October has always been one of the busiest months for game releases, as publishers line up their biggest titles ahead of the Christmas rush. October 2026 is no exception. Between a brand-new Gears of War, a Call of Duty that is landing on a Nintendo console for the first time in years, a fresh take on Castlevania and the first HD-2D Final Fantasy, there is something for almost every player and every platform.

Your guide to what’s launching this month on Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Nintendo

Below are nine of the most notable game releases this month, listed in order of release date. Each entry includes a short synopsis and, crucially, the platforms you can play it on, so you can see at a glance what’s coming to your console or PC. Release dates are for the UK and may shift, so it is worth checking your preferred store before you buy.

Game releases at a glance

Game	Release date	Platforms
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve	2 October 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Gears of War: E-Day	6 October 2026	Xbox Series X|S, PC
Star Wars: Galactic Racer	6 October 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen	9 October 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch 2
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse	15 October 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Switch later)
Final Fantasy Resonance	22 October 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch 2, Switch
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort	22 October 2026	Switch 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4	23 October 2026	PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch 2
Phantom Blade Zero	29 October 2026	PS5, PC

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

Release date: 2 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Project Aces / Bandai Namco

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

Bandai Namco’s long-running aerial combat series returns with its first new mainline game release since Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown. Players take the controls as an elite pilot thrown into a sweeping fictional conflict, flying sorties that range from tense one-on-one dogfights to large-scale strikes against ground and naval targets.

The series has always balanced accessible arcade handling with a melodramatic, cinematic war story, and Wings of Theve leans into that tradition. Alongside the familiar cockpit action, Project Aces has added a first-person story mode that lets players experience the narrative from outside the aircraft. Early impressions praise its soundtrack and storytelling, making it an easy pick for anyone who enjoys high-speed spectacle.

Gears of War: E-Day

Release date: 6 October 2026 (up to five days’ early access with the Premium Edition)

Developer / publisher: The Coalition / Xbox Game Studios

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Windows and Steam), Xbox Cloud Gaming. Day one on Game Pass.

E-Day is Xbox’s flagship game release of the season and a return to the very beginning of the Gears saga. Set fourteen years before the original Gears of War, it reunites a young Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago on Emergence Day, the moment the Locust Horde bursts out from beneath the planet Sera and begins its assault on humanity.

The Coalition has positioned the campaign as darker and more horror-tinged than previous entries, focusing on the chaos and terror of an invasion nobody saw coming. Built on Unreal Engine 5 and targeting 4K at up to 60 frames per second, it pairs the series’ trademark cover-based shooting and brutal close-quarters combat with reworked mechanics and a new Horde Siege multiplayer mode. Game Pass subscribers can play it from launch at no extra cost.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer

Release date: 6 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Fuse Games

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC

Fans who have spent years asking for a successor to Star Wars Episode I: Racer finally have their answer. Galactic Racer is a high-speed arcade racer that takes podracers and other vehicles across famous locations from the films and series.

What sets it apart is structure. The single-player campaign is built as a roguelite, so each run brings new routes, upgrades and risks, encouraging players to push their luck for bigger rewards. The handling takes clear inspiration from the Burnout series, rewarding aggressive driving and takedowns, while online multiplayer supports races of up to 12 players.

Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen

Release date: 9 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Capcom

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2

Much as the original Dragon’s Dogma was reissued with its Dark Arisen expansion, Capcom’s 2024 open-world RPG is getting the same treatment. This expanded edition adds Norgan, an entirely new region to explore, along with new bosses, gameplay refinements and a harder difficulty option.

The new story thread centres on an enigmatic figure named Eir and the mysteries surrounding a Fallen Dragon, giving returning Arisen a reason to pick up their sword again. It also marks the game’s debut on Nintendo Switch 2, although that version is capped at 30 frames per second, so players with a choice of hardware may prefer PC or the other consoles.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse

Release date: 15 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Evil Empire with Konami and Motion Twin

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC. A Nintendo Switch version is due later in 2026.

Konami has handed one of its most treasured series to the team behind Dead Cells’ later updates and The Rogue Prince of Persia. Belmont’s Curse is set in Paris in 1499, 23 years after the events of Castlevania III, and stars Rose Belmont, the daughter of Trevor Belmont.

