Two platform updates are out for Linux gaming: Bazzite 45 and a new SteamOS beta for Steam Frame.

Bazzite 45

Bazzite now uses Fedora 45, with GNOME 51.1 or KDE 6.8.2 and Mesa 26.2.6. The release updates InputPlumber and adds optional networking tuning through bpftune and bpfrag.

Handheld changes include initial Acer Predator Atlas 8 support and stable support for the Ally X20. Additional Logitech TrueForce wheels work out of the box. The release also updates the library used for Steam Input under Wayland to support the 64-bit Steam Client beta.

Steam Frame: SteamOS 0.5.7 beta

Valve's headset update adds WebXR support in Chromium 157 and newer, updates SteamVR to 2.19.1 and improves vibration filtering used in pose prediction. Foveated sharpening can now operate independently of eye tracking.

Audio fixes address USB or Bluetooth speakers stopping when an application accesses the microphone. New controls allow echo cancellation and noise suppression to be disabled separately, with the current Steam Client beta required for those controls.

Steam Frame users can opt into the beta through the system update-channel settings.

Sources: Bazzite release | Valve release notes | Steam Frame details | Bazzite

Microsoft has previewed new DirectX Raytracing features designed to reduce the cost of updating detailed scenes. The announcement covers clustered geometry, partitioned top-level acceleration structures and GPU-driven builds.

Clustered geometry divides objects into small, reusable groups of triangles, reducing how much must be rebuilt when geometry changes. Partitioned scene structures concentrate work on regions that changed while retaining data elsewhere.

In one demanding RX 9070 test, acceleration-structure memory fell from 7,519 MiB to 774 MiB, an 89.7% reduction. The sample also ran much faster, but Microsoft explicitly warns that the test is not representative of the gains games should expect. Temporary build-memory requirements increased too.

These remain developer-preview features requiring the appropriate SDK, runtime and supporting drivers. They do not inherently demand new ray-tracing hardware, though support depends on each GPU vendor's implementation and validation. This is promising engine work rather than an immediate performance upgrade for existing games.

Sources: Microsoft DirectX preview | Microsoft

The UK government plans to extend its online-safety approach to communication with strangers in games, Online Safety Minister Ian Murray told Parliament on 2 November.

During the debate on the proposed under-16s social-media ban, Murray said further regulations would address features and functions such as stranger communication. He described an approach that would retain matchmaking with unfamiliar players while restricting the ability to talk to them in a gaming context.

Murray said the social-media ban was intended to pass before the new year and take effect in spring 2027, with the additional features-and-functions regulations to follow. The statement sets out the government's intended direction; it does not supply the final gaming rules, their exceptions or implementation requirements.

The parliamentary transcript is linked below, along with GamingOnLinux's discussion of the implications for multiplayer games and age checks.

Sources: Hansard | GamingOnLinux | GamingOnLinux

Nexus Mods is tightening its rules around AI-generated and AI-assisted mods. From its 3 November announcement, new uploads must declare whether AI was used, and AI-assisted mods need a public explanation of how it was involved.

The site is keeping AI-made mods available under rules covering permissions, transparency and presentation. It plans clearer tags and better browsing controls so users can choose how much of that material they see. Some of the wider permissions and discovery changes will follow later.

Misleading promotional images remain against the rules, including generated images presented as screenshots of features a mod does not provide. Nexus also says it will neither train AI on uploaded mods nor sell or license them for that purpose.

Donation Points rules are unchanged for now. Nexus says AI-tagged mods received 2.13% of points awarded so far this year and that it will keep monitoring the figure.

Sources: Nexus Mods | GamingOnLinux | Nexus Mods

VOID/BREAKER left Early Access on 4 November. The fast-paced roguelite FPS from Stubby Games is now available on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Developed by Daniel Stubbington, the game puts weapon combinations and destructible environments at the centre of its runs. Players modify their guns, combine effects and fight through an AI-controlled system while trying to escape it.

The full release has a launch trailer on Playstack's announcement page. There is also a Steam demo, with progress transferable to the full game, for anyone who wants to try the movement and gunplay first.

Sources: Playstack | Steam and demo | VOID/BREAKER

cpmpickup.net cuPP will take place on Saturday, 21 November, starting at 19:00 UTC. The CPMA duel tournament has a EUR 225 prize pool, with EUR 100 for first place, EUR 75 for second and EUR 50 for third.

