MOUZ have confirmed a major shake-up of their CS2 roster, signing Justinas “jL” Lekavicius on a short-term loan from Natus Vincere and promoting MOUZ NXT prospect Adrian “xelex” Vincze to the main team. Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin and Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo have both been benched, while Dorian “xertioN” Berman steps up as the new in-game leader. The catch: Major Supplemental Rulebook restrictions mean jL cannot debut at IEM Cologne, so Brollan returns for that event only.

We are making the following roster changes effective immediately. Our roster will be as follows for the next three tournaments:

Astana and Shanghai:

• xelex
• Spinx
• torzsi
• xertioN (IGL)
• jL (On loan from NAVI)

Cologne Major:

• xelex
• Spinx
• torzsi
• Brollan… pic.twitter.com/tHG7odkNmz

— MOUZ (@mousesports) April 18, 2026

The announcement, made on 19 April 2026, ends weeks of speculation about how MOUZ would respond to a steep dip in form after more than a year as one of the most consistent teams in Counter-Strike.

The New MOUZ Roster Explained

The changes take effect immediately, but MOUZ will run two slightly different lineups across the next three tournaments because of Major rules. jL slots in for the Asian swing at PGL Astana 2026 and CS Asia Championships, while Brollan returns as a one-event substitute at IEM Cologne before officially leaving the organisation.

xelex, xertioN, torzsi and Spinx are the four constants across both rosters. xertioN takes over the in-game leader role full-time, with xelex stepping into the pack opener slot that xertioN previously occupied.

Dennis “sycrone” Nielsen remains in the coaching seat across all three events.

Why jL Cannot Play The Cologne Major

The split-roster situation comes down to the Major Supplemental Rulebook. Teams are locked into the lineup that was listed on the invite VRS from 6 April, and they are only permitted one change through a substitute. MOUZ have used that substitute slot to bring Brollan back for Cologne, which means jL has to sit the event out despite already being a signed player.

MOUZ explained the unusual timing as a deliberate choice to give the new lineup a head start rather than wait for a cleaner window after the Major. The organisation said confidence in the previous roster’s ability to bounce back had run out, and that prioritising preparation for the next competitive cycle outweighed keeping the existing five intact for one more tournament.

Brollan And Jimpphat’s Exit

The decision to move on from Brollan is the more delicate of the two. He was the player who took on in-game leadership duties after Kamil “siuhy” Szkaradek was removed in early 2025, and that transition kicked off the run that saw MOUZ reach at least the semi-finals at 13 of 15 events between early 2025 and early 2026.

That stretch ended sharply. The team has missed the top four at three consecutive events, capped by a last-place finish at BLAST Open Rotterdam last month.

This decision is not fair to him on a personal level. But leadership sometimes means accepting that fairness and necessity are not always the same thing.

That line came from sycrone in his statement on the changes, acknowledging Brollan’s role in the team’s previous success while explaining the call to bench him. Brollan will leave the organisation entirely after the Cologne Major, and his replacement has not yet been announced. Jimpphat has already been removed from the active roster.

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xelex’s Promotion From MOUZ NXT

xelex’s call-up continues a now-familiar pattern at MOUZ, where the academy team has steadily fed the main roster. xertioN and torzsi both came through the same pipeline, and xelex now joins them after a year and a half in MOUZ NXT.

The Hungarian rifler put up a 1.21 average rating across 154 maps in 2026, a workload that landed him in the top 15 of HLTV’s Prospects series as of last month. MOUZ’s CBDO Jan Dominicus framed the promotion as consistent with the organisation’s preference for in-house development, calling xelex a player aligned with that philosophy.

jL’s Return To Tier-One CS

For jL, the loan deal is his first appearance on a professional roster since he stepped down from Natus Vincere in July last year to take time away from the game. The trial spans only the Asian swing for now, with Astana opening on 7 May.

Dominicus said the team is looking for jL to bring initiative in tough situations and to lift the squad’s communication, two areas the organisation appears to feel were lacking. Whether that short window is enough to convert the loan into something permanent will likely depend on how the new five gel before the post-Major reset.

What Comes After Cologne

The Cologne Major is the closing chapter for the current era of MOUZ as much as it is the next event on the calendar. Brollan walks away, jL’s loan ends without a guaranteed extension, and MOUZ still need to lock in a fifth player for whatever the next competitive cycle looks like. The Astana and Asia Championships campaigns will effectively serve as the audition window for the version of MOUZ that follows.

The post MOUZ Sign jL On Loan, Promote xelex As Brollan And Jimpphat Are Benched appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

League of Legends is finally letting players use WASD controls in Ranked. The alternate movement scheme goes live in Solo/Duo and Flex queues with Patch 26.9 on 29 April 2026, the same day Season 2 Pandemonium begins. WASD has been playable in casual modes since December 2025, but Ranked has been off limits while Riot waited for win-rate parity with Point and Click. That gate has now cleared, and turning WASD on takes about ten seconds inside the in-game options menu.

When WASD Goes Live In Ranked

Patch 26.9 lands on Wednesday, 29 April 2026 (PT), based on Riot’s official patch schedule. It is the launch patch for Season 2 Pandemonium, and the first patch where WASD is enabled in Solo/Duo and Flex queues. The patch cycle runs for two weeks, with Patch 26.10 scheduled for 13 May.

WASD itself is not new. Riot rolled it out to ARAM, Swiftplay, Draft Pick, the Practice Tool, and rotating modes like ARURF in December 2025. What changes on 29 April is the queue restriction. Once the patch goes live, WASD is a fully supported control scheme across every queue in the game.

How To Turn On WASD In League Of Legends

The toggle lives inside the in-game options menu, not the client. You can switch between WASD and Point and Click at any point, including mid-match.

1. Press Esc during a game to open the Options menu.
2. Open the Input dropdown at the top of the menu.
3. Select Keyboard (WASD).
4. Scroll down to the Movement section to adjust the optional settings.

