Oh no! I just glanced at the calendar after watching all these video game showcases and realized that the latter part of this year has turned into quite a busy period. We have Alan Wake II, Spider-Man 2, and more all set to launch within just 10 days later this fall (and that’s even after Remedy announced the delay of the Alan Wake sequel to avoid this congestion). Get ready. And prepare your wallets.
After the chaos of the Summer Game Fest 2023, which wasn’t quite like E3, we’ve finally been able to take a breath and reflect on all the announcements so far, particularly from events like the Xbox showcase. As we evaluate the upcoming months of interactive entertainment, one thing has become very clear: October 2023 is now officially swamped with video games!
We got wind that the next major installment of Forza Motorsport will hit the shelves on October 10. This lands right in the middle of several other major games scheduled for the spooky month. And October got even more jam-packed on June 21, following the latest Nintendo Direct, where they tossed in even more games as if they were trying to stuff a few extra socks into an already full suitcase.
A Rundown of the Big Games Arriving in October
Let’s take a look at the list, based on what’s been revealed so far in the Summer Game Fest opening event, Nintendo’s latest Direct, and the Xbox showcase:
- Detective Pikachu Returns – October 6
- Forza Motorsport – October 10
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage – October 12
- Lords of the Fallen – October 13
- 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
You might think that’s already quite a handful. However, things get even more chaotic if you expand the timeline just a bit before October. The new Cyberpunk 2077 DLC, named Phantom Liberty, is set to drop on September 26. And during September, we’re also getting Mortal Kombat 1, Payday 3, and Starfield, all within a few weeks of each other.
And as if just a few days after October wasn’t enough, we’re getting Star Ocean: The Second Story R on November 2, and the following day will see the launch of WarioWare Move It! This is starting to feel a lot like the logjam we experienced back in February 2022.
Keep in mind that even though we’ve moved on from Geoff Keighley’s not-E3 video game extravaganza, there’s still a chance that more games could be announced between now and October with release dates set in October. So it’s entirely plausible that a few more games might find themselves squeezed into the already overcrowded month of October. Regardless, I hope you’ve been saving up some money and accumulating a few sick days because the fall of 2023 is going to be a whirlwind.
Update as of 8/21/2023 at 10:50 a.m. PT: Updated to include the release date for Ghostrunner 2 and the delay of Alan Wake II.