The five-map pool is acid3dm10, acid3dm12, cpm22, cpm24a and sodab10. Registration and the tournament page are on Challonge, with snapcase and user829385 listed as the streams.

The previous cpmpickup cup, held on 24 October, was won by kane without losing a series. He beat memphis 2-0 in the final; rokky finished third and Leshaka fourth in the nine-player field.

For anyone after more CPM duel, there are still a couple of weeks to prepare.

Sources: Tournament and registration | Announcement | snapcase | user829385 | CPMA

The IEM Beijing playoff bracket is set, with six teams remaining after the group stage. The MongolZ and MOUZ won their groups and go directly to the semifinals; FURIA, PARIVISION, NAVI and BetBoom start in the quarterfinals.

The MongolZ beat FURIA 2-1 in the Group A final. MOUZ won the Group B final 2-0 against PARIVISION. NAVI secured the final Group A playoff spot with a 2-1 win over Falcons, while BetBoom beat Liquid 2-1 for the last place from Group B.

Playoff schedule - all times UTC

• Friday, 6 November, 06:30: PARIVISION vs NAVI
• Friday, 6 November, 09:45: FURIA vs BetBoom
• Saturday, 7 November, 06:30: The MongolZ vs winner of PARIVISION/NAVI
• Saturday, 7 November, 09:45: MOUZ vs winner of FURIA/BetBoom
• Sunday, 8 November, 04:00: third-place match
• Sunday, 8 November, 07:30: grand final

The quarterfinals, semifinals and third-place match are best-of-three. The grand final is best-of-five. Match times are scheduled starts and may move as earlier series finish.

Sources: Group results | Playoff bracket | ESL schedule

Linux accounted for 3.95% of participants in Valve's October 2026 Steam Hardware and Software Survey, up 0.90 percentage points from September.

Windows stood at 93.70%, down 1.33 percentage points, while macOS rose 0.43 percentage points to 2.35%.

Within the Linux sample, CachyOS was the largest individual entry at 16.39%, followed by SteamOS Holo at 13.89% and Arch Linux at 8.92%. Valve lists SteamOS Holo and SteamOS separately; the latter represented another 8.09% of the Linux sample. Those distribution figures are shares of Linux respondents, not shares of all Steam users.

The result puts Linux close to 4% in this month's sample. It does not by itself establish why the share changed, or how much came from new Linux players rather than variation in survey participation.

Valve's survey page has the full breakdown of operating systems and hardware.

Sources: Valve survey | GamingOnLinux | Steam

SK hynix expects memory demand to remain ahead of supply through 2030, while Raspberry Pi has announced another price increase for some of its highest-memory products.

SK hynix's forecast

In its third-quarter results, SK hynix points to growing AI infrastructure demand, the difficulty of advanced manufacturing processes and the time needed to build new production facilities. It expects those constraints to keep the market undersupplied through 2030.

The company is expanding production and shifting more capacity toward high-value memory for servers and AI. The 2030 date is the manufacturer's forecast; it is not a prediction that every consumer RAM kit will rise in price continuously until then.

16 GB Raspberry Pi 5 now $385

From 2 November, the 16 GB Raspberry Pi 5 costs $385, an $80 increase. The 16 GB Compute Module 5 variants rise by $40.

Raspberry Pi attributes the increase to limited alternatives for 16 GB DRAM and other component shortages. It is keeping the price of the 16 GB Pi 500+ unchanged and says the increases do not apply across its entire range.

Sources: SK hynix results | Raspberry Pi

id Software is working more closely with MachineGames on technology, according to studio co-director Marty Stratton, who discussed the studio's position following Xbox's layoffs.

Speaking at a Doom: The Dark Ages press event, Stratton acknowledged that roughly half of id's staff had departed. He said the remaining organisation had been deliberately structured to support both game development and technology work.

Stratton described the partnership with MachineGames as closer than ever, with engineering teams at both studios involved. He said the technology work had begun before the layoffs, earlier in the year.

The comments offer some detail on how the two studios are working together, but do not announce a new game, a studio merger or a replacement for id Tech. Suggestions that the collaboration points to a particular Wolfenstein project remain speculation.

Sources: PC Gamer | IGN

Romero Games has secured a new publisher for a redesigned shooter, John Romero told VGC. The publisher's identity and the game's announcement date remain under wraps.