The first time you enable WASD, Riot automatically switches your camera to Dynamic Camera so your champion stays centred on screen. You can disable that under the Camera menu if you prefer the traditional locked-cursor feel. Scout Ahead, which lets you peek further across the map with the middle mouse button, is also enabled by default.

Switching back is the same flow in reverse. Press Esc, open the Input dropdown, and select Mouse (Point and Click). All your previous keybinds are saved, so you do not need to set them up again.

Default WASD Keybinds

WASD remaps abilities and summoner spells onto the keyboard’s left side, freeing the mouse for attacking and interacting. These are the defaults you will see the first time you enable the input.

Auto attacking and interacting with map objects like Thresh’s lantern, Bard’s portals, and Hexgates all run through left click. If you press left click on an enemy outside your auto attack range, the game briefly displays your range indicator instead of issuing the command.

Item slots stay where they are. Quick Cast and Normal Cast both work in WASD, so you can keep your preferred casting style.

Read More: League Of Legends Voice Chat Confirmed, But Riot Says It Will Take Time

Useful Movement Settings Worth Tweaking

Two movement options under the WASD settings change how the input feels enough that they are worth testing in the Practice Tool before you queue Ranked.

Rotate WASD Inputs Relative To Map Lane Orientation

Summoner’s Rift is laid out diagonally, which means the default WASD layout forces you to hold two keys at once when walking up or down a lane. Toggling this option rotates the input grid 45 degrees counterclockwise, so W moves your champion from your fountain toward the enemy fountain, S retreats, and A and D run along the river axis. Riot credits a player suggestion for the idea, and it reduces hand strain on long sessions. It also frees up a key on laptops with limited simultaneous keypress support.

Flash Handling Type

Flash gets its own setting because cursor position and WASD direction can disagree at the moment you press D. The three options are Cursor (Flash follows your mouse), Movement (Flash respects your WASD direction and player rotation), and Movement with Cursor. The third option is the most accurate for most players, but it is worth running through all three in the Practice Tool to see which matches your muscle memory.

Champion-Specific Keybinds Are Already Live

Patch 26.8, which went live on 16 April, added the ability to set keybind profiles per champion for both WASD and Point and Click. That includes ability hotkeys and settings like toggling smart cast, which Rumble and Viktor mains have asked for repeatedly. You can configure profiles inside the Practice Tool and they save automatically across future games.

The setting matters more for WASD users than Point and Click users because hand position on the keyboard makes some default binds awkward depending on the champion. Setting one profile for hold-position champions and another for skirmishers is a fair starting point.

Riot’s Reasoning For The Ranked Greenlight

Riot held WASD out of Ranked because the team wanted to confirm two things: that WASD’s win rate would not exceed Point and Click’s, and that the gap between the two control schemes would stay small. Sentiment surveys sent to players after matches showed that opponents generally could not tell which control scheme the other lane was using, which Riot took as evidence that WASD was not creating an obvious gameplay advantage or disadvantage.

According to the Riot dev blog, Point and Click still holds a minor win-rate edge, but the gap is small enough that the team expects it to close as players gain WASD mastery. The studio said it will keep monitoring the stat after the Ranked release.

Accessibility Improvements Shipping Alongside

The input system overhaul that made WASD possible also unlocks several accessibility features. Players can now bind any input to move the mouse cursor directly, which has been the most requested accessibility change for years. Joystick play is supported through WASD remapping, though Riot has not committed to broader controller support. Almost every key on the keyboard is now bindable, with Delete and Escape as the only exceptions, and MB1 can be assigned to any action without operating system workarounds.

Required keybinds get warning labels in the options menu. You cannot leave the menu without movement keys assigned for WASD or a movement click assigned for Point and Click.

What To Watch After Launch

The first solo queue data after 29 April will show whether the win-rate gap between WASD and Point and Click holds, narrows, or widens once Ranked players are involved. Pro play is the other watchpoint. Riot has not signalled that any pro players plan to switch, but the option is now legal in officially sanctioned queues, and that alone will draw experimentation from coaching staffs willing to test fringe edges before the rest of the league catches up.

The post WASD Hits LoL Ranked April 29 – How To Turn It On In Patch 26.9 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Valve have pushed another update to the Counter-Strike 2 AnimGraph 2 beta branch, landing in the early hours of 18 April with a focused round of animation fixes, movement refinements, and a handful of bug corrections. The patch is small on paper, but it continues a steady drip of changes that has the CS2 community openly asking when the new animation system is going to leave beta and reach the live game.

The update is only available through the animgraph_2_beta depot on Steam, which players need to opt into manually. Official Valve matchmaking is not available in the beta build, and connecting to a server running a different build can trigger a fatal error message on the client side.

What Changed In The Latest AnimGraph 2 Patch

The patch notes are short, with every change targeting either visual polish or a specific animation bug. None of the adjustments alter weapon stats, economy, or map rotation, which puts this firmly in the technical foundation category rather than a gameplay update.

Here is the full list of changes in the 18 April beta build:

• Fixed viewmodel and worldmodel HE grenade throw
• Adjusted foot IK when idle
• Minor polish for turn animations when planting
• Fixed fast-weapon switching when holding inspect
• Minor adjustments to viewmodel animations
• Adjusted counter-strafe animation head dip amount

The counter-strafe head dip change is the headline item for most players who have been testing the branch. Excessive head bobbing during quick stops has been one of the more visible complaints since CS2 launched, and Valve appear to be dialling it back gradually rather than overhauling it in one go.

How To Opt Into The CS2 Beta Branch

Players who want to test the AnimGraph 2 changes themselves need to switch their CS2 install to the beta depot through Steam. The process is the same as opting into any other Valve beta:

1. Open the Steam client and go to your Library.
2. From the Counter-Strike 2 page, open the Properties window from the Manage menu.
3. Select the Betas tab.
4. Choose the beta branch you want to opt into from the dropdown.
5. Launch Counter-Strike 2 to play with the beta changes applied.

To roll back to the standard public version, select None from the same dropdown. Switching either direction requires a re-download of the relevant files, and the size depends on how many assets have changed between builds. Bug reports and feedback can be sent to csgoteamfeedback@valvesoftware.com with the subject line AG2 Beta.

