Nine Dots Studio and Nine Dots Publishing announced that Outward 2 will launch in Early Access on February 8, 2027 for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. Players take the role of ordinary adventurers surviving in the world of Aurai, with a full-year seasonal cycle, three starting scenarios and eleven backgrounds, an Exercise passive skill system, ritual spellcasting, and two-player split-screen and online co-op.
Epic Games is offering two new free games to claim and keep at no cost. The two titles are described as very different from each other.
Epic Games Store's next batch of free games arrives on October 15 and involves cheese and puzzles. The specific titles have not been announced.
The Big Con is free on Epic Games Store mobile
Out of Sight & TerraScape are free on Epic Games Store. Agent A: A puzzle in disguise & Bad Cheese are the next free titles https://buff.ly/46yECZ9
The Epic Games Store is offering two free PC games this week: the horror puzzle adventure Out of Sight and the medieval city builder TerraScape. Out of Sight has over 800 Very Positive Steam player reviews, while TerraScape has over 900. Both are free to claim until 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 15.
Permafrost, a story-driven survival sandbox from SpaceRocket Games and publisher Toplitz Productions, is now in Early Access on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store. Players take the role of engineer Rook searching for the missing Icarus in a frozen world after the moon shatters, alone or with up to three friends. The game features dynamic weather, Cold Zones, resource gathering and crafting, shelter networks, and a dog companion that scouts and carries supplies.
Interestingly, Fab seller revenue increased significantly in September. AI acceleration has led to more demand for content, and many devs are using AI assistants to build scenes including buying building blocks from Fab.
The FBI arrested a 29-year-old Alabama Fortnite player after Epic reported threats he made over voice chat. According to the affidavit, Edward Frith, who used the username "WagesOfNinja," said he wanted to "literally murder somebody" and thought about killing "every day." He was indicted for violating Interstate Threatening Communications on September 23 and pleaded not guilty on September 24.
Publisher Shueisha Games and developer Apog Labs announced that ATMOSFAR will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store on October 29. The aerial cooperative survival game supports solo play or up to four players, who scavenge scrap and build and upgrade flying vessels and a mobile airbase among the floating islands of Tycos.
PDP Riffmaster and CRKD Gibson Les Paul guitar controllers are on sale for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, with the Riffmaster's Xbox, Switch 2, and PS5 versions all 40% off at $89.99 and CRKD discounts up to 30%. The controllers are compatible with Fortnite Festival and Rock Band 4, and most discounts are exclusive to Prime members.
Free Prime Gaming/Luna lineup for October https://www.amazongamestudios.com/en-us/news/articles/luna-october-2026
Epic Games has quietly replaced a piece of in-game artwork in Fortnite after fans spotted a Google Gemini AI watermark in its original version. The artwork belonged to the music track "Meow" by Ironmouse, Sleeping Forest & HalaCG, which was added to Fortnite last month. The Gemini watermark was present in the track's original art that Epic Games simply incorporated in-game, not created itself.
Walt Disney Company president and CCO Dana Walden has dismissed ongoing rumours of an Epic Games buyout, saying "those are not the conversations we are having right now"
Disney president and CCO Dana Walden has dismissed rumours of an Epic Games buyout, saying "those are not the conversations we are having right now." She said the two companies remain focused on upcoming launches to demonstrate the value of their partnership, following Disney's $1.5 billion equity investment in Epic in 2024. Recent collaboration promoted The Mandalorian and Grogu with a new Fortnite island, Smugglers Gambit, tied to the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run ride at Disneyland.
At the WF2026 Shanghai show, INART's booth debuted 1:1 and 1:3 scale statues of Soul, the protagonist of Phantom Blade Zero. Wang Chen, the game's 3D art lead at S-Game, shared more photos on Weibo, saying the statues were supervised internally and refined by INART to recreate the character's weathered look, including skin texture and worn armor and cloth. No release date, pricing, or preorder plans for the statues have been announced, while the game's digital preorders are open on PS5, PS5 Pro, Steam, Epic, WeGame, and TapTap PC ahead of its October 29 global launch.
LEGO Fortnite Klombo Kids Toy & Building Set is $68.59 at Target https://buff.ly/i1fcLru #ad
The Five Nights at Freddy's skins in Fortnite--Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy--have a new reactive effect: taking damage makes pieces fall off the character model permanently until you die or the match ends, even if you heal. The effect can be turned off in the locker or set to always show the beat-up look. Previous damage-reactive skins like Isaac Clarke, Synth, and Spider-Punk only had temporary effects, and the Botch backbling's wounds heal when you heal.
The Epic Games Store is giving away System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster for free from now until October 8, normally priced at $30. The remaster launched in summer 2025 after a six-year wait and is widely considered the definitive edition of the 1999 survival horror RPG.
Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden said the company is not currently in talks to acquire Epic Games, though she described the partnership as strong with several launches planned over the next two years. Disney previously acquired a $1.5 billion stake in Epic in early 2024, and speculation about a full acquisition had persisted since then.
In Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4, flushers are port-a-potties that act as teleporters, sending you to a nearby location or another port-a-potty. The third step of the second part of Geno's story quest requires using a flusher to block Geno from listening to The Order's message, and the best spot is the Chopped Shop POI, which has two in the immediate area.
The Epic Games Store has revealed its next batch of free games, including System Shock 2's 25th anniversary remaster. The remaster is free alongside the mystery adventure game Buried Stars until October 8, after which Out of Sight and TerraScape will be free to claim until October 15. Players who claim them during the giveaway period can keep them in their libraries.
