We’ve prepared a roundup of the main news for Players readers for May 6, 2026.
ATB officially announces the end of its collaboration with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
- The ATB retail chain reported the completion of its joint promotional campaign with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Due to exceptionally high consumer activity that exceeded all forecasts, the planned stock of promotional items has already been fully sold out.
VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 1 becomes the least popular opening stage in the series’ history
- The group stage of VCT 2026: EMEA Stage 1 recorded the lowest viewership figures among all opening stages in VCT history. According to Esports Charts, the average number of viewers was under 100,000.
PUBG gets a new PvE heist mode in collaboration with PAYDAY
- The developers of PUBG: Battlegrounds have announced a new game mode created as part of a collaboration with the PAYDAY co-op shooter series. The event will introduce a new PvE mode where the main objective is to plan and successfully execute large-scale heists.
Analyst discovers thousands of bots in ranked Dota 2 matches
- Analyst Ben “Noxville” Steenhuisen reported that he had identified thousands of bots in ranked Dota 2 matches. He shared his findings on his X page. The bots were detected via the Windrun platform. Since mid-January 2026, a total of 24,779 bot accounts have been found, collectively playing 121,977 matches, which were consequently flagged as “compromised.”
Parker reveals salary details in HEROIC
- Former HEROIC Dota 2 roster player David “Parker” Flores appeared on streamer ElMacarius’ broadcast. During the stream, the esports player подробно discussed roster expenses, player salaries, and the terms for prize money distribution.