Read More: karrigan Reportedly Set To Join Falcons Ahead of IEM Cologne Major, Replacing kyxsan

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Community Reaction To The New Beta Build

Reaction inside the CS2 community has split fairly cleanly into two camps. Players testing the branch are largely positive about the direction, particularly around movement.

Dataminer Thour posted a side-by-side comparison between the first AnimGraph 2 build and the 18 April patch, noting that the reduction in head dip is paired with cleaner leg behaviour during counter-strafing. Thour added in a follow-up reply that “a few more updates and this game might be saved”, a sentiment echoed by other testers who have said strafes now look more natural and that movement is starting to feel closer to CS:GO.

Analyst SPUNJ also publicly thanked players running the beta, calling it a service to the wider community. The framing matters here, because Valve are effectively using an open beta to crowdsource quality assurance on one of the biggest technical reworks CS2 has had since launch.

Shout-out to all the people playtesting the animgraph2 branch. You are doing us all a service. https://t.co/qPNlcHAXBO

— Chad Burchill (@SPUNJ) April 18, 2026

The other half of the conversation is less patient. Comments on the patch repeatedly ask when AnimGraph 2 will be merged into the live client, with players posting variations of “release this already”, “it’s been 2-3 years”, and requests for the system to at least be enabled in Deathmatch and Casual queues. A separate thread of complaints continues to push Valve on anti-cheat issues, bots in Casual, and a perceived lack of new content.

Why AnimGraph 2 Matters For Competitive CS2

Movement readability has been one of the most consistent criticisms aimed at CS2 since release, covering everything from awkward player models on enemy peeks to leg animations that do not match what the player is actually doing. AnimGraph 2 is Valve’s answer to that, rebuilding the underlying animation system rather than patching individual cases.

If the system ships in a polished state, the practical effects for competitive play are significant. Cleaner enemy model animations make duels easier to read at a glance, more responsive movement reduces the gap between input and what the character does on screen, and better strafe animations help with pre-aim timing. Pros and casual players have been pointing at the same problems for different reasons, which is part of why the beta has gathered the kind of cross-community support that most CS2 updates do not.

When AnimGraph 2 Could Hit The Live Game

Valve have not given a release window for AnimGraph 2 on the public branch, and there is no indication in the patch notes that one is imminent. What the beta cadence does suggest is that the system is in a refinement phase rather than an early test, with patches now focused on small visual tweaks rather than core behaviour.

Part of the community is betting on a live rollout within the next few weeks based on that cadence, but that remains speculation until Valve confirm anything directly. The pattern of small, frequent beta patches before larger public updates is consistent with how Valve have handled previous technical overhauls, so the next concrete signal will likely be either a noticeably larger beta patch or the appearance of AnimGraph 2 assets in the public depot.

The post CS2 AnimGraph 2 Beta Gets Another Patch as Valve Tightens Movement and Animations appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Clash of Clans has launched a Foot Tribute Bundle in its in-game shop, and yes, it is exactly what it sounds like. The mobile strategy game, which turns 14 this year and skews heavily towards a younger audience, is now selling stone foot statues as village decorations for $11.99. The official Clash of Clans account announced the bundle on X on 17 April with the caption “Live like a Queen,” and the community has spent the days since trying to figure out whether anyone at Supercell is okay.

Live like a Queen.

The Foot Tribute Bundle is now live. Cast in perfect detail, bare and unapologetically regal. A decadent indulgence for the truly refined. Judgment fades, elegance lingers.

The Shop awaits your most cultured decision. pic.twitter.com/nmDRz1Skp4

— Clash of Clans (@ClashofClans) April 17, 2026

What’s Actually In The Foot Tribute Bundle

The bundle contains seven Foot Tribute decorations for $11.99, with the option to buy individual statues for those who want a more measured approach to foot-themed village design. Despite the suggestive marketing artwork, which features the Archer Queen reclining with her bare feet front and centre, the actual decoration is considerably tamer. Each Tribute is a hollowed-out stone foot wearing a sandal, repurposed as a planter.

The bundle briefly disappeared from the shop after launch before returning later the same day, with no explanation from Supercell about why it was pulled or reinstated. The pack is on a limited two-week run, joining the rotation of oddball seasonal decorations that Clash of Clans cycles through, including the Kawaii Giant, Cowboy Skeleton, and Erling Haaland statue.

The individual statues running around $2 each, depending on Gem pack pricing.

The Marketing Did Most Of The Heavy Lifting

The promotional post leaned hard into the bit. “Cast in perfect detail, bare and unapologetically regal. A decadent indulgence for the truly refined. Judgment fades, elegance lingers. The Shop awaits your most cultured decision,” the official account wrote, paired with high-resolution artwork of the Archer Queen with her feet on display. The tweet has racked up more than 24 million views.

Opera GX’s official account replied with “This is disgusting, I’m gonna save this picture so no one forgets about this sick post,” to which Clash of Clans responded “Save this one too. Hopefully, no one else will ever have to see it again.” The exchange is currently one of the most-shared parts of the whole rollout, which says something about how the campaign is being received.

Save this one too. Hopefully, no one else will ever have to see it again. pic.twitter.com/MKTlWpzLH4

— Clash of Clans (@ClashofClans) April 17, 2026

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Community Reaction Is Split Between Horror And Buying Seven Of Them

Reactions on X and the Clash of Clans subreddit have ranged from outright disgust to enthusiastic purchases. Several players took issue with foot-themed cosmetics appearing in a game with a notable child and teenage user base, with comments like “This is a f**king kids game. I’m out” and “This is like genuinely weird for a kids game” appearing in the replies.

Others leaned into the absurdity. One Reddit user posted screenshots of their village fully decorated with the Tributes, writing that Supercell “really knows their audience.” Another, CloudStrife012, said they bought four bundles before the brief shop disappearance, leaving their base “loaded with them.” A separate thread asked the genuinely reasonable question of what the Tribute Foot Bundle is actually supposed to do, given that decorations in Clash of Clans serve no gameplay purpose beyond aesthetics.

