Xbox is offering seven games free to play this weekend, including a major new update for one of this year's biggest multiplayer releases and trials for several other notable titles. Players can try extraction shooters, sci-fi adventures, and radioactive wasteland settings before the weekend ends.
EA and Battlefield Studios detailed Battlefield 6's Season 5, which adds the full server browser fans have wanted since launch in the December update, letting players create their own servers and set rules like map rotation. Season 5 rolls out in phases, starting with Siege of Las Vegas on October 13, which adds the Vegas Strip and Area 51 maps and Rapid Royale for the RedSec battle royale mode. A Halloween event runs October 20 through November 7 with a non-canon limited-time scenario based on the 2023 Dead Space remake, followed by Casino Heist on November 10 and Frozen Aces on December 8.
WW2 FPS Squad 44 is free to play on Steam until Tuesday.
Wardogs season 2 launches after a game-wide progress wipe on October 15th and adds a gambling system where players can bet on their own performance through a new Wager Vendor, choosing extra restrictions to raise the payout. The season also brings new weapons and vehicles including a high-capacity SMG, molotov cocktails and a tracked AA gun, plus buildable machine gun nests and shelters, and a thundery rainfall weather preset that lowers visibility and masks footsteps. Developer Bulkhead says a friends queue option is not part of this update, while the blue team Lonestar gets moved faction HQs, desaturated outfit colours and cash and XP bonuses throughout the season.
Wardogs Season 2 will hand out Lonestar cash and XP bonuses to players who pick Blue team, with Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer saying in the Road to Season 2 devlog that the studio is looking at how to help one team's win rate. Blue has struggled with weak camouflage and unfavorable spawn points, and many players avoid it from the start, idling on the selection screen for a slot on Green or Red. The October 15 patch also adds new guns, vehicles, rainy weather on all maps, and the game's first progression wipe, sending everyone back to level 1.
Hazelight announced that It Takes Two will get a full Switch 2 upgrade on 15th October, free for owners of the Switch 1 version. The new version supports 1080p and 60fps in Docked Mode, faster load times, and more ways to play together via GameShare, with the Friend's Pass still available. Cross-play launches the same day, letting Switch 2 players team up with friends on PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS4, or PS5, while Switch 1 players can only play online with a Switch 2 player who downgrades to the original Switch version.
Wardogs Season 2 launches next week, letting players gamble on their own in-game performance. The game uses a cash-based economy where every action rewards in-game money, and a new wager vendor will let players raise the stakes each time they respawn.
When the weather turns bad in Arc Raiders' Pendola Pass, head to a Storm Hut for some great looting https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/when-the-weather-turns-foul-in-arc-raiders-pendola-pass-take-a-trip-to-a-storm-hut-theyre-some-of-the-best-loot-spots-ive-found/
Eurogamer's review calls Gears of War: E-Day a conservative but technically solid prequel whose campaign, Horde Siege, and Versus each have strengths and problems. Horde Siege splits 12 players into four-person squads that pick their own difficulty and complete objectives across the map, and the reviewer says 15 hours in it still produces emergent moments. The review also notes balance and mechanical issues in Versus and baffling checkpoints plus some repetitive beats in the campaign.
Mintrocket has announced that the final wave of DLC for Dave the Diver will launch in early 2027 as a free expansion crossing over with Subnautica 2. Dave and Bancho will step through a mysterious portal to explore the ocean moon Proteus and catch strange creatures and ingredients. Few other details about the DLC have been revealed.
PUBG MOBILE's Brainrot Royale pumpkin-themed update is now live as part of Version 4.6 in World of Wonder. It adds the timed Ghost Ship event, Pirate Coins and the Pirate Captain's Shop, plus the Brainrot Wand and Magic Broom. The update also brings the Star Upgrade fusion system, a 64-Brainrot backpack limit and a Rebirth level cap raised by five levels.
The week of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ reveals continues, and the latest highlighted a questionable addition that seems to offer an unfair advantage in an extraction shooter. https://bit.ly/4AVtUey
"Meow! Let's Slack Off Together~" will officially launch on Steam on November 5. It is a relaxing desktop idle fishing game where fish hook themselves, and players can fish, collect drift items that hatch cats, and dress up. At launch it will offer over 100 outfits and scene decorations, plus multiplayer rooms or friend invites for fishing together.
