THE FINALS Update 12.3.0 Brings TGM26 Content and Combat Tweaks

The update adds 16 team bundles, a 16-level event pass, the return of Head Hunter, and balance changes to gadgets and weapons.

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Two blue gaming chairs with THE FINALS logos against a dark blue background.

THE FINALS Update 12.3.0 brings The Grand Major 2026 content to the Arena, including a new event pass, team bundles, the return of Head Hunter, and a long list of gameplay fixes and balance changes. Embark’s Update 12.3.0 announcement on Steam says the tournament will take place in Stockholm from November 27 to 29.

Pick’em runs from November 12 at 11:00 CET through November 27 at 00:00 CET. Players have one submission to predict which five teams reach The Throne on Day 3, their qualifying order, how the crowns will be shared, and answers to 10 questions about the event. Completing all three sections earns a Silver badge. Gold, Platinum, and Diamond require prediction accuracy in the top 50%, 25%, and 5%, respectively. Results will be revealed from November 27 to 29 as match results are confirmed.

There are 16 Esport Bundles, one for each team heading to the tournament: Aimerz+, Alliance, Ape Squad, Elevate, ENVY, Five Fears, FYR, KCP, KingZero, LUMINON, Moon Theory, Nfinite, NTMR, RAD, Take Flyte, and Vanguard. Each includes an outfit, three Equipment skins, a team VFX, an Emote, a Charm, Sticker, Spray, and Player Card.

The TGM26 Event Pass has two pages and 16 reward levels, including a Legendary outfit and weapon skins. It can be purchased with Multibucks for a limited time, though players can complete it at their own pace. Head Hunter also returns as a limited-time mode: each team’s top eliminator carries a bounty, dropping coins for opponents to collect if they are eliminated. Survive to the end of the event and the cash is yours.

Stream Tangerine Twitch Drops are available until November 26, 2026. Watching a stream of THE FINALS with Drops Enabled for 1 hour earns the Stream Tangerine Dagger, 2 hours earns the Stream Tangerine CB-01 Repeater, and 4 hours earns the Stream Tangerine SA1216.

The balance pass targets several tools that were affected by Update 12.0’s destruction and healing changes. Breaching gadgets get updated environmental damage, while Dome Shield loses maximum health and Healing Emitter and H+ Infuser healing output is reduced. The notes also adjust burning, Shockwave, and weapons, then cover fixes across maps, modes, gadgets, UI, and performance.

Patch Notes: THE FINALS Update 12.3.0

Balance Changes

Arena Carribales

Oil Barrel

Slightly increased the range of heat from a burning barrel

Dev Note: This change is one of a small number of tweaks being made in this release to make burning behavior more consistent and reliable.

Gadgets

General

Updated the environmental damage for breaching gadgets to make them more reliable at punching holes in surfaces with the new destruction system. This change impacts the C4, Breach Charge and Breach Drill

Dev Note: We’ve seen that since 12.0 the new destruction system has made some of these Gadgets less reliable as breaching tools. These changes are aimed to fix that.

Breach Drill

Re-aligned the Breach Drill’s blast radius and flash radius, so that they more accurately match

Dome Shield

Decreased health from 600 to 400
Decreased health decay per second from 100 to 66

Dev Note: We can see the previous changes we made to Dome Shield in 12.0 resulted in the Dome Shield still being a little too difficult to deal with in some scenarios. This change lowers their max health making them slightly faster to destroy, but retains the same relative health decay rate, meaning the full duration of an undamaged Dome Shield remains the same.

Healing Emitter

Decreased max healing per second from 20 to 15

Dev Note: With the 12.0 update we buffed the Healing Beam in an attempt to increase its impact and viability for the Medium archetype. While that change and some subsequent weapon balance adjustments have boosted Medium’s viability, we still feel the Healing Emitter and H+ Infuser cannibalize too much of the Healing Beam’s role. As a result, we’re making a set of small changes to both.

H+ Infuser

Decreased health per shot from 10 to 7
Increased ammo from 20 to 30

Dev Note: The reasoning behind this change is explained with the Healing Emitter above. The actual change reduces the burst potential of the H+, requiring more sustained accuracy to put down the same amount of healing as before.

