this week’s breach may be the most significant yet. A massive 192GB cache of Grand Theft Auto V source code has surfaced online, revealing a wealth of cut content that fans have been combing through with surgical precision.
Among the most exciting discoveries: evidence that Rockstar had begun development on a full-fledged Liberty City DLC for GTA 5 — then scrapped it entirely. Data miners have reconstructed the DLC’s shoreline map, showing a playable area far larger than GTA 4’s rendition of the iconic New York-inspired city. YouTuber TJGM even posted a visual outline of the supposed Liberty City map, stating: “This is data viewed in CodeWalker and then screenshotted. It also includes many other Rockstar tools, source code and other things that are legit and easily verifiable.”
But that’s not all. The leak also contains what appears to be very early work related to Grand Theft Auto VI, offering a rare glimpse into the foundational stages of what is arguably the most anticipated video game of all time. Fans have also uncovered cut dialogue, unused assets, and scrapped missions — including remnants of the long-rumored “Agent Trevor” DLC, which would have seen Trevor Philips working undercover for the government.
Former Rockstar senior camera artist Joseph Rubino previously spoke about the canceled DLC, noting: “When GTA Online came out, it was so much of a cash cow and people were loving it so much that it was hard to make an argument that a standalone DLC would out-compete that. Looking back now, I would say that you could probably do both, but that was a business decision that they made.”
The leak has reignited conversations about Rockstar’s DLC strategy and whether the industry’s reliance on live-service models has come at the cost of single-player expansions. For GTA fans, this leak is both a treasure trove of “what could have been” and a tantalizing preview of what Rockstar has cooking next.
GTA 6 Gets a 34-Song Original Soundtrack — and Six Tracks Are Available Now
In less leaky but equally exciting GTA news, Rockstar has officially unveiled the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto VI. Titled Grand Theft Auto 6: The Album, the release features 34 original tracks created specifically for the game, with contributions from some of the biggest names in music.
Six tracks are already available for streaming, including:
- Yung Lean — That’s It (feat. Future & Metro Boomin)
- Travis Scott — RHYNO (produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo)
- CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, PinkPantheress, Fred again.. & Etienne de Crécy — Sexy Magic
- Morgan Wallen — Last Thing You Need
- Rauw Alejandro — Macacoa 2000
- Keith Richards — Bright Lights, Big City
The album launches alongside GTA 6 on November 19th and will be available on vinyl, CD, and all major streaming platforms. Pre-orders are already live, with a limited-edition vinyl variant featuring custom artwork selling out almost immediately on the UK site. This marks a significant departure from previous GTA games, which relied primarily on licensed radio tracks rather than original compositions produced for the game itself.
Nintendo Switch 2: “This Is Just the Beginning,” Says COO
Nintendo is riding an extraordinary wave. The Switch 2 became the fastest-selling video game hardware device in US history last year, eclipsing the PS4’s long-standing record. Now approaching nearly 20 million units sold within its first year, the console shows no signs of slowing down — despite a recent hardware price increase.
In an interview with Variety, Nintendo of America COO Devon Pritchard offered a confident outlook: “We’re at the beginning of Nintendo Switch 2. This is just beginning, and we’ve already had some really wonderful experiences, both ours and third-party, come to the table. I can’t wait to see what the system is going to do and what our talented developers will bring to the table.”
Pritchard specifically name-checked The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, whose remake was recently revealed and has sent longtime fans into a frenzy. She also highlighted Nintendo’s expanding cinematic universe, pointing to the upcoming Legend of Zelda film — produced in partnership with Sony Pictures — which wrapped its initial shoot in New Zealand. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie recently crossed $1 billion at the box office, further cementing Nintendo’s multimedia ambitions.
“We are focused instead on building experiences that create relationships that last generations,” Pritchard said. “How do we create those fun experiences? That becomes the test: is something fun? It sounds simple, of course it’s not.”
World of Warcraft: Forever — Beta Numbers Are the “Craziest” in 17 Years
Blizzard’s bold bet on nostalgia is paying off in a big way. World of Warcraft: Forever, the vanilla-flavored spin-off built by the WoW Classic team, launched its beta this week — and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming.
WoW Classic developer Josh Greenfield shared his astonishment on social media: “Man, it was hard to sleep last night, I was so excited. Beta has been… crazy. The craziest numbers I’ve seen in 17 years working at Blizzard and almost eight years on classic. We’ve got something really special here.”
The beta demand was so intense that Blizzard’s infrastructure buckled under the weight. Senior game producer Tom Ellis explained the technical challenges transparently: “This is our BETA PTR environment stack — it’s not a production stack by a long, long shot. Betas for WoW aren’t usually huge meter movers, so this environment just isn’t that powerful.”
Blizzard quickly resolved the connectivity issues, and by the end of the day, Ellis reported things were running smoothly. WoW: Forever officially launches globally on November 4th, following its announcement at BlizzCon 2026. The game represents Blizzard’s vision of “Classic Plus” — expanding on the original World of Warcraft experience with new content while preserving the spirit that made it legendary. If beta numbers are any indication, Blizzard has a massive hit on its hands.
The $8.5 Billion Cheating Industry: Activision’s War on Cheaters
Activision published a sobering breakdown of the economics behind video game cheating, revealing that cheat-related services now generate an estimated $8.5 billion annually. That’s right — cheating in video games has become an industry larger than many AAA game publishers themselves.