MINTROCKET teased a new Diver Dave DLC crossover with Subnautica 2: Alien Waters, planned as a free update in the first half of 2027. Players will explore a sea region called Proteus with Dave and Bancho, gather sea creatures, unlock recipes, and encounter the giant deep-sea creature Leviathan. Producer Hwang Jae-ho called it the final DLC for Diver Dave.
Ranger's Path: National Park Simulator will leave PC Early Access on November 17, 2026, adding an optional two-player co-op mode and launching on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S the same day. The co-op mode will be free to existing players as part of "Early Access Update #3," and the game supports cross-platform play. It is now available for pre-order at €19.99/$19.99/£16.75 on PC and €24.99/$24.99/£22.49 on consoles.
BeXide has announced Cat and Paste!, a copy-and-paste hide-and-seek party game for PC via Steam with support for English, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, and Russian. The game supports two to 16 players online, with cats copying stage objects to transform and pasting decoys to hide from hunters. An open playtest will run from October 16 at 18:00 JST to October 19 at 16:00 JST.
Dragon Vault Raiders, a multiplayer extraction ARPG from BetaDwarf with Square Enix as global publisher, now has a demo on Steam, with a PvPvE test starting October 15. The demo offers two playable Breakers and two PvE difficulties for solo or co-op play through the first chapter's map and main questline. The PvPvE test adds more Breakers and player-versus-player combat, and the game supports solo and multiplayer PvE as well as PvPvE modes.
USA TODAY Sports and PlayVS announced an eight-team national high school esports championship on October 7, featuring EA Sports Madden NFL, Marvel Rivals and Rocket League in a round-robin format. The top two teams advance to the December 11 national final, and the winner will be crowned the first USA TODAY Sports National High School Esports Champion. The champion will also compete in the inaugural USA TODAY Sports Challenger Series in the spring, with an ALL-USA Esports Team selected from the eight competitors.
Montreal-based indie studio Norsfell officially announced its new top-down action RPG New Gods Chronicle at the 3i Plan showcase, blending light survival-building gameplay with single-player and co-op support. Set in an open world where Norse, Greek, and Egyptian mythologies converge, the game casts players as god descendants who survived Ragnarok and can transform into mythical creatures like phoenixes, manticores, and sirens. It will launch on Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, with Chinese mythology content to be added in the future.
Mintrocket has announced a collaboration between Dave the Diver and Subnautica 2, which will wrap up Dave the Diver's DLC plans. A reveal trailer shows Dave hopping through a portal into Subnautica 2's ocean moon, encountering alien sealife and a Leviathan. No word yet on whether Dave will make a counter appearance in Subnautica 2, which is still in early access.
Team17 officially announced the prison sandbox game The Escapists 3, set to launch on PC and consoles in 2027 and first shown at the Triple-I Showcase. The game moves to full 3D and has players craft tools, sneak or fight their way out of five distinct prisons, with more than 120 stealable and craftable weapons. It supports two-player local split-screen and up to four-player online co-op, and adds an experience system whose progress carries over between prisons.
Daedalic Entertainment announced it is partnering with Outlier to publish the co-op football simulation game Equipment Manager, whose Steam demo launched on October 9. The demo includes single-player and online co-op, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours of content, and two modes: Standard and Management. The game supports 1 to 4 players and is planned for full release in 2027.
Astral Ascent has received a free crossover update with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, revealed at today's Triple-i Initiative showcase and playable now. The update adds three new bosses (Golgra, The Mime and Pétank), three new rooms, and recruitable Expedition ally summons, free for anyone who has beaten Astral Ascent on Destiny Level 0.
Subnautica 2 fans can finally kill those pesky Nibbler Mangos—in Dave the Diver's crossover DLC
The Dave the Diver X Subnautica 2 content pack was announced at the Triple-I Initiative showcase and arrives in early 2027, dropping Dave into the alien waters of Subnautica 2 to mine resources and hunt fish. It finally gives players an official way to hunt and kill the pesky Nibbler Mangos. Mintrocket said this will be the final major DLC for Dave the Diver, though smaller content updates or collaborations may still come.
2K and developer Gearbox Software announced that the Risk of Rain 2 DLC 'Hallowed Concepts' is now available on PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. The expansion adds two playable survivors, Acolyte and Enforcer, plus the timed Trials of N'kuhana split into Survival, Predation, and Mortality types that share a single timer. It also includes new stages, bosses, enemies, item types, and music.
