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BUILDKIT BRIEF · GROUNDED

BuildKit Brief — Gaming & Tech — September 26, 2026

What changed this cycle across the games worth your time. Every claim sourced.

16 grounded updates·Sep 26, 2026

Every claim is sourced. Every item below is tied to a primary source with a freshness stamp. Rumors are labelled and never appear in the public edition. If we could not verify it, we did not publish it.

🔱Path of Exile 2

Your main ARPG. League state + balance patches move your build.

NEWS confirmed

The Last of the Druids Sale - Get One Free Mystery Box When You Spend Points

This weekend, we’re running a sale on microtransactions from past Mystery Boxes, including the Last of the Druids cosmetic effects. In addition, we’re offering one free Curse of the Allflame Mystery Box when you spend points in the store.

Path of Exile 2 — Official·Sep 25·published=2026-09-25T00:54:22Z
NEWS confirmed

Path of Exile 2 is now Steam Deck Verified!

Path of Exile 2 is finally Steam Deck Verified! Take the next generation of Action RPGs with you wherever you go, whether you’re battling through Wraeclast on the move or from the comfort of your couch.

Path of Exile 2 — Official·Sep 24·published=2026-09-24T13:05:44Z
NEWS confirmed

Path of Exile 2 Full Release Registration - New Reward Unlocked

The Soulflame Weapon Effect, a new milestone reward for signing up for Path of Exile 2 Full Release updates, has been unlocked! This means that everyone who registered will receive at least two exclusive cosmetic effects when Path of Exile 2 fully launches on December 11th.

Path of Exile 2 — Official·Sep 21·published=2026-09-21T23:42:44Z

⚔️Path of Exile

PoE1 events + league cycle (separate game from PoE2).

EVENT confirmed

The Final Path of Exile 1 ExileCon Qualifier Begins Tomorrow - New Twitch Drops

The fourth and final Path of Exile 1 Qualifier tomorrow will conclude our series of in-game ExileCon events. Don’t miss out on finding out who will become the fourth finalist by watching the race live at where you can also earn the Scavenger Bat Pet through Twitch Drops.

Path of Exile — Official·Sep 23·published=2026-09-23T21:22:23Z
NEWS confirmed

The Last of the Druids Sale - Get One Free Mystery Box When You Spend Points

This weekend, we’re running a sale on microtransactions from past Mystery Boxes, including the Last of the Druids cosmetic effects. In addition, we’re offering one free Curse of the Allflame Mystery Box when you spend points in the store.

Path of Exile — Official·Sep 25·published=2026-09-25T00:55:42Z
EVENT confirmed

The Third Path of Exile 1 ExileCon Qualifier Is Going Live!

Will you be the next to join allexpleblord and imexile at ExileCon 2026? Join the third Path of Exile 1 Qualifier for your chance to earn a spot in the finale this November!

Path of Exile — Official·Sep 17·published=2026-09-17T20:45:00Z
STATUS confirmed

League check: Allflame is live

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

🔫Counter-Strike 2

Updates, map/economy changes, and the pro circuit.

PATCH confirmed

Counter-Strike 2 Update

Various gap fixes and clipping adjustments. Fixed some cases where loud reloads would persist while trying to stealth reload. Added sv_clantags_enabled option so custom servers can disable clan tags. The eggs of background players in main menu lobbies now rest in nests.

  • Various gap fixes and clipping adjustments.
  • Fixed some cases where loud reloads would persist while trying to stealth reload.
  • Added sv_clantags_enabled option so custom servers can disable clan tags.
  • The eggs of background players in main menu lobbies now rest in nests.
Counter-Strike 2 — Official·Sep 25·published=2026-09-25T21:54:54Z

🕵️Deadlock

Valve's hero shooter — patch cadence + hero balance.

NEWS confirmed

The eyes of Valve's creepy portrait are glowing again

The portrait of the man with red gloves is glowing again , which can only mean one thing for Deadlock players: Valve is about to drop a major new update very soon... Read more.

