THE FINALS is in Season 11: Galaxy Masters, with a space-themed arena, melee overhaul, and Bot mode. The APAC esports circuit is mid-cycle, with HIBOO leading the leaderboard after two consecutive cycle wins.
THE FINALS entered Season 11: Galaxy Masters on July 9, 2026. The space-themed update added the Galaxy Estate arena with speed tunnels and anti-gravity zones, overhauled melee combat with defense, stamina, and precision strike systems, and introduced a Bot mode for Cashout. A space-themed battle pass and convenience improvements, including an improved respawn system and expanded pins, shipped with the season.
Alongside the game update, Embark Studios has been discussing its machine learning work. At NDC26, the studio's ML lead detailed how a simple EASE recommendation model increased purchasers by 400% in The Finals, though organizational hurdles nearly killed the project until an engineer moved desks to the commercial team.
The esports circuit, The Grand Major Online Series, is organized by Nexon and Embark Studios, with a total prize pool of $200,000 and qualification for the TGM Grand Final 2026 in Stockholm. Chinese team Kingzero won APAC Cycle 1 on June 3, 2026. Korean team HIBOO won Cycle 2 on June 28, coming from behind to defeat Chinese team KZ, and then won Cycle 3 on July 25, defeating DRG. HIBOO's back-to-back wins put them atop the APAC leaderboard with 230 points, ahead of KZ and DRG with one cycle remaining.
Separately, Microsoft warned that the August 12, 2026 Windows update (version 26100.9168/KB5121003) may cause crashes, freezes, and system restarts in some games, including The Finals. Microsoft is investigating and advises users to report issues via the Feedback Hub.
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4d ago
Nexon held the final APAC league match of The Grand Major Online Series on August 22, 2026. Eight teams competed across the fourth cycle. South Korea-Australia joint team 777rs took first place in the match, their first series victory, while KZ topped the overall APAC leaderboard with 275 points. KZ secured straight entry to the main event of The Grand Major 2026, held in Stockholm in November, with a total prize pool of approximately $150,000.
Aug 21
Microsoft acknowledged that the August 12, 2026 Windows update (version 26100.9168/KB5121003) may cause crashes, freezes, and system restarts in some games, including ARC Raiders, The Finals, and MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls. The company is investigating whether the issue is caused by Microsoft and asks users to report problems via the Feedback Hub.
Aug 6
South Korean team HIBOO won the APAC League Cycle 3 finals of The Grand Major Online Series on July 25, defeating DRG in the final match to claim their second consecutive cycle victory. The win earned them $2,000 and 100 points, moving them to the top of the APAC leaderboard with 230 total points.
Jul 10
Embark Studios launched Season 11: Galaxy Masters for THE FINALS on July 9, 2026. The space-themed update adds the Galaxy Estate arena with speed tunnels and anti-gravity zones, overhauls melee combat with defense, stamina, and precision strike systems, and introduces a Bot mode for Cashout. A space-themed battle pass and convenience improvements like an improved respawn system and expanded pins are also included.
Jun 30
Korean team HIBOO won the APAC League Cycle 2 finals of THE FINALS esports tournament The Grand Major Online Series on June 28, 2026. HIBOO came from behind to defeat Chinese team KZ in the final match. The win earns HIBOO $2,000 and 100 points toward qualification for the TGM Grand Final 2026 in Stockholm.
Jun 16
At NDC26, Embark Studios machine learning lead Martin detailed how the studio uses ML for recommendations, quest generation, and enemy behavior. A key takeaway was that a simple EASE recommendation model increased purchasers by 400% in The Finals, but organizational hurdles nearly killed the project until an engineer physically moved desks to the commercial team.
Jun 3
The Chinese team Kingzero won the APAC League Cycle 1 finals of The Grand Major Online Series, the global esports tournament for the team shooter The Finals. The tournament, organized by Nexon and Embark Studios, awards points toward the TGM Grand Final 2026 in Stockholm, with a total prize pool of $200,000.