Translocator

Increased deploy time from 0s to 0.3s

Dev Note: This change is a small quality of life change to make Translocating to a new location slightly less immediate. This is not the long term solution to the problem of Translocator use feeling very sudden to enemies. We’re continuing to work on a small rework of the item to address that feedback more meaningfully and that should arrive later this season.

Game Mode

General

Players can now earn Fans and XP for qualifying for the next round in Solo Showdown, which was not possible before

Gameplay

Burning Status

Increased contestant heat thresholds and made it possible to burn for one more tick
Decreased damage per burning tick from 16 to 15.

Dev Note: These adjustments are aimed at making burning and its application slightly more reliable. The changes combine to mean the max possible damage taken from burning has increased from 32 to 45.

Specializations

Shockwave

Decreased Shockwave’s ‘connection damage’ on buildings from 3,000 to 1,000, making it less likely to fracture buildings suddenly
Increased cooldown from 12s to 15s
Decreased Glitch effect duration from 2s to 1s

Dev Notes: Since adding the Glitch effect the Shockwave has seen significant increase in usage, somewhat taking away from the other Medium Specializations. Additionally, we’ve received a lot of feedback that the Shockwave can feel very spammy for the players it hits, which can be quite frustrating. The changes made here are some small adjustments to reduce that negative feeling a little, but in the longer term we’re looking to slightly re-work how Shockwave applies the Glitch effect, to make it more skill-based. These changes will take a little time to build and test, but should arrive before the end of the season.

Weapons

Flamethrower

Decreased impact damage from 30 to 26
Decreased the heat gained per tick from 50 to 25, meaning players gain burning status slower

Dev Notes: These changes are in support of the quality of life updates being made to burning

Cerberus

Increased the heat gained per pellet from 3.38 to 8.46

Dev Notes: These changes are in support of the quality of life updates being made to burning

Bug Fixes and Other Changes

Animation

Improved animation blending when canceling a vault with Quick Melee
Fixed an issue where firing and crouching movement did not work correctly in speed tunnels while sprinting
Smoothed the inspect animation to prevent a snag when quickly pressing and releasing the inspect button
Fixed a visual issue where switching to spectate a teammate during Quick Melee could restart the melee from the beginning
Adjusted the position of Dual Blades deflect animations so they are less likely to block your field of view. Also adjusted a few skins to not cover your middle screen while deflecting
Fixed an issue where the heavy attack animation could continue playing after using the Winch Claw

Arena Carriables

Oil Barrels

Fixed an issue where burning Oil Barrels could explode instantly on impact when thrown

Audio

Fixed an issue which could cause door opening sounds to be silent
Fixed an issue where certain Weapon effects and sounds would persist after eliminating an opponent, such as the Minigun firing sound and Flamethrower flame effect

H+ Infuser

Fixed an issue where shooting an ally with the H+ Infuser would cause them to yell “Friendly fire!”

Powershift

Added sound for PLATFORM CAPTURED text in Power Shift

Solo Showdown

Fixed an issue where the tournament screen in Solo Showdown would wrongly play the matchmaking music between rounds, instead of menu music

Contracts

Eliminations within 5 seconds of using the Mimic Device now correctly count toward the related contract in the Signature Development Unit quest
Fixed an issue where OSPUZE’s “TIGER B.L.O.O.D.” contract progressed with only one A rank
General improvements to several Sponsor contracts, Daily and Daily Club contracts, including some involving Smoke Grenades such as ISEUL-T’s “Smoked” Signature Play

Cosmetic

Corrected the size and placement of emoticons so they align with the hand as intended
Fixed clipping on the Sea Bandolier cosmetic when equipped on the Medium Build
Fixed an issue where the chicken in the Coop Caper emote could briefly freeze or appear out of sync during the animation
Fixed an issue where the guitar could clip through the Contestant at the end of the Glam Slam emote
Fixed the ALFA ACTA Tactical skin on the Guardian Turret where a side decal rotated with the gun
Fixed Clown Nose appearing rotated on some heads
Fixed large stickers not fully covering underlying decals on select skins for the Goo Grenade and Gas Grenade
Added new audio for the ARN-220’s glitch animation customizations, covering deploy and reload variations
Fixed the Long Braid hairstyle appearing unusually thin on the Light Build

Gadgets

Healing Emitter

Fixed an issue where it would snap to a fixed 90° orientation after being dropped

