BuildKit Brief — Gaming & Tech — August 27, 2026

Watch GGG Live and Final ExileCon Qualifier - New Twitch Drops

Tune in to GGG Live on August 27 to find out more about the upcoming Path of Exile 2 0.5.5 update, or watch the final ExileCon Qualifier afterward and earn the Curse of the Allflame Mystery Box through Twitch Drops!

• GGG Live begins at 12:30 PM August 27 PDT
• The fourth and final Path of Exile 2 ExileCon Qualifier starts right after the livestream, at 2 PM PDT August 27

Path of Exile 2 Full Release Registration FAQ

Sign up at to stay up to date as we head toward Path of Exile 2’s full release and earn exclusive rewards. The more players who register, the more cosmetics everyone can unlock! Check out the FAQ below. How do I receive my reward?

Path of Exile 2 Fully Releases on December 11!

Path of Exile 2 launches as a fully free-to-play action RPG on December 11 (PST)! Get your blades ready! The full release will introduce the Duelist, a long-awaited class revealed in a new trailer during gamescom’s Opening Night Live in Cologne.

Path of Exile 1 ExileCon Qualifiers Begin Next Week

It’s finally happening! The ExileCon Path of Exile 1 Qualifiers kick off next week, with the top racers from all four qualifier events earning the chance to compete in the live final at ExileCon in New Zealand.

• Qualifier One - September 4 2PM PDT
• Qualifier Two - September 11 2PM PDT
• Qualifier Three - September 18 2PM PDT
• Qualifier Four - September 25 2PM PDT

Fan Art Competition Highlights #2

Our Fan Art competition, themed around the latest expansions in Path of Exile 1 and Path of Exile 2, is in full swing! Check out the recent highlights below!

Path of Exile 1 Build Showcase: Spinning Magma Saboteur

If you like spicy, but spin-worthy builds, check out the Spinning Magma Saboteur build by Zurku351! It revolves around one thing though: a whole lot of magma! Using a combination of Cyclone, Cast While Channelling & Rolling Magma - start spinning, and let the magma do the rest!

League check: Allflame is live

Current PoE1 challenge league: **Allflame**. Started Jul 24, 2026.

Counter-Strike 2 Update

Added custom_hud_layout entity: custom_hud_layouts are the entry point for scripted maps to provide custom UI. Panel, Label, Image, and Button panel types are supported. Styling with css is supported. Events and client side scripting are not supported. Maintains state during tools mode reloads.

• Added custom_hud_layout entity:
• custom_hud_layouts are the entry point for scripted maps to provide custom UI.
• Panel, Label, Image, and Button panel types are supported.
• Styling with css is supported.
• Events and client side scripting are not supported.
• Maintains state during tools mode reloads.

Minor Update - 08-22-2026

- Radiant Regeneration: Heal on cast reduced from 70 to 65- Restorative Locket: Spirit Resistance reduced from 10% to 8%- Celeste: Dazzling Trick cooldown increased from 32s to 34s- Celeste: Dazzling Trick T2 barrier rescaled from "+80 and +0.7 scaling" to "+70 and +0.76"- Celeste: Dazzling Trick…

A single-minded new Deadlock update targets its teamfight-trashing unicorn

Valve's latest Deadlock update is a singularly focused adjustment for Celeste, with reduction to her early game power and an ultimate nerf. Read the full story on PCGamesN: A single-minded new Deadlock update targets its teamfight-trashing unicorn

Minor Update - 08-12-2026

- Apollo: Riposte melee resist reduction increased from -22% to -25% - Apollo: Riposte T2 changed from "-30% Melee Resist" to "-25% Melee Resist and +0.4s Stun Duration" - Apollo: Riposte T3 increased from 60% Lifesteal for 7s to 75% Lifesteal for 13s - Apollo: Fixed Itani Lo Sahn being canceled…

Beta Patch Notes - v0.111.0

Time for another beta patch! Heads up that there won't be a patch on the 27th as our team is taking a break in the last week of August.

• Nerfed Tezcatara's Brightest Flame card: max HP loss increased from 1 → 2
• Nerfed Nonupeipe's Beautiful Bracelet relic: now Enchants 4 random cards instead of allowing you to select the cards to Enchant
• Buffed Axebot:
• Hammer Uppercut move damage increased from 12(14) → 14(18)
• Now gains +10 Max HP each time it respawns
• The One-Two damage from 9(10)x2 → 10(11)x2

The Neowsletter - August 2026

Hi Slayers, the August Neowsletter is here! The team has been hard at work on new content but it'll be at least a month until any of it hits the beta branch. We'll be out of office during late August for our annual team break, so there won't be an August 27 patch.

Slay the Spire 2 updates are slowing down again, but a new character and alternate act are next

In its August Slay the Spire 2 Neowsletter, developer Mega Crit reveals it's actively working on another Act Two and the next new character. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Slay the Spire 2 updates are slowing down again, but a new character and alternate act are next

HOI IV Dev Corner | Romania, an Industry Divided

Hello all! In today's Dev Corner, we're diving into the economic crossroads of Romania. Like many nations in the 1930s, Romania was torn between its agrarian foundation and a push for rapid industrialization.

HOI IV Dev Corner | Romanian Crossroads

Greetings, generals! We are Alex, Norrman and Marijn211, modders of the game and now cooperating with Paradox, and today we’re showing you tidbits of a future DLC for… Romania!

HOI IV | Open Beta SE™ Update 2

Generals! Hello, I’m Pdxen, Tech Lead for Hearts of Iron and I want to welcome you to the second update of the Summer Open Beta. In this update we are changing the topic from balancing to updating the tech stack of the game. A lot has happened with computers since Hoi4 was released.

• Updated the threading libraries used in HoI4 to work better for some more modern hardware configurations
• Increased MP hardening to host operations such as kicking and banning players in MP
• Restored the balancing changes from the summer open beta.
• Front lines now split correctly again.
• Updated multiple parallel computations to better utilize the new threading library (performance gains).
• Fixed an OOS introduced when migrating to the new threading library.