October 2026 video game releases: the calendar and what to watch

Key figures

The October calendar

Dates below are those announced by the publishers and listed by GamesRadar+, GameSpot or VGC. Where reviews are already out, we give the OpenCritic average or a named score; the other games will be updated once reviews are published.

Two small date differences are worth knowing. PC Gamer and OpenCritic list Ace Combat 8 on 1 October for PC, while the console date is 2 October. And GameSpot also lists the original Switch for Modern Warfare 4, which GamesRadar+ and VGC do not; we follow the Switch 2-only listing.

Already reviewed

• Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve: the flight action game is the best-reviewed release of the month so far. PC Gamer gives it 92/100 and calls it a must for aviation fans, while regretting the lack of a field-of-view slider and some stutter in cutscenes. GamesRadar+ praises the dogfights and the story, but finds the opening slow and the online modes thin.
• Gears of War: E-Day: the prequel set on the day the Locust attacked humanity sits at 88 on OpenCritic. Critics like the improved movement and combat; some find the story and open areas weaker.
• Star Wars: Galactic Racer: an arcade racer from Fuse Games with a roguelite campaign and online races for up to 12 players, according to GamesRadar+. It scores 87 on OpenCritic, with repetition across a small set of planets as the main criticism.

What to watch, by genre

• Shooters: Gears of War: E-Day launches on Xbox and PC with a new Horde Siege mode, according to GameSpot. Modern Warfare 4 follows on 23 October with a campaign set during an invasion of the Korean Peninsula and the return of Captain Price, as GamesRadar+ reports; GameSpot notes it will not be on Game Pass at launch.
• Action RPGs and soulslikes: Phantom Blade Zero, S-Game's wuxia action RPG, is set for 29 October on PS5 and PC, the date given by S-Game on the PlayStation Blog. Valor Mortis, from the studio behind Ghostrunner, is a first-person soulslike set in the Napoleonic wars; GameSpot lists it at $40 and as a day-one Game Pass title.
• RPGs: Final Fantasy Resonance is an HD-2D, turn-based Final Fantasy that GameSpot describes as a return to the series' 2D roots, released on five platforms on 22 October.
• Horror: Hellraiser: Revival from Saber Interactive is a survival horror game due on 8 October, including on Switch 2.
• Management: Planet Zoo 2 adds aquatic and flying species and broader zoo-building tools, according to GameSpot.
• Narrative adventure: The Wolf Among Us Remastered brings back Telltale's noir detective story with updated visuals on 29 October.

Our reading of the month

October is heavy on big shooters and action games. Xbox and PC players get two strong options in the first week with Gears of War: E-Day and Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and PlayStation, Xbox and PC players can already buy Ace Combat 8 with confidence. Switch 2 owners mainly get Modern Warfare 4, Final Fantasy Resonance and Hellraiser: Revival. For hardware advice, see our gaming buying guide and our Steam Machine review analysis. If you are still catching up on September, read our September 2026 roundup.

Verdict

Ace Combat 8 is the safe buy today, and Gears of War: E-Day and Star Wars: Galactic Racer look like the next ones, based on early reviews. For Modern Warfare 4, Phantom Blade Zero and the rest of the month, wait for the reviews before you pre-order; we will add their scores to this calendar as they are published.

This article is based on publishers' announcements, early coverage and the first published reviews; RealDigitalTech has not played these games itself.