Jump Pad

Fixed an issue where it would not launch a Contestant holding onto a ladder when placed behind it

Mimic Device

Fixed an issue where melee aim assist and assisted lunges could lock onto Contestants using the Mimic Device, revealing their disguise
Aim Assist no longer targets opponents disguised with the Mimic Device
Fixed an issue where damage applied to a player disguised as a Healing Emitter would not be transferred to the player themselves
Fixed an issue where using it to disguise as the Healing Emitter could leave you unable to move and immune to damage after the disguise was destroyed
Fixed an issue where disguises created with the Mimic Device could be destroyed without triggering their effects

Translocator

Its ring lights now turn red when out of range or blocked, matching the on-screen indicator
It can no longer swap position with items that are being held by a player

Game Modes

Quick Cash

Fixed an issue where some Game Show Events would not start correctly
Quick Cash is now available with bots

Point Break

Improved the moving border to remove small jumps and visual artifacts, and added clearer start and slowdown indicators

Game Show Events

Changed the start time from 2 minutes to 4 minutes and decreased the duration from 5 minutes to 3 minutes
Fixed an issue where the Steal Interrupted Signature Play did not trigger after interrupting a steal

Gameplay

Improved consistency when throwing back Red Canisters by resetting their spin on throw
Fixed an issue where players could be launched at high speed after getting briefly caught on terrain while being winched
Fixed an issue where aiming at specific parts of a teammate’s Revive Statue could show Pick Up and cancel the revive
Arena lifts now automatically return to their lowered position after a short delay when no Contestants, Vaults, or Cashout Stations are on the platform
Fixed an issue where thrown objects (such as barrels, Cash Boxes, and the Healing Emitter) could fail to deal impact damage if they were shot mid-flight
Fixed an issue where the Flamethrower could stop igniting objects or spreading fire after extended use
Fixed an issue where reviving dummies in Practice Range counted toward the Attending Physician achievement
Improved collision for the Mimic Device to reduce cases where disguises could clip through geometry and fall out of the Arena
Fixed a rare issue where achievement progress could be missed
Resolved an issue where switching items during an assisted melee lunge could keep moving the Contestant after the lunge ended or snap them back
Improved backstab detection when attacking from a target’s left side to make melee backstabs register more consistently
Fixed an issue where setting a low inner deadzone value would cause aim assist to kick in even when the stick wasn’t moved
Fixed an issue where selecting a challenge from the Academy screen could place you at the Practice Range start instead of loading the chosen challenge
Glitch effects applied during a Guardian Turret’s warm-up now interrupt setup
Fixed Cashout Stations blocking bullets while dissolving
Fixed an issue where a Cashout Station could be moved onto a Hover Pad on Skyway Stadium, making it unreachable or causing it to get stuck below the Arena
You can now ping cloaked opponents revealed by True Sight, including those using the Cloaking Device or Vanishing Bomb
Fixed an issue where a reconnecting Contestant’s Revive Statue could appear at the next respawn location after a team wipe in Cashout and Ranked Cashout
Contestants disguised by the Mimic Device are no longer targeted by Orbital Lasers
Fixed an issue in Practice Range where the Gateway could be used to leave the Combat Arena after switching challenges
Mimic Device: Set Upright and movement while disguised now work correctly on moving platforms, keeping props aligned with the floor (e.g., on Bernal’s Spinning Platform)
Resolved an issue where interacting with Revive Statues or stealing a Cashout could be interrupted when the target was around a corner or partially blocked by objects, Gadgets, or debris
Fixed an issue where APS Turret and Guardian Turret placed on objects you were carrying could no longer be retrieved by hand
Fixed an issue where Gadgets attached to a cash box or other objects could cause throws to veer sideways, making Cashout Station insertion unreliable
Fixed an issue where Cash Boxes could be pushed through walls and inserted into a Cashout Station from outside
Improved cash box insertion into Cashout Stations to reduce unintentional bounces off collision or nearby walls
Fixed an issue where reviving a Contestant with the Defibrillator inside a dematerialized wall could cause them to fall out of the Arena or leave the Revive Statue stuck
Fixed an issue where the pickup animation and success effects could play even when retrieving deployable Gadgets wasn’t possible. Interactions are now correctly blocked during the brief recovery after climbing
Flashbangs no longer disperse smoke. Powder Canister, Glitch Barrel, Goo Barrel, Healing Barrel, and Toxic Gas Barrel also no longer clear smoke when triggered
Fixed an issue where an opponent’s Jump Pad could prevent reviving a teammate whose statue was on top of it
Fixed an issue where melee aim assist and assisted lunges could lock onto Contestants using the Mimic Device, revealing their disguise
Fixed an issue where an elimination could trigger a team wipe notification while a teammate was respawning
Fixed an issue where bots could charge and slam while climbing ladders
Fixed an issue where it could mark a teammate’s Revive Statue, even though swapping wasn’t possible
Fixed an issue where its cooldown did not reset after respawning
Fixed an issue where burning Oil Barrels could explode instantly on impact when thrown
Melee assisted lunge now targets opponents standing in smoke when Thermal Vision is active