Deadlock — PC Gamer·Sep 25·published=2026-09-25T22:08:12Z
PATCH confirmed

Minor Update - 09-16-2026

- Unstable Rift comeback resist max values now scale over the course of the game. Previously the max values were 35%.

Deadlock — Official·Sep 16·published=2026-09-16T20:16:43Z
PATCH confirmed

Valve's nerf-happy new Deadlock update makes it harder to turn games around

Valve has just dropped a new Deadlock update ahead of its anticipated major overhaul, and it's filled with item nerfs and hero balancing. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Valve's nerf-happy new Deadlock update makes it harder to turn games around

Deadlock — PCGamesN·Sep 17·published=2026-09-17T10:28:23Z

🃏Slay the Spire 2

Early-access deckbuilder — balance + RNG fixes matter.

NEWS confirmed

The Neowsletter - September 2026

Alright, this Neowsletter is coming in a little later than usual, but the team is back from our break! We visited the historied city of Barcelona and ate all the tapas, walked through all the Gaudís, and navigated its winding gothic quarters for silly trinkets.

Slay the Spire 2 — Official·Sep 25·published=2026-09-25T23:35:41Z
NEWS confirmed

Slay the Spire 2 is back in action with a tease of its next zone

Slay the Spire 2 dev Mega Crit returns from break to work on alternate areas, new modes, and secret features for the roguelike deckbuilder. Read the full story on PCGamesN: Slay the Spire 2 is back in action with a tease of its next zone

Slay the Spire 2 — PCGamesN·Sep 26·published=2026-09-26T10:11:45Z

🗺️Hearts of Iron IV

Grand strategy — dev diaries + version betas.

NEWS confirmed

HOI IV Dev Corner | The Great Depression

Hey, folks! This is your friendly neighborhood ImaginedPanda, content designer on Heart of Iron, coming to you with today's Dev Corner. For our current iteration we will be talking about economic woes or how I stopped worrying and started to love The Great Depression.

Hearts of Iron IV — Official·Sep 22·published=2026-09-22T13:01:27Z
PATCH confirmed

HOI IV | Patch 1.19.3

Generals! With the weather becoming more gloomy and the summer on its way out, we bring the last “Summer” release. This will be the last patch that specifically targets Thunder at our Gates and brings a few additional pieces of content for the countries that were introduced with it.

  • Add a tracking of total participation in a combat to award HQ capture to the most participating country.
  • Halved supply usage for light/medium/heavy armored HQ's.
  • Added supply usage to motorized army HQ battalions.
  • SIA: Removed Production Efficiency Cap from Agrarian Economical Policy.
  • SIA: Removed Research Speed and Factory Output from The Army of Siam.
  • AST: Stretch the Fleet, Battle of the Ocean, Workers Educational Association and Equal Pay reduced to 35 days.
Hearts of Iron IV — Official·Sep 17·patch=1.19.3
NEWS confirmed

HOI IV Dev Corner | One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Three if by…Air?

Hi all, and welcome to the next installment of our 2026 Dev Corners. Your feedback on ideas in early development, including my prior ones on army quality and airborne troops, is very helpful to us. I hope I can benefit from your input once more.

  • What are the limitations of the current system of air transport wings, and how they deliver airborne troops and supplies?
  • How would you feel about not having to control all transport wings manually, and if they were more abstracted at a national level similar to naval convoys, d…
  • Would it be interesting for you if there was a more specific, point-to-point connection between two airfields you controlled, that would allow air transport…
  • Would using airborne troops Crete-style, to capture and hold an enemy airfield to use as a base of replenishment and remove the vulnerability of operating en…
Hearts of Iron IV — Official·Sep 15·published=2026-09-15T13:04:38Z

🖥️PC Hardware & Your Wishlist

Part-price drops on your wishlist + hardware moves. Deep specs live on PC Bottleneck (we link, never duplicate).

No confirmed changes this cycle. Hardware deep-dives live on PC Bottleneck .

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