Oh no! I just looked at a calendar after all these video game showcases and realized that later this year has become really, really packed, with Alan Wake II, Spider-Man 2, and more all launching in a 10-day span of time later this fall (and that’s after Remedy announced it was delaying the Alan Wake sequel to avoid all this madness). Prepare yourselves. And your wallets.
After the non-E3 mess that is Summer Game Fest 2023 ended, we’ve been able to catch our collective breath and look back at everything announced so far at events like the Xbox showcase. Taking stock of the next few months of interactive entertainment, one thing has become apparent: October 2023 now officially has too many video games!
We learned that the next major Forza Motorsport installment will be released on October 10. That lands right in the middle of a bunch of other big games landing in the spooky month. And October only got more crowded on June 21 after the latest Nintendo Direct, where even more games got crammed into this month like they were a few more socks getting shoved into an overstuffed suitcase. And then in August, Sega announced that Sonic Superstars is dropping in the packed month of October, too.
All the big games coming out this October
Here’s the list, so far, following Gamescom Opening Night 2023, Summer Game Fest’s opening event, Nintendo’s latest Direct, and the Xbox showcase:
- Hellboy Web of Wyrd – October 4
- Detective Pikachu Returns – October 6
- Forza Motorsport – October 10
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage – October 12
- Lords of the Fallen – October 13
- Sonic Superstars – October 17
- Spider-Man 2 – October 20
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder – October 20
- Cities Skylines II – October 24
- Alone in the Dark – October 25
- Ghostrunner 2 – October 26
- Alan Wake II – October 27
That might already seem like a lot. But things get wilder and more hectic if you expand the window to just a bit before October, as the new Cyberpunk 2077 DLC—Phantom Liberty—releases on September 26. And Mortal Kombat 1, Payday 3, and Starfield drop in September, as well, all within a few weeks of each other.
And then just a few days after October, we get Star Ocean: The Second Story R on November 2 and WarioWare Move It! launches the next day. This is all reminding me of the logjam we got in February 2022.
And keep in mind that while we are done with Geoff Keighley’s not-E3 video game extravaganza, it’s still possible that between now and October more video games will be announced with October release dates. So it’s entirely possible another few games end up getting shoved into the already-bursting-at-the-seams month that is October. Regardless, I hope you have some money saved up and some sick days to burn because fall 2023 is going to be packed.
Update 8/21/2023 at 10:50 a.m. PT: Updated to include Ghostrunner 2 release date and Alan Wake II delay.
Update 8/24/2023 12:45 p.m. ET : Updated to add Sonic Superstars and Hellboy Web of Wyrd.