Dev Note: The “insta-nuke” version of the Oil Barrels that went live in 12.0 was not an intentional change and we found them to be far too effective against certain Builds. This fix reverts them to their intended functionality

Map

Practice Range

Fixed some performance issues which caused severe stuttering

Fortune Stadium

Adjusted billboard collision to prevent Contestants from standing or vaulting on the top ledge

NOZOMI/Citadel

Fixed an issue where metal stairs could float after building destruction

Bernal

Fixed debris piles not appearing after destroying buildings in the Shopping District and Backyards

Kyoto

Fixed floating lantern and ladder placements
Fixed an issue where dashing into a lamppost could create an invisible obstacle that blocked movement and revives
Updated temple doors to use breakable window panels instead of solid windows

Seoul

Fixed a pipe that lacked collision, preventing unintended movement and access
Fixed collision on rooftop ventilation units that could cause them to move or clip when shot

Las Vegas Stadium

Updated the casino ball and dome structures to break smoothly instead of getting stuck
Fixed canopy destruction so structures have proper support and hinge more reliably

Skyway Stadium

Removed a bench that was in front of a player spawn in the Mansion diorama
Moved a plant that was in front of a window of the big De Sable hotel building
In Team Deathmatch, slightly adjusted the border around the Mansion location to fix an issue where the moving platforms of the Up, Down, Left, Right variant would clip into it

Monaco

Moved a box that was in the way of a window inside an interior next to the cathedral

Performance

Updated AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution to version 4.1.1
Optimized global illumination to improve performance
Reduced redundant redraws of paused videos to improve performance during full-screen transitions
Fixed severe stuttering when using a controller and keyboard at the same time
Optimized how certain options are updated and saved

Social

Fixed an issue where switching tabs in the Clubs menu with a controller reset the highlighted member to the top of the list
Fixed an issue where the speaker icon and player names could appear duplicated in the Settings menu while using Voice Chat in-game
Updated the in-game Social tab: party size is no longer shown during matches to prevent incorrect info, and players who leave a match are no longer listed. The tab now refreshes in real time while open.
Fixed an issue where friend request pop-ups blocked Esc navigation and other screen prompts
Reduced the delay when updating your party’s “Open to Join” status: changes made in Settings and Social now refresh near-instantly on the Social screen, Blade, and party list

Specialization

Starting Charge ‘N’ Slam while crouched under a low roof now breaks the obstruction, allowing normal charge speed for Heavy Build

Spectator

Fixed an issue where Contestant outlines were missing in Spectator when the “Use enemy team colors” setting was set to Off
Pausing in Private Match now freezes ability input and ongoing interactions instead of canceling them

Stability

Fixed an issue on Xbox where suspending the game during startup could cause it to hang or close unexpectedly

