NewHotApril 12, 2026 — Gaming Daily
Gaming News Today: GTA 6 Gets Hacked, Marvel Rivals Goes Wild in Season 7 & Starfield Lands on PS5
Rockstar confirms a data breach with a 48-hour ransom deadline. NetEase drops a Deadpool event in Marvel Rivals. Overwatch Season 2 is almost here. Here is everything happening in gaming right now on April 12, 2026.
ATB Blog·Gaming·April 12, 2026·7 min read
It is Sunday, April 12, 2026 — and the gaming world is anything but quiet. From a major cybersecurity crisis at one of the world's most valuable game studios to a massive live-service update battle between Marvel Rivals and Overwatch, today's gaming news is packed. Here is your complete, clean breakdown of everything that matters in gaming today.
Nov 19
GTA 6 release date — still on track
Apr 14
Rockstar ransom deadline from hackers
Season 7
Marvel Rivals — live now
Apr 7
Starfield officially arrived on PS5
165K+
Overwatch peak concurrent players on Steam
Apr 28
Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred drops this month
Today's stories — April 12, 2026
Breaking
Rockstar Games confirms GTA 6 data breach — hackers demand ransom by April 14
Rockstar Games has confirmed that a hacker group called ShinyHunters breached a third-party cloud platform the studio uses — Anodot, a cloud cost monitoring tool — and gained access to the company's Snowflake data environment. The attackers are threatening to release stolen corporate data unless Rockstar pays a ransom before a April 14 deadline. In a statement, Rockstar said "a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed" and that "this incident has no impact on our organisation or our players." Experts believe the hackers likely accessed financial reports, marketing plans, and contracts — but not GTA 6 source code or player data. Rockstar appears calm. GTA 6 remains on track for November 19, 2026.
Update
Marvel Rivals Season 7 is live — Deadpool event, White Fox fixes, new cosmetics
NetEase dropped a new patch for Marvel Rivals on April 9, 2026, continuing the momentum of Season 7 — set in a version of New York City where Mayor Fisk has declared martial law. The patch brings the Deadpool "Hospitality 101" Lucky Draw event, a new Iron Fist "Lin Shao: The Knockout" bundle, and the hilarious Jeff the Land Shark Maid Outfit. Bug fixes include a critical Hulk healing issue and White Fox's Kumiho form color finally syncing up with her different costume colours. New animations were also added for White Fox and Cloak. The game is now deep into its Avengers-themed roadmap running all the way to December 2026, with Black Cat confirmed as the next hero to join the roster.
Release
Starfield finally lands on PlayStation 5 — full DualSense support included
Bethesda's massive sci-fi RPG Starfield officially launched on PlayStation 5 this week on April 7, ending its exclusivity window on PC and Xbox. The PS5 version includes full DualSense support — adaptive triggers for weapon feedback, haptic responses, dynamic light bar health indicators, controller speaker audio for in-game logs, and touchpad gestures for faster navigation. PS5 Pro owners get dedicated visual and performance modes using Sony's upscaling technology. For millions of PlayStation players, this marks their first chance to explore Starfield's huge universe and deep character customisation systems.
Coming Soon
Overwatch Season 2 is almost here — map voting overhaul revealed
Overwatch — which dropped the "2" from its title and relaunched with Season 1 back in February — is closing in on Season 2. Blizzard has confirmed that Season 2 will bring a significant overhaul to the Map Voting system, giving players more control over which maps get played. Hero reworks are also confirmed for Season 2, targeting Sombra, Lifeweaver, and Roadhog. Overwatch has been on a serious comeback — it recently hit an all-time peak of over 165,000 concurrent players on Steam alone, surpassing both Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty in concurrent player counts on the platform.
Update
Crimson Desert gets another big April update from Pearl Abyss
Pearl Abyss continues to push content at a rapid pace for Crimson Desert, releasing its second significant April 2026 update this week. The patch adds skills for every character in the game and makes the controversial fast-forward feature even faster — one of the most requested community improvements. Intel Arc and XeSS 3.0 graphics card support has also been added in this update, broadening the game's hardware compatibility. After a chaotic but exciting launch, Crimson Desert appears to be finding its stride with consistent, community-driven updates.
Esports
Marvel Rivals expands beyond 6v6 — new game modes teased for 2026
NetEase has announced that Marvel Rivals is planning to expand beyond its signature 6v6 PvP format. New "arenas" are in development that will give players new environments to explore and compete in — marking a major evolution for the game beyond its launch identity. No specific details or release dates have been confirmed yet, but the announcement signals NetEase's ambition to grow Marvel Rivals into something much bigger than a hero shooter. The Marvel Rivals Ignite 2026 esports preseason is also currently live, featuring top teams from EMEA, AMER, OCE and ASIA regions.
Rumour
Disney and Epic Games reportedly building ARC Raiders-style extraction shooter
A new report reveals that the major partnership between Disney and Epic Games is moving in a surprising direction — the two companies are allegedly developing an ARC Raiders-style extraction shooter featuring Disney characters. No official announcement has been made, but if accurate, this would mark Disney's most ambitious foray into live-service gaming to date. The project is reportedly early in development and could be years away from release.
Big News
Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a box office hit — Nintendo Switch 2 bundle launching today
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been a massive success at the box office — Marcus Theatres reported its highest-grossing Easter holiday weekend in company history, driven primarily by Mario fans. Starting today, April 12, Nintendo is launching a limited-time bundle deal: purchase a Nintendo Switch 2 with the physical or digital versions of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 and save $20. The offer runs from April 12 through May 9, 2026.