Twitch streamer Kalei would hate about the trend spreading, saying she would hate it if Marvel Rivals followed suit with characters like Psylocke, Emma Frost, and Black Cat receiving similar treatment.

this is fucking disgusting and completely unprofessional

I would honestly hate it if this would come to marvel rivals and instead of the Archer it would be psylocke, emma frost, and black cat with their perfect feet right and center https://t.co/NcHM2670bh

— Kalei (@KaleiRenay) April 17, 2026

This Is Not An April Fools Stunt

The bundle’s launch on 17 April places it more than two weeks past April Fools, removing any plausible deniability that this might be a joke. Supercell is charging real money for stone feet planters, and they will continue doing so for the next fortnight.

The timing also slots into a broader pattern of major platforms making strange foot-related decisions in quick succession. Earlier this month, Discord released its Clappy Feet avatar decoration, a permanent cosmetic featuring animated bare feet that smack their toes together around your profile picture. That rollout drew a similar mix of disbelief and resignation from users, and Discord confirmed it was not an April Fools joke either.

Searches For The Tribute Foot Bundle Are Climbing

Whether by accident or design, Supercell has succeeded at the one thing every mobile game publisher chases, which is unprompted engagement at scale. The 24 million views on the launch tweet, the wave of explainer coverage, and the steady stream of Reddit threads asking what the bundle does are all functioning as free marketing, regardless of how players feel about the product itself.

The Foot Tribute Bundle remains live in the Clash of Clans shop until early May. Whether Supercell sees enough of a sales bump to justify a follow-up cosmetic in this direction will likely determine whether this becomes a one-off curiosity or the start of a recurring shop category nobody asked for.

The post Clash Of Clans Foot Tribute Bundle Is Real, Costs $12, And Players Are Baffled appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sony has officially confirmed the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup for April 2026, and it’s a sizeable drop. Eight games are landing on 21 April, headlined by Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, The Crew Motorfest, and Football Manager 26 Console for Extra and Premium subscribers, plus the PS2 cult classic Wild Arms 4 making its way to the Premium-tier Classics catalogue.

It’s a noticeably stronger month than the recent average, with a mix of major first-party content, a competent racing alternative, and a few left-field picks that genre fans have been waiting on. Here’s the full lineup, what each game actually offers, and what you need to know before download day.

Full PS Plus April 2026 Game Catalog Lineup

All eight titles unlock together on 21 April. Seven are available to anyone subscribed at the Extra tier or higher, while Wild Arms 4 sits behind the Premium paywall as part of the Classics catalogue.

One quirk to flag on Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered: PS5 owners get the proper remastered edition, while PS4 players will be downloading the older Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition instead. Same starting point, different versions.

The Headline Additions

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

Easily the biggest get of the month. Guerrilla Games’ open-world debut returns with visuals and systems brought up to par with Horizon Forbidden West, which is a substantial overhaul rather than a quick polish. If you’ve never played as Aloy or only made it through the original on PS4, this is the version to commit to. The post-apocalyptic world of tribal hunters and towering machines still holds up, and the remaster removes most of the technical reasons people bounced off it the first time.

The Crew Motorfest

Ubivisoft’s Hawaii-set arcade racer is the closest thing PS5 owners are getting to Forza Horizon for a while, given Forza Horizon 6 isn’t coming to PlayStation at launch next month. Motorfest packs hundreds of vehicles and a festival-style event structure spanning Honolulu’s streets, rainforest trails, mountain passes, and volcanic terrain. It’s not the deepest racing sim on the platform, but as a free addition it slots neatly into the gap.

Football Manager 26 Console

The big one for football fans. This entry marks the first time the Premier League has been fully licensed in the series, which is a genuinely meaningful change for a franchise where authenticity is half the appeal. The console version comes with a rebuilt Match Day presentation, fresh motion capture, and refined controller shortcuts that make tactical tweaks between highlights faster. Worth picking up just for the league licence alone if you’ve been on the fence.

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The Rest Of The April Lineup

Warriors: Abyss

Koei Tecmo’s roguelite take on the Warriors formula. Over 100 historical heroes are summonable as party members, and the loop centres on running successive trials of hell with combined hero abilities. It’s a niche genre crossover, but the deck-of-warriors mechanic gives it more legs than a straight Musou clone.

Squirrel with a Gun

The title is the pitch. You’re a rodent, you’ve got firearms, and you’re escaping a secret underground facility while collecting golden acorns. It’s a sandbox shooter slash puzzle platformer that leans entirely into its absurdity, and it’s the kind of palate-cleanser that works well as a free download rather than a full-price purchase.

The Casting of Frank Stone

Supermassive Games’ branching-narrative horror, set within the Dead by Daylight universe. Standard Until Dawn-style mechanics where decisions ripple through the story and characters can live or die based on your choices. Sony positioning this on the catalogue ahead of Supermassive’s next title, Directive 8020, releasing next month is no coincidence.

Monster Train

Long-overdue arrival on PlayStation for one of the most respected roguelike deckbuilders of the past few years. The hook is defending three vertical battlegrounds simultaneously, with six monster clans, 25 covenant difficulty levels, and over 280 cards to build around. If you’ve burnt out on Slay the Spire or Balatro, this is the next logical stop.

Wild Arms 4

The Premium-only addition, and the one with the most surprising backstory. Originally released on PS2 in 2005 in Japan and 2006 in the West, Wild Arms 4 was the entry that broke from the series’ western-themed aesthetic and divided fans at launch, though it’s since picked up a cult following. The new release adds up-rendered visuals, quick save, rewind, and custom video filters. It’s also being sold standalone on the PlayStation Store for $14.99 USD if you’d rather not subscribe to Premium.

This addition also means the bulk of the Wild Arms series is now playable on modern PlayStation hardware. Wild Arms 1 through 3 were already available, leaving only Wild Arms 5 and the PSP spinoff Wild Arms XF outside the modern catalogue.