UI

Fixed an issue where Game Mode hints on the Loading Screen could disappear just before a match started
Fixed an issue where the music player’s progress bar briefly jumped to full when skipping to the previous or next track
Fixed an issue where damage numbers could remain stuck to a teammate’s health bar or name tag instead of fading
Adjusted the clan tag box so short tags are no longer shown in an oversized pill and now fit correctly
Fixed an issue where the tab scoreboard did not stay open during screen transitions
Fixed an issue where the in-game menu could not be closed during Instant Replays, which prevented skipping
Fixed an issue where the scoreboard could stretch with extra rows after backfilling
The Social submenu now opens inside the side menu during matches, keeping navigation within the Blade instead of a centered popup
End-of-Round Progression now shows Match XP as its own labeled step, clarifying the XP added at the end of the animation (previously hidden when the Battle Pass was maxed)
Fixed an issue where, if eliminated just before the end-of-round slow-motion, an Instant Replay could appear instead of the Victory Screen
Fixed an issue where the camera in the menus could zoom while the Expression Wheel was open
Improved readability of disabled UI buttons by increasing contrast for key prompts and labels, including “Mark all as seen” and “Read All” in Inbox and Contestants screens
Fixed an issue where the Ping Wheel could remain open after a short press, preventing actions
Returning to a customization category now keeps your selected item in view, and switching categories starts at the top for faster navigation
Improved ultrawide display support: on wider monitors, side black bars are removed and the scene fills the sides while the interface remains 16:9
Improved color and contrast for Sponsor tiles and buttons
Interaction progress rings for Steal and Revive now fill at a consistent, linear pace to better reflect actual progress
Fixed an issue where the Outfit editor preview could revert to the Outfit equipped on your Contestant when double-clicking or equipping certain appearance items
Added an on-screen banner for attackers when a point is destroyed
The scoreboard now displays “Attackers” and “Defenders” under team names during matches
Settings changes now apply immediately when adjusted, without delays from background saving
Fixed an issue where the End-of-Round Scoreboard in Solo Showdown could display the wrong background
Fixed an issue where the text chat input could extend outside the HUD on widescreen displays
Fixed an issue where attempting to open text chat with the HUD hidden as a Spectator in Private Match could lock inputs for the rest of the round
Adjusting the In-World Marker Scale setting no longer causes objective icons to jitter
Adjusting the In-World Marker Scale setting no longer causes objective icons to jitter
Updated the World Tour mode list to include Quick Cash (Bots) with correct labeling and loading-screen rules, and aligned scenario details for this bot mode
Fixed an issue where the scoreboard showed all players as eliminated between rounds in Team Deathmatch
Reordered Quick Settings to match the order used in the full Settings menu, making options easier to find
Fixed some Cashout descriptions mentioning twelve teams instead of eight
Fixed an issue where changes to “Next Wheel” and “Previous Wheel” key bindings (including Left/Right Mouse Button) could revert after joining a session or returning to the main menu
End-of-round progression animations now start after the screen is visible, making earned Fans and World Tour progress clearer
Updated the layout of the Sponsor rewards claim screen to improve clarity and consistency
Fixed an issue where the tab scoreboard changed to toggle in the drafting screen of the second Team Deathmatch round
Fixed every other button click being ignored when quickly clicking through Battle Pass pages with a mouse
Restored access to the Safehouse event pass tab on the Reforge Battle Pass screen
Updated text descriptions for rules for various Game Modes, updated list of rules to better reflect some quirks and unique rules
Updated Player Cards for bots in the Tutorial with unique setups for each Contestant
Fixed an issue where sometimes Practice Range challenges couldn’t be started when loading them from the main menu
Fixed an issue where the zoom on your Contestant in the Style tab reset after scrolling the category list
Fixed an issue where Sponsor audio logs would not be audible
Fixed an issue where the “Accept Challenge” prompt could remain on screen after using “Change Sponsor” just before accepting a challenge with a controller
Fixed an issue where the Quick Melee stamina bar could remain on screen after watching an Instant Replay and then spectating a teammate
Fixed some missing info in the Cashout (Bots) info screen
Fixed an issue where the correct headshot multiplier was not stated in the equipment details
Fixed an issue where the Daily and Daily Club contract tabs could appear empty in some languages

VFX

Improved ambient occlusion, which should significantly reduce ghosting and flickering in some areas
Updated intro camera sequences for Monaco, Seoul, Kyoto, and Bernal to improve presentation

Weapon

FCAR

Fixed a visual issue where a bullet could appear next to the FCAR while using the Rapid Advance sprint animation

Sword

Prevented emotes from triggering during the Lunging Strike attack

Which 12.3.0 change do you expect to affect your matches most? Share your take in the comments, and keep up with the Grand Major’s team predictions and limited-time rewards on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

The Finals is the world’s first Dynamism Shooter, a free-to-play, fast-paced, physics-driven, first-person shooter set on the stage of the biggest Gameshow of the future! Fight for Fans and fortune in fully-destructible, virtual Arenas that guarantee no two rounds will ever play the same!