Biggest story: GTA 6 hacked — should fans be worried?
Let's dig deeper into the story everyone in gaming is talking about today. Rockstar Games — the studio behind the most anticipated game release of possibly all time — has confirmed it was hacked. The group responsible, ShinyHunters, is a notorious black-hat collective with a long history of high-profile attacks. Past victims include Microsoft, AT&T, Ticketmaster, Wattpad, Google, and several major universities.
The ransom note reads: "Rockstar Games, your Snowflake instances were compromised thanks to Anodot.com. Pay or leak. This is a final warning to reach out by 14 April 2026 before we leak, along with several annoying (digital) problems that'll come your way."
How did the breach happen? ShinyHunters did not break into Snowflake — Rockstar's cloud data platform — directly. Instead, they exploited Anodot, a third-party cloud cost monitoring tool that Rockstar uses. By compromising Anodot, they obtained authentication tokens that allowed them to access Rockstar's Snowflake environment while appearing as legitimate users — a method known as a credential-based attack.
Good news for players: Experts say the hackers almost certainly did not get access to GTA 6 source code, game builds, or graphic assets. The stolen data likely includes financial documents, marketing plans, and corporate contracts. No player passwords or personal purchase data are believed to be compromised.
"This incident has no impact on our organisation or our players."
— Rockstar Games official statement, April 12, 2026The April 14 deadline is now just two days away. Whether Rockstar pays, ignores, or responds to the hackers will become clear very soon. The gaming world will be watching closely — but for now, GTA 6's November 19, 2026 release date remains officially untouched.
Upcoming games to watch this April
Mouse: P.I. For Hire
April 16, 2026
A noir detective adventure generating big buzz for its art style and soundtrack.
PS5 · Xbox Series · Switch · PC
Opus: Prism Peak
April 16, 2026
A new indie darling coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch as well as PC.
Switch 2 · Switch · PC
Pragmata
April 16, 2026
Capcom's AI doomsday action game praised for its innovative hacking mechanics.
PS5 · Xbox Series · PC
Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred
April 28, 2026
The next major expansion for Diablo IV — the biggest since Vessel of Hatred.
PS5 · Xbox · PC
TMNT: Empire City
April 30, 2026
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles enter VR — a full co-op adventure for Quest.
Quest · PC VR
Grand Theft Auto 6
November 19, 2026
The biggest entertainment launch in history — still on track despite today's hack.
PS5 · Xbox Series X/S
The hero shooter war: Marvel Rivals vs Overwatch
The biggest rivalry in gaming right now is not happening on the battlefield — it is happening in the live service update cycle. Marvel Rivals, which launched in late 2024 and shook Overwatch off the top of the hero shooter throne, now has 47 characters and a relentless content pace. Season 7 is deeply story-driven, with a full Avengers-themed roadmap running through to December 2026.
Overwatch — now just "Overwatch" again after dropping the "2" branding — fought back hard in February with Season 1, dropping five new heroes at once in what it openly admitted was a direct response to Marvel Rivals' content pace. And it is working: Overwatch has hit its highest Steam player count ever, passing 165,000 concurrent players and surpassing both Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty on the platform. Season 2 is almost here and brings even more changes to keep the momentum going.
Bottom line: Gamers are winning. Both games are pushing each other to deliver more content, faster, at a higher quality — and the entire hero shooter genre is thriving as a result. If you have not tried both in 2026, now is the best time.
Final word
April 12, 2026 is a big Sunday for gaming. Rockstar is in the middle of a genuine cybersecurity storm just months before GTA 6's launch. Marvel Rivals and Overwatch are trading blows for hero shooter dominance. Starfield has finally arrived on PlayStation. And a wall of exciting releases is heading our way before the end of April. Stay with ATB Blog for daily gaming coverage — we have you covered.
Featured image prompt (DALL·E / Midjourney / Adobe Firefly)
"A dramatic gaming battlestation at night with multiple screens showing GTA 6, Marvel Rivals, and Overwatch, neon purple and red lighting, controller in foreground, dark moody atmosphere, hyper-detailed digital art style, 16:9 widescreen format, no text"
FAQ section
Q: Was GTA 6 directly hacked or leaked today?
Rockstar confirmed a third-party data breach via Anodot, a cloud monitoring tool. The hackers accessed corporate data such as financial documents and marketing plans — but not GTA 6 game files, source code, or player data. Rockstar says GTA 6's November 19, 2026 release is unaffected.
Q: What is happening in Marvel Rivals right now?
Marvel Rivals is in Season 7, set in a martial-law version of New York. The latest patch added the Deadpool "Hospitality 101" event, new cosmetics including a Jeff the Land Shark Maid Outfit, White Fox bug fixes, and new animations. Black Cat is the next confirmed hero joining the roster.
Q: Is Starfield now available on PS5?
Yes. Starfield launched on PlayStation 5 on April 7, 2026, with full DualSense support including adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and touchpad gestures. PS5 Pro players also get enhanced visual and performance modes.
Q: When does Overwatch Season 2 start?
Blizzard has not confirmed an exact date yet, but Season 2 is confirmed to be "right around the corner." It will bring a major overhaul to the Map Voting system and hero reworks for Sombra, Lifeweaver, and Roadhog.
Q: What big games are coming out in late April 2026?
The biggest releases coming before April ends include Mouse: P.I. For Hire and Pragmata on April 16, Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction on April 28, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City on April 30.
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