FPS News Roundup: Marathon's BR Hit, MOUSE Launches, & Switch 2 Rumors

By ModVC Staff | Thursday, April 16, 2026

Welcome back to another massive week in gaming, brought to you by the ModVC Team. As we push further into the spring of 2026, the First-Person Shooter (FPS) genre continues to dominate the headlines. From highly anticipated indie launches finally hitting storefronts to massive AAA live-service pivots and performance patches on next-generation hardware, there is absolutely no shortage of firepower to discuss today.

Whether you are a competitive extraction shooter fanatic, a lover of old-school boomer shooters, or someone just looking for the sleekest performance out of your brand-new hardware, this week's news drop has something for you. Let’s dive straight into the latest developments shaking up the FPS world.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire Finally Arrives in Style

After years of eager anticipation, trailers, and viral social media hype, MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has officially launched across Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and the newly minted Nintendo Switch 2. If you've been living under a rock, MOUSE is a completely unique take on the traditional first-person shooter, delivering a stylish, gritty noir experience wrapped meticulously in hand-drawn 1930s rubber-hose cartoon visuals.

The juxtaposition of cheerful, bouncy animations with the brutal, tommy-gun-toting violence of a classic noir detective story is nothing short of brilliant. Playing as a private investigator in a corrupt, bustling cartoon metropolis, players utilize an arsenal of era-appropriate weaponry (with hilarious, exaggerated cartoon physics) to blast their way through mobsters and corrupt officials.

What makes MOUSE truly stand out isn't just its aesthetic—which flawlessly mimics the early days of classic animation complete with film grain and mono-style audio cues—but its incredibly tight gunplay. It successfully marries the frantic, fast-paced shooting mechanics of modern boomer shooters with an art style that demands your attention. The launch on the Switch 2 is particularly noteworthy, as the game runs flawlessly on Nintendo's new hardware, keeping the fluid animations intact without dropping frames during chaotic firefights.

Bungie Strikes Gold: Marathon's Battle Royale Experiment

When Bungie first announced the revival of Marathon as a PvP-focused extraction shooter, the community was cautiously optimistic. However, in a surprising twist that has completely reinvigorated the player base, Bungie's latest experimental matchmaking queue has turned Marathon into a makeshift battle royale—and it is an absolute hit.

Dubbed the "Free Kit Queue," players drop into the sci-fi zones without their customized, hard-earned loadouts. Instead, everyone starts on a completely level playing field, forcing players to scavenge for weapons, armor, and tactical gear on the fly. PC Gamer perfectly summarized the community sentiment, noting that the free kit queue "might be the most fun I've had so far."

By stripping away the gear-fear typically associated with extraction shooters, Marathon allows players to simply enjoy the pristine, ultra-responsive gunplay that Bungie is legendary for. The fast-paced scramble for resources, combined with the game's spectacular movement mechanics and cyberpunk aesthetic, creates a distinctly thrilling loop. While Bungie continues to maintain the core extraction mode and the recently added duos queue, this battle royale experiment proves that the underlying mechanics of Marathon are versatile enough to support multiple massive game modes.

Current Top FPS Modes & Metas

Tech Check: Saros, PS5 Pro, and the 60 FPS Standard

Performance metrics remain a massive talking point in 2026, especially with the widespread adoption of the PlayStation 5 Pro and the Nintendo Switch 2. This week, Housemarque detailed what players can expect from their upcoming sci-fi shooter, Saros, on the PS5 Pro.

Saros is launching with full support for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), the AI-driven upscaling tech that rolled out with the PS5 Pro. Thanks to PSSR, Housemarque has confirmed that the gameplay will run at a buttery smooth 60 FPS with enhanced graphical fidelity. However, this news came with a slight caveat that disappointed some fans: the cinematic cutscenes will still render at 30 FPS.

According to Notebookcheck, while the gameplay upgrades are stellar, the jarring transition between 60 FPS gameplay and 30 FPS cutscenes is a point of contention for hardcore enthusiasts who expected a seamless, uniform frame rate across the board on "Pro" hardware.