System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster is currently free to claim on the Epic Games Store until October 8, 2026, and stays in your library permanently once claimed. Nightdive Studios released the remaster in June 2025 with 4K/144fps support, mod support, and cross-play co-op for up to four players. Epic is also giving away Buried Stars this week, available to claim until the same date.
Disney executive Dana Walden said the company is not currently in talks to acquire Epic Games, though she called the relationship a "great partnership." Disney previously invested more than $1.5 billion in Epic for an equity stake, and the two are working together on "transformational" new games with multiple launches planned over the next two years. Reports have suggested some Disney executives want to buy Epic, while others reportedly believe it would be a bad idea.
Nightdive's 2025 remaster of System Shock 2 is free on the Epic Games Store until October 8. The original System Shock 2 is an excellent all-timer immersive sim, and the remaster is exquisite, making it worth logging in to claim.
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria from Five Nights at Freddy's has been added to Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 as part of Fortnitemares. It sits southeast of Pac-Man Island, between Nightmare Neighborhood and Freaky Fields, on what used to be a construction site. Inside are animatronics like Freddy Fazbear and Foxy the Pirate Fox, plus plushies and balloons of Bonnie the Bunny and Chica the Chicken, the series' office, and a bunch of chests.
Jimothy, the beloved internet raccoon, is now a sidekick in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 and can be obtained for free through a Fortnitemares quest. Players must find and extract a Dumpster Dive sprite, which is difficult due to random spawns, though a guaranteed spawn exists if they take on a scary foe.
Audio logs in Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 are scattered across the map, and some show their exact location as a pin while others do not. The guide covers four sets released on Aug. 20, Sept. 3, Sept. 17, and Oct. 1, the last three added in v42.30 in the southeast portion of the map. Each entry lists the landmark and route for finding the log.
You can save on PC games during Steam sales and beyond by keeping a large Steam wishlist and using price-tracking sites like IsThereAnyDeal to compare deals across vetted retailers. Bundle storefronts such as Fanatical, Humble, Green Man Gaming and Digiphile often offer steep discounts, while the Epic Games Store regularly gives away two titles a week and one a day during its end-of-year celebrations. Playnite can help you organize games across Steam, GOG, Epic and Itch.
The Epic Games Store is giving away two free PC games this week, available to claim until Thursday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m. EDT. They include System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, an influential immersive sim whose anniversary edition adds cross-play co-op, visual upgrades, and mod support, plus Buried Stars, a locked-room murder mystery visual novel with branching paths and multiple endings.
Fortnitemares has begun in Fortnite, bringing spooky skins to the shop, themed quests, fun items, and many collaborations. Hollow Knight and more are joining the game as part of the Halloween celebration.
Newzoo's August revenue charts for the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy saw several new releases enter the Top 20. EA Sports Madden NFL 27 debuted at No. 2 on console, while House House's Big Walk ranked No. 3 on PC and Star Wars Zero Company placed No. 6 on PC and No. 20 on console. Pokémon Pokopia climbed from No. 28 to No. 7 on console after its Bubbly Basin DLC released.
Section 9 Interactive, a small studio founded by three former Tarsier Studios members, announced that its sci-fi action adventure End of Abyss launches October 1 on Xbox Series X|S. Players take the role of young combat technician Cel, descending into an abandoned underground facility to upgrade gear, use a Scanner to explore branching paths, and fight monsters. The team said the game began as a top-down shooter prototype and shifted toward a slower action horror metroidvania focused on exploration and tension, with enemies prototyped in Unreal before their designs were finalized.
Why this: The studio explains how its top-down shooter prototype became an action horror metroidvania, showing how a small team settled on its art and enemy design.
Epic has confirmed that Five Nights at Freddy's is joining Fortnite for this year's Fortnitemares event. A new trailer shows Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria as a map location, with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy appearing as bosses, and Fortnitemares begins 1st October. The crossover had been rumoured for months, with the pizzeria appearing on the island during Fortnite's Override season.
Two Xbox games are set to shut down their servers across October and November 2026, according to a Pure Xbox roundup. Rocket Racing, playable inside Fortnite, goes offline on October 1, 2026 for all Xbox consoles, while Call of Duty: Warzone shuts down only on Xbox One and PS4 when Season 1 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 begins in late October or early November, with the date still to be determined. The piece also notes that Sociable Soccer 25 servers close on September 28 and the Xbox 360 version of Toy Story 3 is delisted on September 29.
Dutch consumer group Stichting Massaschade & Consument (SMC) has filed a class action against Epic Games, alleging it misled young Fortnite players, and is seeking over €100 million in refunds and damages on behalf of Dutch players who played before age 21. SMC cited research in which six in 10 of more than 1,000 Dutch teenagers aged 16 to 19 who bought currencies such as V-Bucks said it did not feel like real money, and half said they regretted a purchase made under time pressure. The group has served Epic a formal notice of liability and offered settlement talks; the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets fined Epic €1,125,000 in 2024 over item shop design, a fine upheld by a Rotterdam court in January 2026, while Epic said it offers parental controls and that the Dutch Fortnite Item Shop has no timer.
Fortnite's latest crossover brings Kingdom Hearts into the battle royale this week, with four skins available in the item shop on Thursday, September 17 as part of Chapter 7, Season 4. Players can wear Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Roxas in their Kingdom Hearts II designs. Epic has not revealed pricing for the skins or any additional accessories they may include.