With Dracula’s influence turning the city into a burning nightmare, Rose sets out through the streets of Paris and into Dracula’s castle, armed with the legendary Vampire Killer whip and a range of other weapons and skills. It is a 2.5D, exploration-led action game with a gothic atmosphere, and its bosses are drawn from twisted versions of figures from French legend. Nintendo players will have to wait a little longer, as the Switch release follows later in the year.

Final Fantasy Resonance

Release date: 22 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Lancarse / Square Enix

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch

Final Fantasy Resonance is the first Final Fantasy game to use the HD-2D art style made popular by Octopath Traveler and the Dragon Quest III remake, combining pixel-art characters with modern lighting and depth-of-field effects.

It adapts the opening story arc of the mobile game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, but Square Enix says it has been rebuilt from the ground up as a full console RPG rather than a simple port. Battles are turn-based with a modern strategic twist, and the series’ classic ingredients are all present: chocobos, espers and airships. Famous faces such as Cloud, Tidus and the Warrior of Light appear as recruitable allies. It is also one of the most widely available games this month, launching on every major platform including the original Switch.

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Release date: 22 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Nintendo

Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2 (exclusive)

Nintendo is reviving one of its most-loved party games. Following the original Switch Sports, this Switch 2 exclusive takes players back to Wuhu Island, the sunny holiday resort that starred in Wii Sports Resort.

It offers a mix of motion-controlled activities that can be played solo or with friends, including archery, tennis, skateboarding and even thumb wrestling. Like its predecessors, it is designed to be picked up by anyone, making it a likely favourite for families and gatherings as the evenings draw in.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4

Release date: 23 October 2026

Developer / publisher: Infinity Ward / Activision

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2. Not on Game Pass at launch.

This year’s Call of Duty imagines a full-scale North Korean invasion of South Korea. The campaign follows two leads: Private Park Hyun Jun, a South Korean soldier defending his homeland, and the returning Captain John Price of Task Force 141, who is on the run. Missions also travel to New York, Paris and Mumbai, and Mads Mikkelsen plays a mysterious villain known as the Archer.

Multiplayer launches with 12 core 6v6 maps, the return of Gunfight and a new dynamic map called Kill Block. Movement has been expanded so players can hang from ledges and pipes, and the hip-fire bloom penalty has been removed. The DMZ extraction mode also returns, dropping up to 20 squads of three into an exclusion zone to scavenge and escape. Notably, this is the first modern Call of Duty to launch on a Nintendo console, arriving on Switch 2 on the same day as every other platform.

Phantom Blade Zero

Release date: 29 October 2026

Developer / publisher: S-Game

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC

Originally due in September, Phantom Blade Zero was pushed back by 50 days and now closes out the month. This Chinese action RPG blends kung fu, steampunk and dark fantasy in a world its developer calls “kungfupunk”.

Players control Soul, an elite assassin who has been framed, mortally wounded and left with only 66 days to live. With the clock running down, he must uncover who betrayed him. Combat is fast and fluid, with martial-arts choreography consulted on by action star Donnie Yen, and the game draws on soulslike design while emphasising speed and style over slow, deliberate fights. It is one of the most anticipated action games of the year for PlayStation and PC players.

Also worth a look

Beyond the headliners, October is packed with smaller game releases. Horror fans have Hellraiser: Revival (8 October, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch 2) and the Napoleonic-era soulslike Valor Mortis (13 October, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and on Game Pass at launch). Planet Zoo 2 arrives on 13 October for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 follows on 14 October, and younger players can look forward to Bluey’s Happy Snaps on 15 October across almost every platform.

Final thoughts

Each platform has game releases to celebrate this month. Xbox owners get the long-awaited Gears of War: E-Day straight into Game Pass, PlayStation players have Phantom Blade Zero to round off the month, and Nintendo fans receive both a family-friendly Switch Sports sequel and a day-one Call of Duty on Switch 2. PC players, meanwhile, can play almost everything on this list. If you only have time or budget for a couple of this months game releases, Gears of War: E-Day and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse look like the strongest bets for single-player fans, while Modern Warfare 4 will dominate multiplayer for the rest of the year.