Speaking of frames per second, we can't ignore the impressive efforts happening on the Nintendo Switch 2 side of the aisle. Developer Playtonic announced a massive update for Yooka-Replaylee, bringing a much-requested 60 FPS performance mode to the Switch 2. While Yooka-Replaylee is fundamentally a 3D platformer rather than a shooter, this performance patch is heavily indicative of the Switch 2's robust capabilities. If massive, open-world platformers can achieve a stable 60 FPS on a handheld hybrid, it bodes incredibly well for future FPS ports heading to Nintendo's platform.

Hardware Performance Rundown

Into the Dark: Blood Reaver Delivers Brutal Fantasy FPS

If you prefer your shooters with a heavy dose of dark magic and medieval grit, Blood Reaver is the game you need to be playing right now. Developed by Hell Byte Studios and recently reviewed by MKAU Gaming, this dark fantasy FPS is making waves on Steam.

Blood Reaver brilliantly combines forbidden magic with visceral, heavy-hitting ballistics. Described by the developers as an experience where you "harness forbidden magic and wield devastating firearms," the gameplay loop is an intoxicating mix of Hexen-style spellcasting and DOOM-style aggression.

The review highlights the incredible weapon feedback—specifically the shotgun, which feels like it can tear through the fabric of reality itself. Enemy designs are grotesque and terrifying, requiring players to constantly switch between elemental magic to strip away enemy shields before delivering the final blow with traditional ballistic weaponry. It is a punishing, rewarding, and visually striking addition to the indie FPS renaissance.

Industry Shifts: INDUSTRIA 2 Delayed & Starfield Switch 2 Rumors

Not all news this week is full of launches and high frame rates. Development studio Bleakmill announced the unfortunate, but understandable, delay of INDUSTRIA 2.

"Finishing an FPS Campaign with a Team of 8 is Hard," the developers stated plainly. INDUSTRIA 2 promises to be a significantly larger and more ambitious game than its predecessor, blending narrative-driven exploration with intense combat. The ModVC team always advocates for developers taking the time they need to deliver a polished product, especially small indie teams punching far above their weight class. We will gladly wait for INDUSTRIA 2 to get the extra time in the oven it deserves.

On the rumor mill front, whispers of Starfield making its way to the Nintendo Switch 2 are growing louder. Following what was deemed a "somewhat successful" launch on the PlayStation 5, a leaked overseas games rating list suggests Bethesda is actively prepping a Switch 2 release. The idea of taking a massive, spacefaring Bethesda RPG on the go without relying on cloud streaming or a Steam Deck is tantalizing. If the Switch 2 can handle Starfield, it will truly cement the console as a portable powerhouse.

The Indie Sandbox & Viral Social Masterpieces

We always like to shine a light on the incredible creativity happening in the grassroots indie scene, and Twitter (X) has been incredibly active this week.

One of the most mind-bending concepts we've seen recently is an indie FPS where your framerate is your health bar. Yes, you read that correctly. The developer (@d3thd33lr) showcased a prototype where playing poorly and taking damage literally drops your game's FPS. If you drop to 0 FPS, you die. Alternatively, you can purposefully lower your graphics settings mid-game to regain "health." It is a meta, fourth-wall-breaking concept that we desperately hope sees a full release.

Additionally, indie developer Jaaay64 continues to tease his upcoming retro-inspired shooter, showing off some highly polished internal playtesting of a new Domination game mode. The sheer volume of passion projects in the FPS space is staggering, proving that the genre is in incredibly healthy hands.

ModVC Recommended Watchlist

If you are looking for more visual coverage of the FPS landscape, check out these top video features from our colleagues around the industry:

Final Thoughts

The landscape of the First-Person Shooter in 2026 is incredibly diverse. We are seeing massive AAA studios like Bungie willing to experiment with their core formulas to deliver exactly what players find fun. We are seeing AA and indie studios like Fumi Games and Hell Byte Studios injecting massive doses of style and unique mechanics into the genre. And finally, we are seeing hardware that is pushing the boundaries of what we can expect in our living rooms and on the go.

Stay tuned to ModVC Gaming News for all your future updates, reviews, and deep dives into the world of gaming. Keep your crosshairs steady and your framerates high!

Sources for this article include: Nintendo Wire, Instant Gaming News, PC Gamer, TheXboxHub, OpenCritic, and Gameranx.