Don’t Forget The Monthly Games Deadline

Separate from the Game Catalog drop, all PS Plus members at any tier can still claim April’s monthly games: Lords of the Fallen, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream. The deadline to add them to your library is 4 May, after which they’re gone from the free claim window. Worth grabbing now even if you don’t plan to play them immediately, since they stay in your library permanently as long as your subscription remains active.

What This Lineup Signals For The Months Ahead

April leans heavier on first-party catalogue depth than any month so far in 2026, and the Wild Arms 4 addition hints that more PS2-era classics could be on the way. The Wild Arms series isn’t a Sony-owned property, so its arrival on the Premium Classics tier suggests Sony is still actively brokering deals for legacy JRPGs rather than letting that part of the catalogue stagnate. Wild Arms 5 and Wild Arms XF remain the obvious next candidates if this lands well with subscribers.

The post PS Plus Game Catalog April 2026 Lineup Confirmed Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, The Crew Motorfest and Wild Arms 4 Headline Eight New Games appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo has announced he will retire from competitive Counter-Strike 2 at the end of 2026, ending a career that has spanned more than two decades. The FURIA in-game leader made the announcement on stage at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro during IEM Rio, telling fans he has 247 days left as an active player before stepping away from the server.

The 34-year-old veteran, widely known as “The Professor,” confirmed he intends to remain involved in Counter-Strike after retirement, though he did not specify what role he will take on. His final months as a player will see him compete with FURIA through the rest of the 2026 season.

FalleN Confirms End-Of-Year Exit On Stage At IEM Rio

FalleN delivered the news during an on-stage moment at IEM Rio, visibly emotional as he addressed the crowd. “It’s 247 more days,” he said. “I’ve decided that at the end of the year, I’m going to do other things within CS with you all.”

He invited fans to follow him through the rest of his playing career, framing the remainder of 2026 as a final chapter rather than an immediate departure. He also signalled that his post-playing work will focus on supporting other players, saying he believes there is more he can do to help others change their lives through the game, just as his own life was shaped by it.

FalleN closed the speech by thanking his family, his wife Leticia for over two decades of support, and his teammates, telling them he would miss them in the future. Several FURIA players were visibly emotional during the speech, with fans inside Farmasi Arena openly in tears.

O que antes de você era sonho, com você virou realidade, e por sua causa se torna legado.

Você não apenas venceu, você definiu o que é grandeza para um país inteiro dentro dos esportes eletrônicos.

Dentro ou fora do servidor, para sempre nosso Professor! 🖤🤍 pic.twitter.com/zwP6YqIqaj

— FURIA (@FURIA) April 17, 2026

A Career That Helped Build Brazilian Counter-Strike

FalleN’s competitive career started in 2005, playing Counter-Strike 1.6 in domestic Brazilian tournaments before progressing into international events such as the World Cyber Games and ESWC with teams including Crashers, FireGamers, and CompLexity.

His breakthrough on the global stage came during the CS:GO era. After making the playoffs of the ESL One: Katowice 2015 Major with Keyd Stars, he established himself as one of the most consistent in-game leaders of the era, making the playoffs of every Major from Katowice 2015 to Katowice 2019. He led Luminosity and SK Gaming to back-to-back Major titles in 2016 at MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne, alongside other significant trophies including two seasons of ESL Pro League, EPICENTER 2017, and ESL One Cologne 2017.

Stints with MIBR and Team Liquid followed before FalleN reunited with several Brazilian veterans to form the Last Dance lineup under Imperial, a project that reached the Legends Stage at the PGL Antwerp Major and resonated heavily with Brazilian fans.

Read More: karrigan Reportedly Set To Join Falcons Ahead of IEM Cologne Major, Replacing kyxsan

FURIA Era And His Mentorship Of molodoy

FalleN joined FURIA in July 2023 and has spent the past three years rebuilding both the team and his own competitive standing. After an inconsistent start, FURIA closed out 2025 with two Major playoff appearances and a string of tier-one trophies including BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 2, IEM Chengdu 2025, and FISSURE Playground 2.

A defining part of his FURIA tenure has been mentoring Danil “molodoy” Golubenko. The young Kazakh rifler was named Rookie of the Year and finished as the sixth best player of 2025, a rise widely attributed in part to FalleN’s coaching influence inside the team. molodoy was among the FURIA players who reacted publicly after the announcement, expressing sadness that his captain will soon step away from the active roster.

Community Reaction To The Retirement News

Reactions across the Counter-Strike community came in almost immediately after the speech. Players, analysts, and content creators shared tributes acknowledging FalleN’s role in shaping an entire generation of Brazilian talent and his influence on the global Counter-Strike scene.

Beyond competitive play, FalleN’s impact has extended into amateur development through his Games Academy project in Latin America, which has provided instructional content and platforms for pick-up games and grassroots tournaments. That community work has been a recurring theme in tributes, with many pointing to it as the foundation for whatever role he takes on after retiring.

What Comes Next For FalleN And FURIA

FURIA still has a full competitive calendar ahead in 2026, and FalleN’s remaining 247 days as a player will run through the rest of the year’s circuit. The team enters the back half of the IEM Rio bracket as one of the contenders, and any deep run from here on will carry the weight of a farewell tour for their captain.

The bigger question is what role FalleN takes on from 2027 onwards. He has hinted at staying inside Counter-Strike in a non-playing capacity, with a focus on helping new players, but has not confirmed whether that means coaching, an organisational role, broadcast work, or expanding his Games Academy project further. Whatever direction he chooses, the next chapter will be watched closely by a scene that has spent two decades being shaped by him.

The post Furia FalleN Announces CS2 Retirement at End of 2026 During Emotional IEM Rio Speech appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Fortnite Save the World has gone free to play with the launch of Act II of Fortnite Showdown, and Epic Games is marking the moment with a fresh batch of Twitch Drops. Three rewards are up for grabs, including a Legendary Hero exclusive to the PvE mode, but you only have a few days to earn them. Here’s exactly how to link your accounts, what to watch, and how long you need to sit through streams to unlock everything.

