October 2026 Has Way Too Many Games Trying to Escape GTA 6

A few months ago, I warned readers that a tidal wave of new video games was coming in September. That came off the heels of a loaded State of Play showcase that put release dates for games like Marvel’s Wolverine and Silent Hill Townfall on the map. It looked like just about every video game was sticking to September to get a safe buffer from Grand Theft Auto 6 in November.

Now, here I am months later, to tell you that I sounded the alarm bells prematurely. Yes, September is about to be very busy, but October is arguably going to be worse. Last-minute release dates have left us with a month that’s bound to go down in backlog history. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s on tap. Take a deep breath with me here, and keep in mind that this is only a handful of highlights.

• Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered (Oct. 1)
• End of Abyss (Oct. 1)
• Rayman Legends Retold (Oct. 1)
• Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (Oct. 2)
• Aion 2 (Oct. 5)
• Gears of War: E-Day (Oct. 6)
• Star Wars Galactic Racer (Oct. 6)
• Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival (Oct. 8)
• Echo Weaver (Oct. 8)
• Forever Ago (Oct. 8)
• Order of the Sinking Star (Oct. 8)
• Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen (Oct. 9)
• Valor Mortis (Oct. 13)
• Over the Hill (Oct. 14)
• Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (Oct. 15)
• Ratatan (Oct. 15)
• Stupid Never Dies (Oct. 21)
• Final Fantasy Resonance (Oct. 22)
• Nintendo Switch Sports Resort (Oct. 22)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (Oct. 23)
• The Wolf Among Us Remastered (Oct. 29)
• Hello Kitty Party Land (Oct. 29)
• Phantom Blade Zero (Oct. 29)

Good heavens, where to begin? The first week of October is especially a free-for-all, as most of the month’s biggest games try to get out far enough ahead of GTA 6. Gear of War: E-Day, Rayman Legends Retold, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve are the main attractions, but thankfully those four games are targeting extremely different audiences. May I also direct your attention to End of Abyss, an eerie Metroidvania made by some of the developers behind Little Nightmares? That’s bound to be one of October’s big sleeper hits.

Indies take over in the middle of the month. Annapurna will get the waterworks flowing with its emotional Forever Ago, the studio behind The Witness returns with Order of the Sinking Star, and Over the Hill looks like a chill driving game from the folks behind Art of Rally. I’ve also been hearing buzz about Echo Weaver, a time-controlling Metroidvania, for years, so don’t sleep on that one. All of those will be fighting for the limelight alongside Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse and Valor Mortis, two of the month’s most promising games.

October will end with a big bang thanks to Final Fantasy Resonance, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and Phantom Blade Zero. The latter is especially worth keeping an eye on, as the action RPG is shaping up to be one of the most hyped games of 2026. It’s not likely to steal GTA 6’s thunder, but it could be the last real game of the year contender we see before Rockstar takes the stage.

With how crowded October is, I’m left wishing someone would bite the bullet and launch in early November. Would Stupid Never Dies really screw itself over by launch two weeks ahead of GTA 6? Does it really matter when Hello Kitty Party Land drops? There’s a lot of potential November counter programming stuffed into October, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some last-minute delays as publishers accept the reality of the situation.

If you’re the kind of person who tries to play everything noteworthy in a year, good luck. You’ll be working your way through October’s games well into February — if you can pull yourself away from GTA 6, that is.