Video game news digest: Sunday, October 18, 2026

A US congressman wants players to truly own their digital games, Ghostwire: Tokyo joins GOG's preservation program and Star Wars Zero Company can now be as unforgiving as you like. Also from yesterday: Wardogs Season 2 and a demo pulled over fears of AI copycats.

A US bill aims to let players own their digital games

Ritchie Torres, a Democratic congressman from New York, announced the Power To The Players Act on Thursday, October 15, a bill he has yet to introduce in Congress. It would have the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) set rules protecting people's ability to own and play the games they buy. It would also require an offline mode before an online game's servers are shut down, PC Gamer reports. "A game that can be taken away the moment a company pulls the plug is not a purchase. It is a rental disguised as a sale," Torres said.

Ghostwire: Tokyo joins GOG's preservation program

Tango Gameworks' 2022 action game is now part of GOG's preservation program, under which the store commits to keeping it running on current and future PCs. This version drops Bethesda.NET, so there's no more Bethesda account login window in the main menu. The bonus tied to that login unlocks automatically the first time you launch the game. GOG says it has validated the game's stability and its compatibility with Windows 10 and 11.

Star Wars Zero Company gets tougher if you want it to

Bit Reactor's tactics game received update 1.2 this week, adding modifiers you can switch on when starting a new campaign, on any difficulty. With Instant Death, an Operator defeated in a tactical mission dies for good, even without prior injuries. Another option gives every defeat a 20% risk of death, rising to 40% and then 80% for Operators who have already survived a defeat. Other settings cover Advantage generation, Assist Shots and progression rates (update 1.2 patch notes). The studio recommends learning the game on Normal with the default rules before changing them.

Wardogs kicks off Season 2

Bulkhead launched Season 2 of Wardogs, its early access shooter for up to 100 players, on October 15, with four new weapons and four new vehicles, including the T-72B3 tank and the Flakpanzer Gepard anti-aircraft vehicle (season content). Rain now rolls in, affecting how far away you can spot enemies, while thunder heard by the whole server at the same moment can mask your footsteps. The new Molotov sets the area it hits on fire, though its flames die down in the rain. Released in early September, the game has passed three million sales, according to the studio.

Drunken Goddess Reflux scraps its public demo over copycat fears

Alliance Arts has cancelled the public demo of its game, planned for Monday, October 19, in favour of closed sessions for players picked by lottery. The studio fears that imitations of its presentation and gameplay could quickly be made from the demo, using AI or other tools, and released before the game itself. It also says it is not in a position to enforce the planned restrictions on gameplay videos and streams. In the game, you face a demon in a drinking game of Russian roulette; sign-ups for the sessions go through the official Discord (Alliance Arts' announcement).