What You Can Earn From The Save The World Twitch Drops

There are three rewards tied to this Drops campaign, and each one requires a different amount of accumulated watch time on eligible Fortnite streams. Two of the items can be used in Battle Royale, while the Legendary Hero is locked to Save the World only.

The Legendary Hero is the headline reward here. Heroes from limited Drops campaigns rarely return to the Item Shop, so this is realistically your only window to grab the Urban Assault Headhunter without paying for it later through V-Bucks bundles or trades.

How To Link Your Twitch And Epic Games Accounts

Before any of your watch time counts, your Twitch and Epic Games accounts need to be linked. If you’ve done this for a previous Drops event, it’s still worth disconnecting and reconnecting to make sure the link is active, otherwise progress can silently fail to track.

Step By Step Account Linking

1. Sign in to your Epic Games account on the Epic Games website.
2. Open Account Settings and head to the Linked Accounts section.
3. Find the Twitch icon and click Connect or Link.
4. Sign in to your Twitch account when prompted and authorise the connection.
5. If you’ve linked the two accounts for previous Drops, disconnect and reconnect them to refresh the handshake between the platforms.

Once that’s done, your Twitch viewing activity will be recognised by Epic and your watch time on eligible streams will start banking towards the rewards.

How To Earn The Drops On Twitch

The watch-time requirement is straightforward, but there are a few specific conditions that trip players up every campaign. Battle Royale streams will not count towards these particular Drops, even though they share the Fortnite category.

Find A Save The World Stream With Drops Enabled

1. Open the Fortnite category on Twitch.
2. Filter or scroll for streams playing Save the World specifically, not Battle Royale, OG, or Festival.
3. Look for the Drops Enabled tag on the stream. If it isn’t there, your watch time will not count.
4. Start watching, and keep the stream unmuted in an active browser tab. Twitch occasionally stops tracking progress on muted or background windows.

Claim Your Rewards Once You Hit Each Milestone

1. When you reach a watch-time threshold, Twitch will send a notification that a Drop is ready.
2. Open the Drops and Rewards menu on Twitch and click Claim on each unlocked item. They are not awarded automatically, you have to manually claim them.
3. Claimed items should appear in your Fortnite Locker or Save the World inventory shortly after, though Epic notes it can take up to 24 hours in some cases.

Read More: Fortnite Save the World Is Now Free With a Free Skin to Boot After Nine Years

Known Issue With Drops Not Appearing

Epic Games has acknowledged that some players are not receiving their Twitch Drops even after meeting the watch-time requirements. The team is investigating and working on a fix. If your reward hasn’t shown up in Fortnite within 24 hours of claiming it on Twitch, this is the likely cause, and there’s no workaround beyond waiting for Epic to push the fix server-side. Avoid unlinking your accounts in the middle of an unresolved claim, as this can complicate the eventual delivery.

How Long You Have To Claim Everything

The Drops are live now and the watch-time window is tight. Earning has a hard cut-off, but claiming what you’ve already earned has a slightly longer grace period.

• Earning window: Drops can be earned through watching eligible streams until April 21 at 12 AM ET.
• Claim window: Any rewards you’ve already unlocked remain claimable in your Drops Inventory until April 28.

That gives you roughly four days from launch to clock the full four hours needed for the Legendary Hero. Stacking watch time during long Save the World streams, such as endurance runs or community events, is the most efficient way to bank the hours without babysitting the tab.

Why Epic Is Pushing Save The World Right Now

This Drops campaign is part of a broader push to bring players into Save the World now that the paywall is gone. Epic has also handed out a free Jess skin tied to the mode, and the developers have confirmed more updates are on the way for the long-running PvE experience. For players who never paid into the Founder’s Pack era, this is the most generous on-ramp the mode has ever had, and the Twitch Drops are stacked on top of it as an extra incentive to actually log in and play.

Expect more limited-time cosmetics tied to Save the World as Act II of Fortnite Showdown rolls out, and keep an eye on the Drops tab on Twitch through the rest of the season for similar campaigns.

The post Fortnite Save the World Twitch Drops – How to Claim All Free Rewards Before April 21 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The third time might genuinely be the charm for Street Fighter on the big screen. Paramount Pictures and Legendary have dropped the first full trailer for the 2026 Street Fighter movie, and it leans hard into ’90s nostalgia, arcade-faithful fight choreography, and a surprisingly heartfelt rivalry between Ryu and Ken. After two adaptations that most fans would rather forget, this one actually looks like it watched the source material.

The nearly three-minute trailer, released on 16 April ahead of a CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas, sets up a 1993-set story built around the World Warrior Tournament, with Noah Centineo’s washed-up Ken Masters dragged back into the fight by Callina Liang’s Chun-Li. It also puts Hadoukens, Shoryukens and Hundred Lightning Legs on screen without looking embarrassed about it, which is frankly a first for this franchise.

What the Street Fighter Trailer Actually Shows

The trailer opens on Ken in full has-been celebrity mode, screaming through off-key karaoke on what looks like a cringeworthy MTV-style variety show. Centineo plays him as a bleached-blond burnout who has clearly coasted on a fighting career that peaked years ago. It is a bold read on a character fans usually picture as the cocky rich kid, and it is the first sign the film is willing to mess with expectations.

Chun-Li arrives to pull him out of that spiral. Liang plays her as an Interpol-coded operator with a personal grudge, recruiting Ken for the upcoming World Warrior Tournament while making it clear she has already signed his estranged best friend Ryu.

Andrew Koji’s Ryu is the exact opposite energy, a solitary martial artist training alone in the quiet, and the visual match to the in-game character is uncanny.

From there the trailer turns into a highlight reel of moves pulled straight from the games. Ken lands his Shoryuken uppercut and a Jinrai Kick lifted directly from current Street Fighter titles. Chun-Li unleashes the Hundred Lightning Legs. Olivier Richters’ Zangief drops what looks like a piledriver on Ken. Joe Anoa’i’s Akuma hurtles in wreathed in dark energy for a move called Empyrean’s End.

