Image: Atlus
The transition from September to October brings cooler weather, changing foliage, and a slew of new games to play on PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass. Sony and Microsoft tend to space out their announcements for which new games are coming to their services each month, and so far, October’s lineup feels a tad slimmer than usual, but there are still a few new games PS Plus and Game Pass subscribers can try out this month.
Here’s everything we know that’s coming (and leaving) PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass in October 2022.
Everything coming to PlayStation Plus in October 2022
Image: PlayStation
For PlayStation Plus subscribers, the main additions are a new trio of monthly PS Plus Essentials: the arcade racer Hot Wheels Unleashed, Neverealm Studios’ DC comics-themed fighting game Injustice 2, and the stylish time-bending first-person shooter Superhot. These three games are free to download for all PS Plus subscribers starting Oct. 4 through Oct. 31, though they can still be played and downloaded after that as long as you’ve added them to your digital library and are a paying PS Plus member.
Those are the only new PS Plus games we know of at this time. Sony has not yet announced any additions to the PS Plus Games Catalog (available for PS Plus Extra and Premium users) or the PS Plus Classics collection (for PS Plus Premium) coming in October, though the official PlayStation blog says more games will be announced later in the month.
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PS Plus monthly freebies (Essentials, Extra, Premium)
Hot Wheels Unleashed - Oct. 4–Oct. 31Injustice 2 - Oct. 4–Oct. 31Superhot - Oct. 4–Oct. 31PS Plus Games Catalog (Extra, Premium)
PS Plus Classics (Premium)
Everything leaving PS Plus in October 2022 (so far)
You can download the September PS Plus Essentials freebies until Oct. 3, after which the October lineup will replace them. No games have been listed as leaving the PS Plus Games Catalog or Classics Collection yet, but any removals will likely be confirmed later in the month.
Need for Speed Heat - Oct. 3Granblue Fantasy: Versus - Oct. 3 Toem - Oct. 3Xbox Game Pass and Games With Gold
Image: Microsoft
Games With Gold is also pretty lean this month. October is the first month to not offer a classic Xbox 360 title as part of the free Games With Gold lineup, and there are only two free games available this month: the sea-fairing action adventure game Windbound, and cartoony real-time strategy game Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition. Both games are playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and are available to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
Luckily, Xbox Game Pass has plenty of new stuff in store for October, with nine day-one releases joining the Game Pass library throughout the month. Notable additions include A Plague Tale: Requiem on Oct. 18, which is the second game in the A Plague Tale series of action-adventure games set during the Black Plague in medieval Europe.
Then the stylish dungeon-crawling-RPG-meets-social-life-sim, Persona 5 Royal, marks the series’ debut on Xbox on Oct. 21.
Scorn also joins the service on Oct. 21. It’s a frankly grotesque-looking game, featuring an unsettling atmosphere and art style inspired by H.R. Geiger and Wayne Barlowe, but it will be interesting to experience this striking first-person adventure after nearly eight years of development.
Games With Gold
Windbound - Oct. 1–Oct. 31Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition - Oct. 16–Nov. 15Xbox Game Pass
Coral Island (PC) - Oct. 11Eville (Console, PC) - Oct. 11Dyson Sphere Program (PC) - Oct. 13A Plague Tale: Requiem (Console, PC, Cloud) - Oct. 18Norco - Oct. 20Persona 5 Royal (Console, PC) - Oct. 21Scorn (Console, PC, Cloud) - Oct. 21Gunfire Reborn (Console) - Oct. 27Signalis (Console, PC, Cloud) - Oct. 27Everything leaving Game Pass in October 2022 (so far)
As for what’s leaving Game Pass, DiRT 4 and DiRT Rally leave Game Pass on Oct. 3, and the last of September’s Games With Gold offerings, Double Kick Heroes rotates out of the lineup on Oct. 13.
DiRT 4 - Oct. 3 (Console, PC)DiRT Rally - Oct. 3 (Console, PC)Double Kick Heroes (Games with Gold) - Oct. 13It’s always possible Microsoft will announce more removals throughout the month, as well.