BuildKit Brief — Gaming & Tech — July 24, 2026

Path of Exile 2 Build Showcase: Slowmaxing Chronomancer by TuskDeluxe

This Chronomancer build by TuskDeluxe is built around the Auspex and its Grueling Madness aura, which slowmaxes enemies up to 100% at maximum stacks. Embrace the slow side of..things below: Big thank you to TuskDeluxe for putting this build together. For more information, refer to their video here.

Curse of the Allflame Challenge Rewards

In the Curse of the Allflame league, you'll be able to earn four new free cosmetic rewards by completing 40 new challenges. Better yet, every reward you unlock can also be used in Path of Exile 2!

Path of Exile 1: Curse of the Allflame Luminary Showcase

Whether you're planning your league starter or looking for new endgame build ideas, this showcase sheds some light on how the Luminary opens up entirely new ways to play by commanding Mercenaries, enhancing Link skills, and creating powerful party-inspired gameplay.Check out the showcase in the…

Path of Exile 1: Curse of the Allflame Twitch Drops

To celebrate the launch of Path of Exile 1: Curse of the Allflame, we'll be running a week of Twitch Drops starting from 1:00 PM 24 July PDT!

• Log in to your Twitch account.
• Visit any Twitch channel in Path of Exile 1 category.
• While the channel is live streaming Path of Exile 1, purchase a cumulative of two subscriptions of any tier to earn the Allflame Crafting Bench (Prime Subs a…
• New monthly subs (any tier)
• Multi-month subs (3-month, 6-month)
• Gift subs (any tier for any number of months)

Counter-Strike 2 Update

The bomb damage health preview is now revealed when the bomb becomes audible. The bomb explosion now interacts with smoke grenade clouds and molotov/incendiary fire.

• The bomb damage health preview is now revealed when the bomb becomes audible.
• The bomb explosion now interacts with smoke grenade clouds and molotov/incendiary fire.
• Updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)
• Updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)
• Updated to the latest version from the Community Workshop (Update Notes)
• Added Workshop maps section to Play menu for Counter-Strike in Steam China.

Call II Arms-ory

Last week we released new weapon and sticker collections from our previous Call to Arms-ory. Congratulations to the artists who had their items included!

Minor Update - 07-09-2026

- Urn Runner sprint bonus reduced from +2m to 0 (trailing bonus reduced from +7m to +5m)- Urn Runner move speed bonus reduced from +3.5m to +2m- Urn Runner Stamina Recovery increased from +15% to +25%- Urn talking frequency increased from every 8s to every 6s- Urn talking sound distance increased…

Beta Patch Notes - v0.109.0

Another beta patch is here, Slayers! This one brings a host of balance changes, bug fixes, and new Epoch art.

• Added new Neow relic, Dowsing Rod - "Upon pickup, add 1 Dowsing to your Deck."
• Dowsing - Quest - 0 cost - "After entering 5 more ? rooms, transform this into Abundance."
• Abundance - Ancient - Skill - Cost 1 - "Choose 1 of 3 (Upgraded) Powers to add into your Hand. It is free to play this turn. Exhaust."
• Added new Neow relic, Neow's Sacrifice - "Upon pickup, procure 1 Ambergris and add 1 Guilty to your Deck."
• Ambergris potion - "Heal for 50% of your max HP. Take an extra turn after this one."
• Reworked Nonupeipe's Diamond Diadem relic: "Whenever you play 2 or fewer cards in a turn, take half damage from enemies." -> "Start combat with 20 Block. Blo…

The Neowsletter - July 2026

The July Neowsletter is here, Slayers! Last month we bid farewell to the Doormaker, but you know what they say: when one door closes... a giant floating hourglass creature appears!

Slay the Spire 2 makes painful but necessary nerfs, and some scary buffs, in a big new balance overhaul

New Slay the Spire 2 patch notes have just hit the roguelike deckbuilder's beta branch, with key Ancient relics and class cards nerfed. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Slay the Spire 2 makes painful but necessary nerfs, and some scary buffs, in a big new balance overhaul

HOI IV Dev Corner | Civilian Economy & Consumer Goods

Hello, I am Zwirbaum, Game Designer for Hearts of Iron, and uncharacteristically for me, instead of writing an entire wall of text, I am just going to ask a couple of questions that are very much tied to the ‘Economy’ side of the gameplay.

• How do you feel about the ‘Civilian Economy’ that currently exists within the game - as in anything that relates to the building construction, using civilian…
• What and how do you feel about the Consumer Goods as they are right now? - Do you think it does fulfill its role, narratively, and in gameplay terms? - Do yo…
• What do you think about current Economic Laws? - Do you like them,and their effects? - Do you like the fact that higher mobilization is (ALMOST) always a bet…
• Start appearing closer to release
• Give you more detailed insight into content that’s more or less finished and is being polished
• Will generally include a plethora of images and screenshots

HOI IV Creator Interviews with Leadership

Generals! High Command is aware that certain war correspondents have, in recent days, taken it upon themselves to question senior staff.

HOI IV Dev Corner | Warfare in the Third Dimension - Airborne Units in HOI

Hi all, it's time for the next Dev Corner. I'm Jamor. I started as a producer on Stellaris, Imperator, and other games back in 2017, and now I'm happy to be back as a designer on HOI.

• Airborne jumps are queued up by a number of tedious manual steps, from separately planned operations, the finicky process of getting jump capable troops to t…
• Airborne units teleport on to their objectives, in such a subtle way that it's quite easy for both attacker and defender to not notice it has even happened.
• Airborne troops take such ruinous damage and disorganization that they are incredibly feeble once landed, being generally only suited for the sort of highly…
• And the final straw for me, that a unit like the 101st Airborne, an ultra-elite division of 10,000+ men containing the cream of the army and famous for numer…
• What issues with airborne troops would you add to this list?
• What would you like to see changed or added to improve the HOI airborne experience?