And the whole thing builds to Ryu gathering chi in his palms and finally delivering the word every fan has been waiting to hear on screen: “Hadouken.”

The Plot Leans Into Ryu and Ken’s Broken Friendship

Rather than treating the tournament as the whole movie, the story hangs on the fractured relationship between Ryu and Ken. The two are estranged former best friends and rivals forced to patch things up once Chun-Li pulls them into the bracket, all while M. Bison (David Dastmalchian) uses the tournament as cover for a larger criminal conspiracy tied to the death of Chun-Li’s father.

It is a smart structural choice. Street Fighter as a game series has never carried much of a narrative, and leaning on the Ryu and Ken dynamic gives the film an emotional through-line that does not require rewriting the lore. The trailer even finds room for quick character beats, including a throwaway jab Chun-Li trades with Mel Jarnson’s Cammy about her famously muscular legs, the kind of wink that only lands if the filmmakers actually know the fanbase.

Read More: Avatar The Last Airbender Movie Leaked Online, Animators Call It “Incredibly Disrespectful”

The Full Street Fighter Movie Cast

The ensemble is stacked to the point of absurdity, pulling from wrestling, MMA, music and comedy alongside the lead actors. Here is the confirmed roster from Paramount’s official cast list.

Jason Momoa is also producing, and Centineo teased his transformation into Ken back in August 2025 with a now-deleted post showing off bleached-blond hair and a noticeably cut physique.

A Period Piece Drenched In ’90s Nostalgia

Setting the film in 1993 is the move that ties the whole thing together. It places the story in the era when Street Fighter 2 was genuinely dominating arcades and home consoles, and the trailer milks the period for everything it can. The soundtrack, the MTV sequences, the neon-lit tournament visuals, even a countdown timer in the corner during a beat-up-the-car scene that recreates the iconic bonus stage, it is all tuned for players who grew up feeding coins into an Street Fighter 2 cabinet.

Director Kitao Sakurai is leaning into the camp rather than running from it. His background on The Eric Andre Show and Twisted Metal shows up in the frenetic camerawork and the willingness to let things get weird, and the trailer has more in common with a loving parody than a po-faced martial arts drama. That is arguably the correct read on source material that includes a green electric wild man and a Brazilian grappler who can spin in midair.

Not Every Character Is Landing With Fans

The early reaction online is mostly positive, but a few casting choices are already pulling heat. Ken’s comedic, washed-up framing is dividing fans who expected the usual smug-heir version of the character, and Cody Rhodes’ take on Guile is drawing complaints about the hair and a general vibe that does not quite read as military. Whether those concerns hold up once the full film lands is another question, but the trailer reactions suggest the look of Guile specifically is going to be a discussion point all the way to release.

For context, Street Fighter has sold over 55 million units worldwide since Capcom launched the original in 1987, which makes it one of the highest-grossing video game franchises ever made. That is a lot of long-time fans with very specific ideas about how these characters should look and move, and this is the first trailer in the franchise’s film history that seems to have anticipated that scrutiny.

When the Street Fighter Movie Hits Theatres

Street Fighter opens in theatres on 16 October 2026. Paramount is using CinemaCon this week to screen extended footage to exhibitors, so expect more marketing beats, character posters and possibly a second trailer to roll out across the northern summer as the release date closes in. If the final cut delivers on what this trailer is selling, the franchise’s big-screen curse might finally be broken, three attempts deep.

The post Street Fighter Trailer Drops And It Actually Looks Like the Game for Once appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Fortnite looks set to add one of streaming’s most chaotic line-ups to its roster, with fresh leaks claiming a full crossover with Amazon Prime’s The Boys is in active development. The collab is reportedly being lined up for Chapter 7 Season 2, timed to ride alongside the show’s fifth and final season currently airing on Prime Video.

Nothing has been officially announced by Epic Games yet, so this still sits firmly in the leak column. But the sourcing is consistent enough that a Vought takeover of the island feels less like wishful thinking and more like a matter of when, not if.

What The Leaks Actually Say

The first signal came from Fortnite leaker SamLeakss, who posted that the crossover is “confirmed to be in the works” and will most likely drop later this season, with car cosmetics also part of the package. HYPEX has been cited alongside SamLeakss as backing the same claim, which is the main reason the rumour has stuck rather than fading after a single tweet.

THE BOYS x FORTNITE IS CONFIRMED TO BE IN THE WORKS 🔥

Will most likely drop later this season, and should also feature car cosmetics pic.twitter.com/iLMa8huZ65

— Sam (@SamLeakss) April 16, 2026

Neither leaker has shared a concrete release date, a skin list, or any visual assets so far. What’s been put forward is a development confirmation and a rough release window, plus the detail that vehicles will be involved in some form, which is a slightly more specific clue than the usual “skins incoming” leak.

Why The Chapter 7 Season 2 Window Lines Up

The Boys Season 5 is currently airing weekly on Prime Video, with the series finale set for 20 May 2026. That gives Epic a fairly obvious marketing pocket to slot the collab into, with a late May or early June Item Shop release being the most logical landing point if the goal is to capitalise on finale week chatter.

Fortnite has a track record of timing crossovers with major TV and film moments rather than dropping them cold. Aligning a Vought-themed shop refresh with the show’s send-off would be a clean fit, and it matches the loose “later this season” framing in the leaks.

Which Characters Could Get Skins

No skin list has leaked yet, so anything specific is guesswork built off the show’s cast. That said, a collab this size almost never ships with one or two skins, and the obvious anchors are Homelander and Billy Butcher, played by Antony Starr and Karl Urban respectively. From there, the cast opens up quickly.

Likely Picks From The Boys

• Billy Butcher
• Hughie Campbell
• Mother’s Milk

Likely Picks From The Seven And Vought

• Homelander
• Starlight
• A-Train
• The Deep

Back blings, pickaxes and emotes built around show moments are the standard expectation for a crossover at this scale, and the leaked vehicle cosmetics suggest at least one car wrap, and possibly more, themed around either The Boys’ battered vans or Vought’s polished branding.