According to Activision’s anti-cheat team, Team Ricochet, cheat subscriptions across just 15 games generate approximately $3.5 billion per year. The full ecosystem — including account sales, boosting services, and hardware spoofing — balloons to $8.5 billion.
In a detailed blog post, Activision outlined its aggressive countermeasures: disrupting over 375 reseller operations, issuing more than 80 cease-and-desist demands, and shutting down 31 primary cheat vendors. The company also revealed that cheat sellers often lie to their customers when detected, blaming outages on fake excuses like illness or car accidents to maintain subscription revenue before admitting the cheats no longer work.
The economic pressure is mounting for cheaters themselves. Subscriptions now cost upwards of $100, with some players spending more than $1,000 per year on various cheating services. Activision’s conclusion is blunt: “Ultimately, cheating is a losing investment. Every time we identify and remove a bad actor, the money they spent cheating goes with them — all for a temporary ego boost.”
Perhaps the most dramatic moment came when Activision posted footage of a legal representative personally delivering a cease-and-desist order to a notorious Call of Duty cheat seller at their Ohio home. The message is clear: the industry is no longer treating cheating as a minor nuisance — it’s an existential threat.
Marvel’s Wolverine: 1.9 Million Sold Despite Controversy
Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Wolverine has been a lightning rod for discussion since its launch. Despite mixed reviews, widespread online mockery, and memes about the infamous “fart scent” trail, the game has quietly become one of the biggest commercial successes of the year.
According to Alinea Analytics, Marvel’s Wolverine sold approximately 1.9 million copies in its first three days, generating upwards of $130 million in revenue. Notably, over one in five sales (22.9%) were physical copies — a significant figure given Sony’s plan to end disc production for new PlayStation games by 2028.
The data reveals interesting player behavior patterns: 82% of Wolverine buyers had previously played Marvel’s Spider-Man, 70% had played Spider-Man 2, and a striking 43% had also played Marvel Rivals. This suggests Insomniac’s interconnected Marvel gaming universe is paying dividends in cross-title engagement.
Eurogamer’s review described the game as “just fine,” and forums have been buzzing with criticism about its hand-holdy design and unconventional gameplay choices. Yet the sales figures speak for themselves — proving that controversy doesn’t always translate to commercial failure, and that the Marvel brand (especially when paired with a beloved character like Wolverine) carries immense weight in the marketplace.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: A 200GB Behemoth with DLC Plans
Scheduled for April 8, 2027, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation — the final chapter of the FF7 Remake trilogy — is shaping up to be an absolute monster. Director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed to VGC that the game’s file size will be “around 200GB,” making it nearly double the size of Rebirth on certain platforms.
For context, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth weighs in at 91GB on Switch 2, 145GB on PS5, 169GB on Xbox Series, and 155GB on PC. Revelation’s colossal file size explains why the game cannot ship entirely on physical discs at launch, a decision that has sparked debate within the community about digital distribution and game preservation.
Hamaguchi addressed the criticism directly: “Things are still getting worked out, but it’s probably going to be around 200GB of game. I understand there are a lot of opinions about this topic, but at the end of the day, the fact is we need to overcome the hardware to a certain extent.”
The director also confirmed post-launch DLC plans, including two bonus packages similar in scope to Remake’s Intermission expansion. “It’s best to imagine the DLC like what we did with Intermission: digging deeper into the characters of Vincent and Sephiroth,” Hamaguchi revealed. Whether those stories take place in the past or the present remains a mystery, but the promise of more Vincent Valentine content alone is enough to excite longtime fans.
FF7 Revelation launches on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. The question on everyone’s mind: will the trilogy stick the landing, or will it crumble under the weight of its own ambition?
Bonus Stories You Should Know
Hideo Kojima & Physint: Kojima responded to rumors that Physint is over budget and behind schedule, stating he still “loves Sony” despite the collapse of a publishing deal for the project. Bill Skarsgård has been confirmed as the lead actor.
Insomniac Denies Generative AI Use: Following fan scrutiny of a strange restroom sign in Marvel’s Wolverine, Insomniac has firmly denied using generative AI in the development process.
Helldivers 2 & Horizon Forbidden West Delisted in the UK: Both Sony titles mysteriously disappeared from Steam in the UK. Sony has promised to “address the issue” with Valve.
Wardogs Outperforms Marathon: The tactical shooter Wardogs has already generated more revenue than Bungie’s Marathon, with Steam launch momentum outpacing both Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2.
Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival: A playable demo and new trailer have dropped ahead of the game’s October launch, bringing the iconic horror license back to gaming.
Looking Ahead
The gaming industry is entering a fascinating period of contradictions. On one hand, we’re seeing record-breaking sales, massive player engagement, and an unprecedented richness of content across platforms. On the other, the industry faces existential challenges: a rampant $8.5 billion cheating economy, the tension between physical and digital distribution, rising hardware costs, and an increasingly crowded release calendar that forces developers to make tough pricing decisions.
What’s clear is that 2026 will be remembered as a year of extremes. From Nintendo’s generational dominance to Rockstar’s double life as both the most secretive and most leaked studio in gaming, the stories above paint a picture of an industry that is simultaneously thriving and grappling with its own growing pains.
Stay tuned to ruocco.it for daily coverage of the stories that matter. We’ll be tracking GTA 6’s runway to November, WoW: Forever’s beta-to-launch journey, and every twist and turn of this endlessly fascinating industry.
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