Team17 announced The Escapists 3, a prison escape simulation sequel coming to PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, and PC via Steam in 2027. The game moves to a 3D prison sandbox with five prisons and over 120 items and weapons to loot and craft. It supports two-player local split-screen and up to four players online.
Mintrocket announced at the Triple-i Showcase that Dave the Diver's final DLC is a crossover with Subnautica 2, set for release in early 2027. The free DLC, developed with Subnautica 2 team Unknown Worlds, brings the ocean moon of Proteus to Dave the Diver and sends Dave and Bancho to a new dimension. It is available to wishlist on Steam now.
Xbox Free Play Days runs October 8 to 11, with Screamer and Family Man free for Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members, while ARC Raiders is free for all Xbox members. High On Life 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Little Nightmares III and Rogue Waters are also available as timed trials, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 including Update 2.0.
Rockstar has revealed six of Grand Theft Auto 6's radio stations, with previews available now on the game's website. Podcasts will appear in the GTA series for the first time, and both radio stations and podcasts can now be listened to on foot via headphones or earbuds connected to the character's phone.
Xbox's Free Play Days lineup this week has grown from three games to seven, including ARC Raiders, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Little Nightmares III, High on Life 2, Screamer, Family Man and Rogue Waters. Screamer and Family Man require an Xbox Game Pass subscription, while the rest are free for all Xbox players, with some being timed trials. All games are available until late on October 11th and are also on sale.
Riot Games released a final gameplay trailer for 2XKO, confirming the fighting game will be sunsetted later this year and that its last major update goes live on 27th October. Samira had already been confirmed as the game's 16th character, and the trailer also revealed Sett, a long-requested fighter shown with a powered-up state and a super that grabs both enemy characters at once. The game will remain playable for the foreseeable future, with the microtransaction store removed in favour of a one-time purchase unlocking all in-game cosmetics.
The Frigate arrives in Arc Raiders' Frozen Trails update 😦
You might just hear the Don Quijote jingle in your head when you read about the coming PSO2 New Genesis crossover.
Rockstar Games revealed six radio stations for GTA 6 and their DJ lineups, including Cocoteo FM, Back Country Radio, AfroBank FM, The Chamber 106.6, Flash FM, and Dirty South Classics. The game adds on-demand podcasts for the first time, and protagonists Jason and Lucia can access stations and podcasts through their smartphones without being in a car. Bad Bunny and Lana Del Rey voice two DJs on Cocoteo FM, while Jeremy Dufrene voices Mud Dog Mike on Back Country Radio.
Forza Horizon 6 is teaming up with 7-Eleven on the Horizon Meets update, adding a 7-Eleven-inspired storefront and themed Car Meet to the game's Nangan region. The update also includes a Konbini Prop Pack, Clerk Uniform, and Egg Salad Sandwich Collectible, plus an in-game Toyota Supra GR livery and free Slurpee offer at US and Canadian stores through October 27. A real-life merch collection launches October 8 exclusively on 7Collection.com.
Rockstar updated the official GTA 6 website on October 8, revealing six in-game radio stations including Flash FM, Back Country Radio, Cocoteo FM, The Chamber 106.6, Afro Bank FM, and Dirty South Classics. The studio says GTA 6 features the biggest and widest-ranging selection of in-game radio in the franchise, and for the first time players can listen on foot via Jason and Lucia's phones, plus on-demand podcasts. GTA 6 launches in November.
Rockstar Games has updated the Grand Theft Auto VI official website with previews of six in-game radio stations, including Cocoteo FM, Back Country Radio, AfroBank FM, The Chamber 106.6, Flash FM, and Dirty South Classics. The game introduces on-demand podcasts for the first time, with radio and podcasts listenable in vehicles or on foot via new headphones and earbuds connected to smartphones. Grand Theft Auto VI is due out for PS5 and Xbox Series on November 19.
Nintendo released a seven-minute overview trailer for the upcoming Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, covering the game's 12 sports on Wuhu Island, many of them familiar to players of the previous entry. The trailer also shows single-player content such as simpler game modes, Island Crown challenges and free-roam collectibles, plus a closer look at character customisation, where points earned in every game can be spent in a store. The game launches on 22nd October.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion DLC 'The Siege of Castle Doom' launches November 10 https://www.gematsu.com/2026/10/marvel-cosmic-invasion-dlc-the-siege-of-castle-doom-launches-november-10