How A Mature Show Fits A Teen-Rated Game

Fortnite carries a Teen ESRB rating while The Boys is built on graphic violence, gore and adult humour, which makes the pairing look odd on paper. The gap is real, but not unprecedented. Epic has already brought in skins from Saw, Scream and South Park, so the company has a working playbook for stripping the visual identity of an adult property into a form that fits the game’s rating.

In practice, that usually means costume-accurate skins without the show’s gorier flourishes, and emotes that nod to catchphrases or scenes rather than recreating them in full. Expect Homelander’s suit and Butcher’s coat to look right, with the rougher edges of the source material left at the door.

The Boys’ Track Record In Other Games

This wouldn’t be the show’s first jump into a live-service shooter. The Boys has previously crossed over with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Rainbow Six Siege, both of which delivered operator skins, themed weapon blueprints and finishing moves drawn from the show.

Those collabs give a reasonable benchmark for what a Fortnite version might look like in terms of cosmetic depth, although Fortnite’s scope tends to run wider, with map tie-ins, mythic items and limited-time modes often joining the cosmetic drops on bigger crossovers.

What’s Still Missing

The biggest unknowns are the skin roster, the exact release date, and whether the collab will extend beyond the Item Shop into something map-facing or mode-specific. Epic also hasn’t acknowledged the leak, which is normal at this stage but worth flagging for anyone treating the rumour as locked in.

Until a trailer or in-game teaser surfaces, the safest read is that the project exists and is being targeted at the back half of Chapter 7 Season 2, with everything beyond that still open. With the show’s finale just over a month away, the window for an official reveal is narrowing fast.

The post The Boys x Fortnite Crossover Leaked – Homelander, Butcher Skins And Car Cosmetics Tipped For Chapter 7 Season 2 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Red Dead Redemption is finally getting a physical release on PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, with both versions reportedly launching on 7 May 2026 at €34.99. The leak originated from a Spanish retailer listing before being expanded by Dealabs’ billbil-kun, who confirmed two separate physical editions are in the pipeline. One catch worth knowing upfront: the Switch 2 version is a Code-in-a-Box release, not a true cartridge.

This is the original Red Dead Redemption getting the physical treatment, not Red Dead Redemption 2. That distinction is causing some friction among fans who have been waiting years for an upgraded RDR2 on current-gen hardware.

What The Leaks Actually Show

Spanish retailer Wakkap accidentally published a store listing for a physical PS5 copy of Red Dead Redemption priced at €32.90, with a 7 May 2026 release date. The listing did not include an EAN code, which initially made it difficult to verify whether it was a genuine physical product or a digital placeholder.

Dealabs’ billbil-kun then followed up with additional findings, confirming the physical PS5 edition and revealing a second physical release for Nintendo Switch 2. According to billbil-kun’s reporting, both editions will retail at €34.99, which is €15 cheaper than the launch price of the digital versions. A separate Micromania listing briefly opened pre-orders for the PS5 version before disappearing, suggesting either an early reveal or a retailer error.

Rockstar Games has not acknowledged either leak at the time of writing.

Pricing And Edition Breakdown

Here is how the two physical editions compare based on the leaked information.

Neither version includes online multiplayer, matching the existing digital releases. The original PS4 physical release notably shipped without the classic New Austin map insert, and there is no indication so far that the PS5 version will restore it.

The Switch 2 Code-In-A-Box Problem

The Switch 2 version is the awkward one. A Code-in-a-Box release means buyers get a retail box containing only a download code printed on paper, with no cartridge inside. For a game that clocks in at roughly 12GB, the decision is harder to justify than it would be for a 50GB-plus title where cartridge cost becomes prohibitive.

For collectors who want a true physical Switch cartridge, the existing Switch 1 release remains the only option. Both the Switch 1 cartridge and digital versions are eligible for the free Switch 2 upgrade, provided the game has been updated to the latest version on the newer hardware.

Read More: Forza Horizon 6 Limited Edition Xbox Controller and Headset Leaked With Prices

Read More: Zelda Ocarina of Time Remake Reportedly Coming to Switch 2 This Christmas

Why Fans Are Frustrated It Is Not RDR2

The leak has reignited a long-running complaint from a section of the community: Red Dead Redemption 2 still does not have a native PS5 or Xbox Series X|S version. The 2018 release continues to run on PS4 and Xbox One code via backwards compatibility, with no upscaled current-gen port despite eight years passing since launch.

Reddit threads responding to the leak surfaced the usual sentiment, with one user joking that they would happily accept “everything other than releasing a PS5 port of RDR2,” and another saying they grew tired of waiting and built a Steam Machine specifically to run RDR2 at 60fps. The demand is clearly there, and Rockstar’s continued silence on the subject is starting to wear thin for a portion of the fanbase.

With Grand Theft Auto 6 reportedly facing further delays, an RDR2 current-gen port would be an obvious goodwill move while fans wait. Whether Rockstar sees it that way is another matter.

Where The Original Currently Stands

Red Dead Redemption was re-released natively on PS5 several months ago, bringing 60fps support at up to 4K resolution along with HDR. Graphical fidelity now sits roughly in line with the highest PC settings, which is a meaningful step up from the original PS4 version that many players were stuck with.

The Switch 2 version, released in December 2025, includes 60fps performance, DLSS support, HDR, and mouse controls via the new Joy-Cons. Nintendo Life scored that release 9/10. The mobile versions on iOS and Android, along with the Netflix release, have collectively crossed 10 million downloads since launching.

What To Watch For Next

Pre-orders have not officially opened yet, and Rockstar has not confirmed any of the leaked details. Given the consistency between the Spanish retailer listing, billbil-kun’s reporting, and the Micromania pre-order page that briefly went live, an official announcement is likely soon. Whether Rockstar will use the same announcement to address RDR2’s current-gen status, or stay silent on it, is the more interesting question.

The post Red Dead Redemption PS5 Physical Edition Leaks For May 7, Switch 2 Gets Code-In-A-Box appeared first on Shane the Gamer.