The studio's previous project was built around a team of 110. After losing funding, staffing fell to five; Romero says roughly ten people have since returned, leaving a team of about 15-16.

The original game will not be completed in its old form. Instead, the studio is making a different, smaller shooter using art, code, characters and other work it already owns. Romero says the new scope is designed for the current team size.

He also says the new publishing agreement gives the studio creative freedom, and that the smaller structure lets him spend more time directly designing and building the game. There is no release date yet.

Sources: VGC interview | PC Gamer

Selaco's second chapter, The Machines of War, releases on 13 November. The update adds 19 campaign maps, with the developers estimating another 6-8 hours of play.

Dawn gets more voiced story content and an ally for part of the campaign, while a pursuing machine gives the new chapter a more relentless pace. Chapter 1 also receives a fresh pass on lighting, setpieces and other details.

Combat additions include new enemy types, heavy weapons, a jetpack, deployable drones and cover, and more weapon kits. Enemy AI has been extensively rewritten, with patrols, revised pathfinding and a rally system.

The technical changes include baked lighting, a revised particle system and asset streaming. The developers report a 19% reduction in general VRAM use. Movement scripting has also been reworked, and missed ordinary weapon kits can be purchased in safe rooms.

The full changelog and a new trailer are due when the update launches.

Sources: Developer announcement | GamingOnLinux | Selaco

Three Quake Champions cups produced a title for maxter and two for k1llsen over the weekend.

Estoty Duel Tournament #224

maxter beat k1llsen 3-1 in the grand final after losing their winners-final meeting 1-2. He earned the rematch with a 2-0 lower-final win over dramiS, who finished third ahead of Keltz.

It is maxter's 12th Estoty title and second consecutive win in the series. He moves ahead of ZenAkU into fifth on the all-time winners list, with three tournament victories in seven days including NAQCL #78.

NAQCL Duel Tournament #79

k1llsen won the next NAQCL with a 3-0 final against Thri11er. His route included 2-1 wins over klyb and dramiS and a 2-0 winners-final win over Keltz.

Thri11er beat Keltz 2-1 in the lower final to reach his third consecutive NAQCL podium. The prizes were $50 for k1llsen, $30 for Thri11er and $20 for Keltz; Yup placed fourth.

EGB QC Cup #13

k1llsen followed with another 3-0 final against Thri11er, this time without dropping a map all tournament. He also beat Thri11er 2-0 in the upper semifinals and S V H 2-0 in the winners final.

S V H finished third after beating maxter and dramiS earlier in the bracket. Thri11er came back through maxter, St0n3 and S V H before the final. This gives k1llsen two titles in the last three EGB QC Cups.

Sources: Estoty results | NAQCL results | EGB results | EGB

evillair has released eBloodworks and eCrucible, two new texture sets for Quake III Arena. Both were made for the evillair Jam at Map-Center, with Blender, Substance Painter and Photoshop used to produce textures in the old Quake 3 style.

eBloodworks draws partly on his earlier Quake 4 work. eCrucible goes for dark gothic architecture and blue metal accents, with some inspiration from Quake Champions.

The jam is organised by Map-Center and lvlworld and follows their Redux format: take an existing map and rebuild its visual presentation while preserving the raw layout. Their July event produced three remakes, by IoriDyson, Obsessed and DetroHogga.

Both texture sets are available through evillair's site. For anyone with an unfinished .map gathering dust, this is a fairly decent excuse to open it again.

Sources: evillair | Texture sets | Plus Forward | The Foundry

Map-Center has released Halloween Horror Jam 2026, a pack of 14 single-player Quake maps connected by a new hub from sock. The maps are built for Arcane Dimensions 1.9 Beta 5.

The themes range from ghosts and spider infestations to backrooms, fever dreams and a tribute to The Shining. New enemies include Blood's Cultist, Pumpklings and the Pumpkin Lord boss. There is also a score-based minigame for smashing breakable objects around the maps.

Zombie and Thundergoose worked on the Cultist, Xage converted Blood textures, and Razzzor contributed the Pumpkin Lord as well as a map. sock handled the Arcane Dimensions update and the hub.

The release page has screenshots and links to the download. Fourteen maps should keep Halloween going for a while yet.

Sources: Map-Center release | Downloads | Map-Center